Snowboards 4u

The annual British Snowboard Test is held in May on the Kaunertal Glacier in Austria and is the showcase for the coming seasons snowboard, bindings and boots for all the UK suppliers. This year the date was moved back a week so that it didn't clash with that all important "Royal Wedding" and all the suppliers and shop staff still managed to get t the event on time and even more important, have a good old social, do some networking.

Snowboards4u sent 3 guys to attend and do some product testing and with the weather being sunny all week, we had a great 5 days on the glacier and have used their time to test boards and bindings from all the brands that we stock and quite a few we don't ( but want to! ). We found that things are in a state of flux and the argument about "rocker" against "camber " is still ongoing and looks to be good for a few more years  yet. .

When we had time in the evenings, we got into some lengthy discussions with some of the pro riders and some of the other shop owners and the result seems to be quite divided. The more freestyle orientated riders all seemed to love the boards with "Rocker", but all also said that they would always keep a more conventional cambered board in their board bag for fast burn up days and also for riding the pipe, Why? because the cambered base gives more control and grip -- OK if you can afford a quiver of boards?

The shop owners and staff all thought that "Rocker " was the future and that the easier turning, faster response and general "Fun" feel of the boards was most important to people who will get maybe 2 weeks on snow every year and that means that very second counts when you arrive in the resort. Being in the shop side of the argument,  the Snowboards4u guys all came down in favour of the new rocker shapes and we will try and get as many of the new shaped bases into stock as possible, to make your time on the snow more fun and  to minimise the amount of time you need before getting your boarding legs under you .

Snowboards4u have opened a new and unique wintersports shop on the South Coast.

Wacky ideas are sometimes the BEST?

Who would think of selling wintersports equipment in a boat showroom? Well we did and the result is one of the UK’s biggest “Boys Toyshops “ in the South of England! Responding to increased demand from our customers, to be able to come and try things on before they buy, we have created a dedicated Snowsports area inside BHG-Marine, in Lymington Hampshire, which is one of the biggest small boat showrooms In the UK. (Well not so small boats maybe? as they sell boats up to 8.5 metres in length. )

It’s well worth a visit if you want to try on clothing, or boots, or just to look at our massive range of boards, boots, bindings and clothing. We carry a huge amount of equipment and everything we show on the website is in stock but if you are going to come and visit and want a specific item, please feel free to call on 01590 610466 to check that it’s still available, because with the website sales going on all the time, stock can get sold out pretty quickly on some items.

Please feel free to come and visit and we look forward to talking to you and helping make a selection from our wide range of stock. – who knows, you might even go home with a boat under your arm?

Loads of free parking
Open 7 days a week
1 mile from Lymington Train Station
Local Bus service to our door.
Easy to find, it’s 100 metres from the Lymington Hospital
Just off the A 337 main road, as you enter Lymington from the direction of Brockenhurst

Opening times
Mon – Fri 9 am-5.30 pm
Sat 9 am – 5 pm
Sun 10 am – 4 pm

Address
Inside BHG Marine
Ampress Lane,
Ampress pk,
Southampton Rd,
Lymington,
Hampshire,
So41 8lw
Tel 01590 610466

Snowboarding is a great sport, but you need to make sure you have the right clothing for it as you’ll often be doing it in cold, snowy and sometimes wet conditions.

Luckily, there is an excellent choice of snowboard clothing available these days, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding exactly what you need. Let’s take a look at the basics of snowboard clothing.

The jacket is probably one of the most important items, for instance. Snowboard jackets should ideally be properly padded so that they can keep you warm and also cushion you slightly should you find yourself falling while out boarding. However, as well as being padded and warm, they should also be breathable so that you can move comfortably in them for long periods of time, as well as affording you easy movement.

You might want to look for snowboard jackets that fasten right up to your chin so you can keep your neck warm while you are out and about on the slopes. Good pockets for storing accessories are also something to look out for, as is a good hood.

As well as the jacket, snowboard pants are also very important. These, like the jacket, should be waterproof and warm to keep you snug and dry while on the slopes. They should be able to be securely fastened, but not uncomfortable. Loops that attach to your jacket or braces to hold them up can be something to look out for with snowboard pants, as can good venting.

Also don’t forget to look for other important items of snowboard clothing, such as hats, gloves and socks. You might also need some good thermals under your pants and jacket if you’ll be out in the cold, accessories such as goggles are also an important part of the snowboard clothing arsenal. It might sound like quite a lot of stuff, but your comfort and safety is paramount, and you will definitely appreciate having all the proper clothing and equipment when you are out boarding on the slopes.

Here's a few photos from the Avant Premiere snowboard test held earlier this month in La Clusaz, France. The snowboard test gave us the opportunity to test out the latest equipment from over 50 brands.