Never Summer makes some of the best hand-crafted snowboards in the world. From rigid freeriding boards to playful park boards, our product line spans the full gamut of anything you’ll need on the mountain. However, even the best-built snowboards eventually break down and need to be replaced.
While manufacturers should always offer warranties for factory defects and at Never Summer we offer a 3 year warranty for legitimate claims, however it's important to know when a snowboard needs to be replaced due to user error or old age. Similarly, there are certain tips and tricks you can use to make a snowboard lifecycle last longer.
Since the performance of your snowboard is important for safety, it's best to know the tell-tale signs of worn-out and broken equipment.
What is the Average Snowboard Lifespan?
While factors like riding styles and maintenance impact the longevity of gear, there are some basic estimates you can use to gauge how long a snowboard will last.
Most people agree that a snowboard will ride well for about 100 days on the mountain if it experiences normal usage. To illustrate, if you regularly shred groomers and powder but avoid the park, your snowboard should last 100 days. This time frame will depend on the terrain you’re riding, mountains like Big Sky and Crested Butte are notoriously hard on boards. After this amount of time, your gear will get worn out and become less responsive to your movements.
If you are an extremely aggressive rider who jibs hard all season, you will likely blow out an edge or snap the board before it sees 100 days on the slopes.
How Do Snowboards Get Damaged?
Depending on your riding style and chosen terrain, there are a few key ways that snowboards can get damaged to the point of early retirement.
Snapped Deck
If you huck huge airs, you could very likely snap the deck of your snowboard at some point. In big mountains or the terrain park, landing too far back on your tail might cause your deck to snap. In other cases, hitting a rock or log under the snow can put a fracture in a snowboard.
Delaminating
When your snowboard delaminates, different layers of the deck peel apart from one another. Aside from poor construction, damage like broken core, bent or cracked edges and base gouges can compromise a snowboard and cause it to delaminate. Water penetration can also accelerate this delamination.
Broken Edge
People sometimes break or bend the edges on snowboards when they come in contact with hard objects like rails and rocks. Whether a section of edge breaks clear off your snowboard or it cracks to the point of water penetrating the core, this level of damage is often unfixable.
Core Shots
Core shots occur on snowboards when you run into a hard object like a rock and a visible chunk is cut into the wood core and fiberglass. If these gashes aren’t properly repaired, water can penetrate into the deck and ruin your snowboard.
How Can I Make My Snowboard Last Longer?
There are certain tricks that you can use to extend a snowboard’s lifespan.
Snowboard Maintenance
To properly maintain your snowboard, you should get tune-ups before and during the season. Especially if you do significant damage like core shots or edge damage, it's critical to have a technician look at your gear. Inspect high wear or impact areas, like the seam where the metal edge meets on the tail. In fact, failing to properly fix damage could greatly reduce the lifespan of your snowboard.
Other great ways to extend a snowboard’s lifespan include regular waxes, as well as keeping edges sharp and rust-free. Finally, before storing your board at the end of the season, it’s a good practice to get a base grind and wax. This helps to maintain the p-tex base over time and then your board is ready to go for the next season.
Drying Off Board
A good tip to prevent metal edges from rusting is to dry board off properly. After a day shredding your board and bindings will have snow stuck to it. Never put a wet board into a board bag, this will surely rust your edges. Just put on rack or leave out of bag. If you have to put in a bag, wipe down edges with a dry cloth leave part of it unzipped so air can get in and immediately take when you get to your destination. Place board in car or when you get home with base side up or on the bindings. This will alow snow and water to run off board. Never place the board to dry with the base on floor or carpet, this will rust your edges. Additionally, don’t dry board set upright, water will drain and pool on the end of the board, rusting the tail or nose edge. Rust can lead to problems internally and cause edge to separate.
Snowboard Storage
Proper storage is a commonly overlooked practice that will extend the life of your snowboard.
If you store your gear in a location with excess humidity, there is a good chance that the metal edges on your snowboard will rust. Even more, moisture in the air can penetrate damage like cracked edges and core shots and cause your snowboard to warp. As such, a climate-controlled room with low humidity is your best bet for long-term snowboard storage.
A major mistake that people make with snowboard storage is keeping their gear in the garage during the offseason. While the garage might seem like a convenient place to store your snowboard, a hot garage and temperature fluctuations can wreak havoc on its structural integrity. In fact, when the plastics in snowboards are constantly heated and cooled, they will eventually warp and destroy your deck.
A storage wax is a fairly common practice. Apply hot wax but don’t scrape. This will keep the base sealed and from drying out over the summer. In the fall just scrape and buff out with some scotch brite.
When Should I Replace My Snowboard?
Even if you ride conservatively and take really good care of your snowboard, eventually it will need to be replaced. Luckily, there are some tell-tale indicators that a snowboard lifecycle is coming to its end. Over time of constant flexing, fiberglass, wood and the camber in the profile of the board will break. Also, material life runs out. Boards that are being tuned often, the base and side edge grinding will take down the P-Tex base and the metal edge. Each time a board is tuned it takes down these thin materials. Damage to the edges, base and core of the board can lead to a board needing to be replaced. If you ride rails, boxes,trees or steeper terrain where you encounter more rocks, it can require you to get a new board more often. Never Summer boards are known for their durability and we’ve repaired customers boards from the 90’s that are still rideable, however constant technological advances in profiles and materials make the newer boards lighter and have drastically increased the performance.
Because they have a lot of pop in them, new snowboards are both playful and responsive. When your snowboard starts to get worn out, it will take more energy on your part to do the same basic maneuvers. As such, when your board starts to lack pop, it’s time to start thinking about getting a new one.
Another good indicator that your snowboard needs replacing is that its camber or rocker begins to diminish. When your deck needs replacing, your board will sit much flatter on the snow surface than it did when brand new. In fact, brand-new snowboards only make contact with the ground in a couple of spots due to the flex in their camber/rocker profile.
Wondering How Long Snowboard Will Last? Contact Us!
Even the best-made snowboards eventually get worn out with regular use. If you have questions about gear maintenance and upkeep, Contact Never Summer.
