How To Look After Your Snowboard - Care Instructions & Top Tips

• Keep off the dry slopes - they can play havoc with the base of your board. Instead, buy yourself a cheap second hand snowboard for use on dry ski slopes.

• Avoid off piste if powder has fallen on bare ground because it is a good way to destroy the base of your board. Instead, wait until several layers of snow have built up and been compacted beneath the fresh pow.  I know, this is like taking a kid to a sweet shop and not letting him inside.  Fresh pow is what most of us dream about but, if you are tempted, expect to damage your board - you never now, it may be worth it!

• Watch out for and avoid stones scattered on the pistes, they can cause deep gauges in the base of you snowboard and may even rip it through to it's core.  

• Avoid skiers, especially in the lift queues. Skiers have a tendency to plant their ski poles into the deck of your snowboard stuffing up any tasty graphics you may have had.  Seriously, clattering into other boarders or skiers in the lift queues will mess up your deck.

• If you are into rails, nose presses, ollies or big air your snowboard is likely to suffer and it is highly unlikely any damage caused will be covered under warranty.  If you are precious about your pride and joy, practice using a second hand or cheap snowboard.

• Use a high quality padded snowboard bag

• Choose a snowboard bag which has tie down straps to stop your board(s) sliding around.  The sharp metal edges of your snowboard can cut into and even through your bag if it slides around during transit.

• If carrying more than one snowboard and your snowboard bag does not have protective dividers, use a towel to separate the boards so they do not grind against each other.  

• It is also a good idea to eliminate the possibility of sliding and grinding by taping the boards together using normal parcel tape.

• Do not overload your snowboard bag.  If it becomes very heavy, airport baggage handlers get pissed off and have been known to show disrespect.  If a heavy bag gets thrown, the sharp edges of your snowboard can cut into and even through your bag.  The risk of damage increases the heavier your bag is.

• If heading out to a local snow centre or dry slope, it is still a good idea to bag your board - to remove the risk of the sharp edges cutting into your car seats if nothing else.

• Never put your snowboard away wet because the metal edges will rust.

• Before storing your snowboard at the end of a season, give it a full hot snowboard wax treatment and leave the wax on the board and the boards metal edges to help protect them.

• Never store your snowboard in an attic or any other place where it is likely to get hot in the summer.  Your board is made up of multiple layers of different materials, all of which expand and contract at different rates when temperatures change.  Exposure to extreme heat can cause the delamination of your snowboard. 

• If you like the graphics on your snowboard, why not hang it on your bedroom wall?  Or, if you are a single bloke living alone, it will look good in the living room too.  Use a set of snowboard wall hangers for a neat and professional look.

• If you only buy one piece of snowboard servicing kit in your life, buy a snowboard edge tool.  Anyone can use one with little or no training or skill.  A snowboard edge tool is used to keep the metal edges of your snowboard nice and sharp - which in turn makes your ride smoother and faster, especially on hard pack and in icy conditions. Sharp snowboard edges cut into and grip the ice giving you control and speed.  

• If you buy a second piece of snowboard servicing kit, make sure it is a gummy stone.  These are used before you use the edge tool to remove any nasty little nicks or burrs on the metal edges of your snowboard, allowing the snowboard edge tool to glide smoothly along.

• Your snowboard comes factory waxed so does not need to be waxed straight away. Snowboard wax is needed to help the board go faster but not to protect the board in any way (other than to stop the metal edges rusting). If you apply wax, it helps to break down the surface tension between the board and the snow, helping it to glide better. If you are a beginner or snowboarding on a dry slope, you will not need wax on your board. As you improve, you might notice a need to wax your board when people start to overtake you, particularly when on shallow gradients! Wax makes a massive difference to your speed on wetter snow - like you get in snow domes, lower down the mountain, in the afternoons or in early/late season. The best wax is hot snowboard wax ie the type which you melt onto your snowboard and spread around with a snowboard wax iron. It is really easy to do yourself and we sell all the bits you need in our Snowboard Serving department. DIY snowboard servicing can work out far cheaper than taking your board to a shop to be serviced in the long run!

• Lock it! Most snowboards are stolen by opportunists.  A snowboard lock serves as a very useful deterrent.

• Insure it! Specialist insurance is often not needed because cover could be included in your holiday insurance or you may be covered under "all risks" on your household policy.

• Check the small print.  Insurance companies are very quick to take your premium but have been known to wriggle when it comes to paying out.

Use our Buying Guide Index to explore tons of useful information about equipment, clothing, footwear and more. These guides are not just for snowboarding - all of our sports are covered.

No question too big or small. Our experts are here to help and have all been there before.

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