By: Brad McNally
It is easy enough curse at the spring and toss your precious snowboard into the garage, but with a little bit of effort upfront you can get a jumpstart on next season because your board will already be ready. Taking care of some maintenance items now means you can be sure your board will be in the best shape possible for the upcoming season and the full life of your board can be extended as much as possible.
Here are 5 things you can do this offseason to be sure that your snowboard is in the best shape possible when the first powder hits this winter:
(1) Clean it up
If you’ve recently used your board, be sure to clean it off before doing anything else. Plain water and a towel should be enough to take care of this, but if you need a cleaner to get the gunk off, avoid using degreaser because it can cause issues for your bindings. To get the board as clean as possible, it may be easiest to go ahead and remove the bindings completely.
(2) Check out the edges
This is a great time to check the edges of your board. Finding any rust that you find can be removed now, which means it won’t spread, and you can be ready quickly when the first snow falls. Sharpening the edges and detuning can all be done at home, as it is rather easy and doesn’t take a large amount of time. Once you acquire the tools and learn to use them, it won’t be necessary to pay a shop to do this type of work for you.
(3) Wax it
Hot wax the board with an all-temperature wax just as you would to get it ready for the slopes, but don’t scratch it off. This layer will protect the base from oxidation. You can even be a little sloppy and allow the wax to cover the edges so that it keeps that protected as well.
(4) Store it (or show it off)
Your board should be stored in a climate controlled environment, not outside or in a shed behind the house, for example. Heat isn’t exactly friendly. You also should store it away from moisture if possible, but if you have to keep it in a basement or garage, you can wrap it in plastic to keep it from getting damp. Of course, it might seem like you have no other storage options, but putting it up on display in a snowboard rack is a great choice. Seeing it there can remind you of the good times you had on the slopes as well as keep you thinking forward to the upcoming season.
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| now that's offseason snowboard storage! |
(5) Bindings and Boots
Now that the board is out of the way, be sure to store your bindings in one place, along with all the screws that attach them to the board, so that you’ll be able to put them back on in the late fall. Also, take liners out of boots and lace them lightly so that they will hold shape and can be used again in the future. It is generally a good idea to keep all this stuff together in one area so that you aren’t digging for it when the cold starts to return.
The summer may seem to last a long time, and you’ll be anxious to get back out on the slopes. By time you finally get word of the first snowfall, you’ll be glad you took care of all this in the spring and don’t have to waste time that you could be boarding doing basic maintenance.
Visit: www.StoreYourBoard.com