Mountainboarding is a cross over between skateboarding and snowboarding, with elements of other extreme sports such as BMXing. Originally started as a way of snowboarding all year round it has developed into a fully fledged sport of its own. Snowboarding can be expensive due to the price of travel to and from snow resorts. Mountainboarding can be done almost anywhere.

Learning to mountainboard is very easy. Most people are up and running comfortably within their first hour mountainboarding. Instruction from a qualified instructor will help you get started safely and easily. We recommend you always wear appropriate personal protection equipment. A helmet, knee pads, elbow pads and wrist guards are recommended at all times.

Welcome to the Norkite.com mountain board buyers guide.

The idea of the guide is to help you choose the right product for yourself or if someone else is lucky enough to be having a board bought for them as a gift/surprise without them knowing! Mountain boarding, or downhill boarding as it is sometimes referred to is an extreme sport as you are about to find out, the boards can reach high speeds and it is important to know the terrain as well as use the appropriate safety gear.  

There a few main things you need to consider when buying a mountain board, lets begin at the basics so you know where to start:

• Height and Weight
  If you are under 167cm then you are definatly inside a junior board for downhill riding.  If you are above 167cm then you are above junior boards and would be better with a longer adult board (For downhill board suggestions please see further down.

• If you are over 70kg and want to jump then you should really look at composite decked boards rather than plain wood.  This is because the composite decked boards are tougher and will not snap as easily as wood!

• Downhill, kite, or both?
  Shorter boards are more suited to kite flying if on a smooth field.  You can use a longer board for kite flying but lightweight short boards are better to get control with.  If using for both kite and downhill the lighter longer boards are ideal. 

• Should I use a brake/do I need a brake?
  Brakes are NOT essential for downhill mountainboarding.  In fact they are not recommended for beginners.  Using a brake throws your weight forward and puts you out of balance and makes learning harder.  After all do you see brakes on snowboards?  At the higher end of riding brakes are useful when in tight spaces or runs but you shouldn't be learning in these conditions so you don't need a brake? 

• Channel trucks or skate trucks?
  If you want a more stable board at higher speed then channel trucks (with springs) are more stable but need more input from the rider to get the turn and agility.  Skate trucks are easier to adjust and turn and are firm favourites for lighter/junior riders and also many kite flyers.  The mbs vector trucks are between skate and traditional channel trucks so share features of both.

• Protection required?
  For both downhill and kiteflying helmets are heavily recommended and they should be suitable for a cycle standard.  Cycle helmets are ok for starting but ideally a skateboard helmet is the best as it is multiple impact and protects the back of the head better.  Full Face helmets are not recommeded for beginners as it limits the vision and is not really require for beginner moves.  For downhill riding we also recommend; knee, elbow pads and wrist guards to protect and suggest butt pads as also advisable as you progress.  For kite boarding the elbow and knee pads are advised wrist guards are not used as you need more agility in your hands bike style gloves are good to cut down scrapes though.

Do I need lessons?
Lessons are a great way of picking things up quickly and you can progress quicker with them.  There are many self teach manuals for kite and downhill riding and if taken carefully then this is fine to start into the sport

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