Gear for Beginners: Why the right gear is important, especially when you're learning

By Claudia Carbone

Improperly fit or wrong equipment can severely sabotage your best efforts to learn to ski or snowboard.

The wrong gear can make beginners give up before they even get started. Why is gear so important when you're "just" a beginner? The wrong gear makes it tough to guide skis or boards. Fear seeps in at the thought of careening uncontrollably down the hill. Suddenly, beginners' winter vacation dreams turn into nightmares.

"I think poor and poorly-fit equipment is the single most important block to a person's ability to learn," said long-time Breckenridge ski instructor Alison Adams Hagan. "It sets people off on the wrong foot — literally — every time."

Start with the most important piece of equipment — boots. They do more than just attach your feet to the bindings. Think of skis and snowboards as the tires of a car, and boots as the steering wheel. Skis and snowboards react to your feet just as car tires respond to the slightest turn of the steering wheel. Too much play in the steering wheel, and your car won't react quickly. Too much play in your boots, and your skis or snowboard won't react quickly, either.

"It all starts in the feet," said Hagan. "Much of skiing is based on balance and the feedback we get from the balance points in the soles of our feet. Boots that are too tight, too loose, too tall, or have too much play don't allow that transmission to happen," she said.

The same is true for snowboarding. "You don't want your heel lifting in the boot when you press your board from edge to edge," said Rob Rhea, hardgoods manager at Bevans Sports in Denver.

And it's not just about size. The shape of the foot, ankle and calf, and the boot's flexibility are key to boot fitting and, ultimately, performance and safety. Boots that don't fit well place increased stress on knee joints.

Skis and snowboards that are too long can be difficult to maneuver. And boards without a good tune or sharp edges are completely unmanageable.

Here's what you need to know when renting equipment for the first time.

At the rental shop

• Go to the rental shop the day before your first day on the hill, either in the late morning or early afternoon. You're more likely to find someone who can help you through the process when crowds are minimal.
• Discuss your skiing or riding experience with the technician. If you've never been on skis or a snowboard, say that. If you tried to teach yourself and failed, admit it. "Be truthful," said Mike Killingsworth of Lone Star Sports in Breckenridge. "We're not here to judge you. We want to help you so you can be confident riding on your equipment."
• Shops try to cover all the bases by carrying several classes of equipment packages. Novice skiers should ask for the package that has the newest models, such as shaped skis and four-buckle boots. Such a package may or may not be labeled for novices, and it will cost more than the standard beginner package. However, the upgrade will be worth it as you meet with success during the critical learning stages.
• For riding, upgrading is not such a good thing. Beginner riders should start with a soft, forgiving board that will absorb bumps. A stiffer, more advanced deck might launch you unwillingly off a roller.

• Skiers — be truthful about your weight, height, age and skier type (beginners are type I). These factors determine your DIN (Deutsche Industrial Norm) setting on the bindings. DIN numbers correspond to the torque needed to jar a ski boot out of the binding's toe piece. The technician doesn't care what you weigh or how old you are, but he or she needs to know these accurate numbers to set your binding properly.
• Snowboarders need to know their stance (regular or goofy). If you don't know, take a run and kick an imaginary soccer ball. If your right foot leads, you are goofy-footed and that foot goes in front. Left lead is regular.
• Read the fine print of the agreement. You will be held responsible for damages. Some shops allow you to exchange equipment for better fitting gear or a refund. Ask about it.

• Bring or wear your own dry ski socks. When trying on boots, point out any foot anomalies or problems, so the technician can adjust the boot.
• After sliding into the four-buckle boot (you don't want a rear-entry boot), your foot should feel snug — not painful — everywhere. With ski boots, your toes should touch the front until you drive your knees forward. Then your toes should pull back, leaving a little wiggle room for comfort. "A proper fit feels like a firm handshake," said Sue Booker, a long-time bootfitter at Loveland Ski Area in Colorado. "It should feel like it is molded all around your foot and ankle, and you need to be able to flex the cuff."
• Snowboarders should ask for a soft-shell boot (like a high-top hiking boot). Though a snowboard boot has more padding than a ski boot, the foot still should feel solid in the boot. "It's not a ski-boot feel at all," said Killingsworth for those skiers who are trying snowboarding for the first time.
• Don't tuck pant legs into boots. The boots are designed to hug your shin and calf, so you don't want any extra fabric to interfere.

• Skiers should ask for shaped skis, which are wider at the tip and tail than the older, straight skis. Many rental shops now have shaped skis in their beginner packages, but believe it or not, some shops will still pull old straight skis from their back racks for beginners.
• Skis and snowboards should be about chin high for beginners. Precisely, the tip should land between the and chin and nose on a skier, chin and upper lip on a snowboarder. Edges should be sharp, bottoms smooth.

• Snowboarders have a choice of binding styles: step-in or strap-in. Beginners should choose step-ins for their ease in popping in and out. Strap-in bindings take practice to find a comfort level.
• Be sure you understand how bindings work. Snow that builds up on the bottoms of your boots can interfere with the binding connection. Skiers can tap their boot bottoms with their ski pole handle. Skiers and snowboarders can scrape stubborn snow against something solid, such as the top of your binding's heel piece.