Buy Used Snowboard!! How to .........

It gets pretty exciting when you are ready to buy a new snowboard, that being a used one or a new one, still a new board to you. Used boards are great, if they have not been used that much. If you are a beginner not wanting to spend a lot of money or not sure yet if snowboarding is going to be your new hobby. First thing...... DON"T buy a board just 'cause the price is right, make sure the board is the right size for you. There are a few other things you should keep an eye on before buying.

If you recognize the brand most likely you will be able to go online and find out more about the board and the company that makes it. You don't want a bobo board that you will hate the first day you take out.

You need to make sure that the layers of the board are not separating, this is called delaming and it won't be worth it for you to buy a board in that condition.

Make sure the edges are not blown, this means bent or broken in any direction, also deep holes are really bad. Rust and sharpness are not a big deal, edges like that can be fixed for cheap or you can do it yourself if you check out our tuning tips.

Look at the base of the board, no deep holes, gauges or chunks missing are a plus. All this things can be fixed but it will cost you some cash. Scratches are easy to fix and can easily be gone with standard tune at your local shop.

Now sit the board on the floor and check if there is a gap between the middle of the board (between both bindings) and the floor. This is called the camber it will give you some idea on how much pop is left on the board..........or life!! You don't want a board that sits flat on the floor.

Check the flex of the board by pressing with your knee or foot, holding the board by the nose with both hands and leaving tail on floor. The flex is up to you, what you want!

The top sheet is also important, small scratches are ok. Pressure marks near bindings are a bad bad thing! Sometimes the tail and nose will have the wood core exposed, you can cover that with e-poxy and you will be waterproofed again.

And finally make sure the inserts are working (where the screws go) If there is a few missing or the threads are all messed up you won't be able to set your bindings.

The easiest way to buy used snowboards is from someone you know or from your local snowboard shop. You can also find used snowboards on craigslist.com, make sure to only deal locally. Don't send money in the mail ever if using craigslist. There are a lot of scamers. Unlike eBay that has security measures in place to ensure a fair deal, craigslist is free from any form of protection against scamers. Speaking of eBay you can always find a bunch of good cheap used snowboards(and other snowboarding gear)there. I've put up a link to eBay below. If searching for used snowboards make sure to type in "used snowboards" other wise if you just type in "snowboards" you will get a lot of other snowboarding gear mixed in. If you are looking for womens used snowboards type it in exactly like that. eBay is always a good place to search when shopping for snowboards that might fit better with your budget.