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Snowkiting! But all I have are kites.....

Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 7:18 pm
by OliverG
Hey all,

I know many of you are and have been snowboardng for some time, but I have always been a skier and this is the year I'm going to put on a board and thrash my way up and down the slopes and meadows. I could do it on skis, but a board might be the direction I want to take.

So, I don't want to lay down too much cash given that I won't be doing nearly as much snowboarding/snowkiting as kiteboarding throughout the year. Does anyone have any suggestions on putting together some gear or have any used gear for sale?

Thanks,
Ollie

Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 8:13 pm
by elli
What I did last year is rent equipment before I go. I rented from Any Mountain in Oakland and was happy, its cheaper then renting in Tahoe and the gear was good condition and up to date. I figured out that since I go very few times, buying gear is not really necessary.

You can also try craigs list or a loaner. I don't know much about snowboards but I was told that there is no reason to go for the latest and greatest. Board technology does not advance so quickly and used boards from the last years are fine unless you are a pro.

I used skies last year and that is a lot of fun. Crazy speed.

Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 8:19 pm
by OliverG
For me, renting is probably the way to go as I really don't know how much value I'll get out if it I decide to lay out some cash for gear that will sit around for 80-90% of the year....

Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 12:02 am
by Pablito
Ollie, if you're going to go with the snowboard, you can probably pick up a complete set-up of used board, bindings and boots for $100-$200. Renting will probably cost that much for 4 sessions, so do the math and figure out what works best for you.

I sold my whole snowboard set up last year to a friend of a friend for $125; Craig's list is probably the best bet for something like that. Snowboard gear is pretty cheap these days; it's the skis that have gone the way of kites -- quivers of $1000 pairs.

Kiting on skis is a bit different than on a snowboard; there are advantages to both. Launch is much easier with skis. But both are different than kiting on a board in the water. The big difference, really, is between snow and water -- for example, going upwind is easy on snow, going downwind is harder (you plane so quickly that the lines go slack).

See you on the slopes =D>

Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 1:19 am
by jjm
My 2 cents:

If you don't want to purchase the whole setup, maybe buy a good pair of boots. That way, you can narrow down to a pair that fits well, rather than being limited to rental shop fleet.

If you have the boots, you could bum a ride or borrow a board from someone with similar boot size.

If you go rent at random locations, you won't need to deal with boot sizing -- hook me up with a board in the xxx range, bindings for a size yy and duck the stance.

Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 10:24 am
by Scanman
I agree with Josh on the boots. Plus, you never know how sanitary the rentals are (think bowling shoes, but much sweatier).
When I want to buy new gear, I always go to Tri-City Sports in Fremont at the end of the season, when everything goes to 50% off.

Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2005 6:50 pm
by OliverG
Hey guys, I scored a K2 board with bindings and boots off of Craigslist from a kid at UCB for $80. Can't beat that, right? It's not brand new or anything, but for someone who's always done skiiing, it'll work and I can grind it plenty.

Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2005 8:21 pm
by Pablito
Way to go Ollie. I knew you'd be a sucker for a full set up of gear for less than $100.

Unlike kiting and skiing, you can ask 10 snowboarders "Why should I buy a brand new board instead of a used one" and 9 of them will say, "I dunno". As long as someone didn't scratch their name in the bottom with a box cutter, you'll be riding on the same technology as the guys who bought their new boards yesterday.

If you decided you loved snowkiting so much you wanted to move to Tahoe, it would be worth investing in step-in bindings and matching boots (instead of the strap-on ones), but otherwise, congratulations on your purchase!