Due to my utter cluelessness (is this even a word?) about snow gear in general, all the research I had previously done on the Internet basically just consisted of me deciding which boards looked better than the other, aesthetically. Originally I had the Burton Women's Feel Good board in mind coz I really liked the psychedelic rainbow patterns, but after speaking to the pro... I learnt that there was way more to buying snow gear than just pretty colours and patterns.
So I went to two shops in the morning. One in Hawthorn and one off Chapel St before I found "the shop"! The first two stops were OK...but the stuff on sale were specific packages that weren't what I liked and didn't look very good quality either, but most importantly, they didn't have good service at all...either too busy for me or just wasn't good at giving me the help I needed (trust me I needed a lot of help too). So my last stop was RPS - The board store, in Elwood. I strolled into the store and just said to the guy there "Hi, I'm looking to get some snow gear, but I'm pretty clueless coz I've never bought before so I wouldn't know where to start"... and this guy, Brendon, he was super duper!! He literally was like, OK no probs...
Brendon gave me the lo-down on absolutely everything and also his expert opinion! First he took me through all the different gears that I would need individually. So we went through boarding boots, bindings then boards. For each he explained to me the differences in quality of the beginner's gear VS more advanced gear and why. There was a lot of jargon thrown around but he was really patient with me and let me ask all the questions that I had in my head (even if some of them were a bit blond lol). He confirmed with me that the boots were the most critical piece of equipment, because at the end of the day I had to be in them for hours and hours so they need to give me good support and be comfortable. In a way they are also what allows me to be in control of my board. After showing me the bindings (which were quick coz there weren't as much to them), we moved onto the boards!! There was a lot more technical things to consider with the board. We also had to take into consideration of my size, the type of riding, my level and how often I would use it. After running me through everything...which would've taken at least an hour, Brendon helped me big time by picking out the boards that in his expert opinion would suit me the most in terms of my level and size. Unfortunately, this did not include the kool Burton Feel Good Board that i was dead set on...(ooooo....)!
Anyhoo....big thanks to Brendon for keeping me in check and always advising against it when I was eyeing off a boards that were good looking but not practical for my level or size, and probably over my budget too! We finally decided on the K2 Va Va Voom board. We then moved onto getting boots. We first tried on the Burton Moto...but decided that it didn't give me enough heel support, then we tried on the Burton Saphire, which was bloody awesome...but double the price (if not more). I could so tell why people pay top bucks for this boot because apart from being extremely comfortable it had all these extra kool features, like detachable padded cushions that can be added to the in-layer of the boots for extra heel support. Although the Saphire was absolutely great, it was way more than what I needed. So Brendon was a champ and sorted through more boots in the back and found me another pair to try on. So out came the Northwave Legend and BINGO! These ones were still very comfortable in terms of the lining of the boots (although they don't compare to the Saphire), had more heel support than the Moto and were half the price of the Saphires. After deciding on the board and the boots, bindings were easy peasy and I settled for the Burton lexa.
So there we go...that was my day of shopping for snow boarding gear. I can't believe that I actually spent more than 3 hours at RPS trying stuff on and all. Now I just have to go back to the store to pick everything up once it's all set up! I can't wait :) Best day EVER!
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