(Part 3) Top products from r/snowboardingnoobs

Sure, here's the gear my friend and I settled on,

Dakine Wyeast Jacket

Volcom Klocker Pants

Burton Mitts

DC Mittens

Bonfire Eager Jacket

Dakine Artillery Pants

Burton Ruler Snowboard Boot

DrSkin Base Layer

Baleaf Running Pants

Moisture Wicking Athletic Shirt

Burton Socks

Quarter Zip Fleece

Crash Pants

Wrist Guards

Helmet

Fleece SA Face Shield

That's about all of it. I use some Underarmor cold gear that I've had for years as my base layer. It's pretty old and the elastic has degraded but it keeps me plenty warm. The DrSkin is probably just as good and a helluva lot cheaper. You can get beanies and thin balaclavas from Amazon pretty cheap. I picked up Spy goggles from e-bay and was pretty satisfied with them (definitely get some you can swap lenses with).

Yoooo! You and I could possibly be great friends!

I'm in LA as well (in the valley) and I've been up to Big Bear multiple times this year (I will probably go up two more times). I've been boarding for almost 10 years and about 2 (now 3?) years ago I fell from the top of a half-pipe when I hit an icy edge (my idiocy for riding on it at 4 PM when it was empty) and I ended up tearing my hamstring as a result (my first injury and given how many years I was boarding I felt embarrassed for making such a foolish mistake and the result was me not being able to walk at all for over a month - every step I made was unbelievably painful and for the first couple of days at home I was only able to get around by crawling before being able to use crutches but thankfully there is no long-term damage). For the following years I would always back out from going near jumps and it wasn't until I got safety gear that I felt up to do it.

Now I'm starting to hit jumps again but I'm not riding rails or anything of the sort. I think that I should take an intermediate lesson just to make sure I'm up to par and then get a park lesson.

I'd recommend you get impact shorts (I got the Demon X D30), kneepads (I have the black diamond telekinesis knee pads) and wrist guards (I have these wristguards which I put over these gloves). That's the gear I have which helped get me over the jumps.


Before I hit rails I want to get comfortable hitting jumps and landing correctly after doing either a 180, indie grab, and then a 360. Once I have done those 3 and I'm confident doing ollies I'll head up on a rail. I should probably be going over boxes at some point too, before rails of course. I likely won't touch a half-pipe for quite a bit.

I think we're reaching the end of the season and the amount of snowfall in Big Bear has been pretty poor. You can probably get a board for cheap around now (try bargaining with some people, it's the end of the season so you'll probably get a good deal, or head on evo).

I've never been to Mountain High by the way, apparently it's much closer. Never been to Mammoth either, I hear it's expensive as hell.

Triple 8 actually makes snow helmets if that's the style you want. I owned one and it was alright but I much prefer my Smith Maze.