setting up your ride

Question
ok so i have been renting boards for the past few years and FINALLY decided i need my own. i have done my research and decided on my board, but i have no idea whats involved with setting the board up and getting it ready to ride. i am buying all my gear brand new. so what is involved with setting it all up and approximately how much extra will it cost???

Answer
Hey Melissa.  Congrats on getting your own gear.  It won't cost you anything to set it up.  If you buy from a shop, ask them to set it up for you.  Make sure yo go to a good core shop that knows what they are doing, not a bland corporate one.  Ask them to set up your stance and foot angles and get your bindings fitted to your boots.  They should know how to do that, but in general your stance should be roughly twice your shoulder width and I use angles -12 on the back foot and +18 on the front foot, but -15back, +15front is a good place to start and then you can play with different angles to see what you feel the most comfortable with.  For bindings, almost everything is adjustable these days, so just make sure the boot fits snug and centered in the binding and there are as few gaps as possible between the boot and the binding.  If you don't buy from a shop, check out snowboarder magazine or transworld snowboarding mag. they usually have some tutorials on such things.  It would be best though, to talk to a shop guy/girl in person who can set you up right.

enjoy

Ben