Different Boarding Equipments

Surfboarding Equipments

Surfboard

Surfing can be done on various pieces of equipment, including surfboards, bodyboards, wave skis, kneeboards and surf mat. Surfboards were originally made of solid wood and were generally quite large and heavy (often up to 12 feet long and 100 pounds). Lighter balsa wood surfboards (first made in the late 1940s and early 1950s) were a significant improvement, not only in portability, but also in increasing maneuverability on the wave.

Most modern surfboards are made of polyurethane foam (with one or more wooden strips or "stringers"), fiberglass cloth, and polyester resin. An emerging surf technology is an epoxy surfboard, which are stronger and lighter than traditional fiberglass.

Equipment used in surfing includes a leash (to keep a surfer's board from washing to shore after a "wipeout", and to prevent it from hitting other surfers), surf wax and/or traction pads (to keep a surfers feet from slipping off the deck of the board), and "fins" (also known as "skegs") which can either be permanently attached ("glassed-on") or interchangeable. In warmer climates swimsuits, surf trunks or boardshorts are worn, and occasionally rash guards; in cold water surfers can opt to wear wetsuits, boots, hoods, and gloves to protect them against lower water temperatures

There are many different surfboard sizes, shapes, and designs in use today. Modern longboards, generally 9 to 10 feet in length, are remeniscent of the earliest surfboards, but now benefit from all the modern innovations of surfboard shaping and fin design.

The modern shortboard began its life in the late 1960s evolving up to today's common "thruster" style shortboard, a three fin design, usually around 6 feet in length.

Midsize boards, often called funboards, provide more maneuverability than a longboard, with more floatation than a shortboard. "It is the happy medium of mediocrity." writes Steven Kotler, adding that; "Funboard riders either have nothing left to prove or lack the skills to prove anything."

There are also various niche styles, such as the "Egg", a longboard-style short board, the "Fish", a short and wide board with a split tail and four fins, and the "Gun", a long and pointed board specifically designed for big waves.

Skateboarding Equipments

Skateboard

A skateboard is a narrow wheeled platform used for the activity of skateboarding. Though the exact date of invention of skateboards is unknown, it was in the 1940s and 1950s that children participated in soap box derbys where they would race soap-boxes attached to wooden planks on rollerskate wheels. During events like this, some of the soap-boxes became detached from the planks, leaving the rider with what was a skateboard.

The first skateboards were made by taking a roller skate apart and attaching it to a two-by-four. These early skateboards were often used by surfers as a substitute when the waves were low.

The skateboard has evolved a lot since the first mass produced models in the 1960s. Boards in the past were often in the shape of a surfboard, with no concavity and constructed of solid wood or plastic. The wheels were usually made of a 'clay' composite or steel and the trucks (axles) were less sturdy and initially of a 'single action' design compared to today's 'double action'.

Snowboarding Equipments

Snowboard

A snowboard is a board ridden by a rider in the sport of snowboarding. Attached to the rider's feet with bindings, it is ridden down snow-covered slopes or artificial ski slopes without the use of ski poles. Analogous to a surfboard or skateboard for snow. The length and width of the board depend on the length, weight, shoe size and rider preference. the length tends to be about a foot smaller than the rider or between his/her collarbone and chin. A heavier rider will need a bigger board just as riders with big feet will need a wider board. between the different disciplines in snowboarding the preference for longer/smaller, wider/less wide will be affected by which discipline the rider prefers. Freestlye boards tend to be smaller, wider and more flexible. Slalom boards tend to be skinny, long and stiff. All boards have metal edges and an upturned lip at each end (with an exception to slalom boards which only have one upturned side at the front). A snowboard is not to be confused with a monoboard. The first snowboard was invented and manufactured in the state of Utah in the United States.