Year after year, splitboards quickly gain popularity among freeriders!
What is splitboarding?
It essentially allows snowboarders to transform themselves temporarily into a skier, allowing for efficient travel through flat sections and upsloping terrain.
Do split boards ride differently than a regular boards?
Yes. There is a bit more drag, being that a snowboard has metal edges down the center of it.
Can you ski a split board?
Yes, you can skiboard. The one thing we recommend to new splitboarders is, to go to the ski hill, preferably on a green run, not the double black diamond, and learn to ski on your splitboard.
How do I choose a splitboard size?
A longer board is just gonna be more stable. Powder-specific snowboards, they’re shorter and wider, so they’re not skinny and long any more. They’re shorter and wider, but they’re still equally in the same amount of surface area.
Can I make my own split board?
Technically, yes, you can make your split board. But, we would recommend that with today’s technologies, you might just be better off buying a prebuilt one that’s sealed properly from water, has the inside edges and it’s just professionally built.
What are the advantages of a split board?
It’s the ability to travel long distances through the mountains with the utmost efficiency, without carrying the added weight of your snowboard on your back. And when you’re traveling through the mountains, and if you’re putting in a big day ski tour, it’s all about efficiency the entire day.
How do you walk on a split board?
It’s one foot in front of the other, like any normal walking you would do. The best advice that we could give for people with techniques, or who are just starting with splitboarding is always good posture. If you’re leaning forward on a steep skin track, chances are, you’re probably gonna fall in your face, but if your posture is good and you have, you’re thinking about transferring your pressure through your heels, that allows you to gain traction, and staying erect allows you to not slip forward or potentially start sliding backward.
How do I keep up on flat sections with my ski friends?
It’s all about technique. Try practicing your skills on a cross-country ski trail or at your local golf course. These are great places to go out and practice your skills, take your skins off, and try to practice without your skins on, moving around through the snow, because the dynamic changes when you take your skins off.
Splitboard must-haves in your backpack? Also known as overlooked but essential gear?
Layering differently for different climates we think is important and gets overlooked. One of the big pieces for layering and should always be in your backpack, no matter what is a good down jacket. Feathers will save your life. Certainly, a headlamp is one of those things that people overlook, but it really can change your outcome. In the winter, the days are very short. Having a good repair kit to repair anything that might happen. Some type of emergency shelter, like a tarp. They make these lightweight tarps.
What do I do if my board starts to come apart while riding?
It’s technically impossible that your snowboard would just fall apart as you are riding down. Now, that’s because just the way that the bindings and the pucks are secured together to the board over your feet, it’s physically impossible for those to come out without losing a pin or some real mechanism failure.
Do I need to learn how to ski before using a split board?
Technically no, you don’t. Some people have natural balance and natural talent, and they’re just strong. Some people really struggle with, it’s very foreign to them. So you need to practice, practice, practice. Learn to anticipate when a changeover is coming and be ready.
How do I get better at splitboarding?
Don’t practice your skills on a busy, icy skin track, where you’re gonna fall in your face or slide backwards and take people out behind you. And then it’s embarrassing and it’s frustrating. Don’t try to hone in your skills the very first day you go out. Take the time. Really understand how the dynamics of your pole positioning and your feet and your skins and everything all kind of has to work together. Your posture, how much weight you’re carrying, all of these things really matter.
Do splitboards need specific boots?
You can use any snowboard boot out there, especially with the soft boot bondings, with the spark bonding, you can use any boot that’s on the market. But if you’re more serious and you’re getting after it, and you’re much more serious into the ski mountaineering aspect of the sport, then we would recommend a back country specific boot.
Why is splitboarding so much better than skiing?
Basically it’s like the best of both worlds. You get the aspect of that surfing feeling while you’re on your snowboard and you get to surf your way down the mountain in powder snow. You have your mobility. You’re efficiently able to walk across flats or travel uphill just as efficiently as a skier.