What To do since I can't snowboard

**Wolfetan** · 03-06-2012 10:36 PM

Hi I am not able to go snowboarding this season. I was looking for an alternative to it but on land. I was thinking freebording but I live in the bay area and do not have many hills (at least I don't think so.. Can any one confirm this?) but I would be open to longboard ing as long as it would really feel like snowboarding.. I would love to freebord but am not sure if I have the right environment for it.. Can anyone confirm that the bay area doesn't have any hills that aren't really populated with cars if any1 lives around here? And f there are no hills are there an longboards thzt have a really nice snowboard feel to it.

**takeitallwithyou** · 03-06-2012 10:41 PM

depends where you live cus here in sunny CA there are hills all over the place, next to the beach,in cities every where.

**ohsogipper** · 03-06-2012 10:43 PM

First of all, people longboard on hills as well. A freeboard is just a longboard with some caster wheels and normally has slight bindings. Longboarding is better for hills. A freeboard you can do on flat ground. It'll be more like snowboarding, but you'll have very little control over it. It is not the type of thing to bomb hills on. As this is a longboarding website May I suggest a longboard over a freeboard.

**DeepBlue10055** · 03-06-2012 10:44 PM

San Francisco bay area? There are incredible hills all around you. But honestly, if you pick up longboarding, you'll love it. Freeboarding is closer in nature to snowboarding, but i've tried it and like the feel of a longboard better (plus i sucked at freeboarding... lol). after all, pavement is not snow. If you try longboarding, you'll see the differences, but probably like them.

**Neanderthal1** · 03-06-2012 11:07 PM

How can you not know if there are hills around where you live?

**BigTreeFallHard** · 03-07-2012 12:15 AM

OP, freebording is the closest you will get to emulating the snowboard feel of rocking from edge to edge.

Longboards feel slightly similar, but in all honestly skating and snowboarding are two different beasts.
On a longboard you're using urethane wheels steered by metal trucks which rely on bushing resistance to turn in response to your weight.
Much different than a snowboard edge. You'll still get the same feeling of gliding over the ground beneath you, but the functionality differences are very apparent.

That said, be open minded. Longboarding is a lot of fun. You'll enjoy it.

**nuckfumbertheory** · 03-07-2012 03:27 AM

Just skate it's not the same but it's great.

**Converge976** · 03-07-2012 05:47 AM

i snowboard a lot as well as longboard. ill tell you, they do not feel or act the same. mechanics are very different. specially once you get into more advanced techniques. sure you maybe be able to stop on a snowboard by going onto your edge, but sliding with a longboard is a lot more work. but, don't get me wrong, its well worth it to pick up a longboard and give it a try. when I'm dreaming about snowboarding, i find myself grabbing my longboard. and vise versa.(long island ny. no mountains near me..) just give it a try. i doubt you'll be able to quit.

**Wolfetan** · 03-07-2012 07:00 AM

Then can someone recommend a good longboard? I don't want to spend too much money.

**shred 4 life** · 03-07-2012 07:52 AM

depends on your riding style, freeride, dh, or freestyle; LDP, a lot of different setups you can feet to each discipline. if you want a snowboard like felling i would sggest the rayne nemesis. the drop deck will keep you locked in and the board feels super surfer and has multiple disciplines if you want to det more into different disciplines. i would suggest a rayne nemesis with paris trucks and 78a classic thane zigzags. smooth surfy ride and with classic thane you can break oyut into a slide depending on if you want to freeride. good luck

**B_Dubya_B** · 03-07-2012 08:06 AM

I pretty much stopped snowboarding seriously after 1 year of longboarding. I still love snowboarding, but i ******* really love bombing hills on a skateboard.

**nuckfumbertheory** · 03-07-2012 05:09 PM

I used to snowboard but I moved to Florida for 2 years and came back and now I am just not likely to pick it back up. I had already been declining only going a couple of times each season if at all. I just want to skate all the time. Winter was a total bust for snow and lift tickets are wicked expensive. walking up hills to skate down is free and really wicked.

as for a cheap board the classified section o. his site is great. buy used it's great.

**TiGuy** · 03-07-2012 06:03 PM

Originally Posted by B_Dubya_B

I pretty much stopped snowboarding seriously after 1 year of longboarding. I still love snowboarding, but i ******* really love bombing hills on a skateboard.

Even though I'm a skier, not a boarder anymore, long boarding is the closest thing there is to racing on the snow...whatever you ride/ski. Skiing bores me more and more now that I'm carving and bombing hills.But I guess after going fast on snow for more than 40 years...it gets a little mundane.

I believe there is a pretty big scene out in SF, no matter what discipline

**RoughJaco** · 03-07-2012 06:06 PM

As a long standnig snowboard addict, finding myself stranded in Australia, longboarding is the closest thing to a snowboard fix you can get on asphalt (they are different, but generate the same colour of stoke). I highly recommend it.

Freebording (no A) might be more similar in feeling as you have more edge to edge control and more drift when flat balanced, the opposite of longboarding and more similar to snowboarding, but for what little I tried it was really unsatisfactory.
It's not the same kick of snowboarding, and not the same kick of longboarding, bit of the meh of both worlds. It's also more prone to highsiding with feet locked in like a snowboard due to those goofy bindings required to operate it, except when you highside a backside you get a faceful of asphalt from 6 feet up, and it's a lot less forgiving than highsiding locked in on snow and being well padded like you are on the slopes.

If you want to bomb hills get a longboard. If you want to go on flat get a longboard and a paddle

**iheartponies** · 03-07-2012 06:37 PM

If you want a new board, hit up craigslist. If you are in the bay area you should find something good.

**Slap Da Troll** · 03-07-2012 06:42 PM

If you want something similar to snowboarding, get a Never Summer Descent with Original S6's and Earthwing Slide-A's. To me at least, longboarding feels nothing like snowboarding.

**BigTreeFallHard** · 03-07-2012 06:50 PM

Originally Posted by Slap Da Troll

If you want something similar to snowboarding, get a Never Summer Descent with Original S6's and Earthwing Slide-A's. To me at least, longboarding feels nothing like snowboarding.

Hah, sounds like a fun death wish.

**Slap Da Troll** · 03-07-2012 06:53 PM

Originally Posted by BigTreeFallHard

Hah, sounds like a fun death wish.

Keyword there: FUN.

**BigTreeFallHard** · 03-07-2012 06:56 PM

Originally Posted by Slap Da Troll

Keyword there: FUN.

Secondary keywords: "death wish"

**freedom_dan** · 10-01-2012 09:57 AM

go on a snowboard trip!!?? I am in December.. looking for some rad peeps to learn snowboarding and shred with!! the more stoke the more gnar shall occur!