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November 26, 2008 E-MAIL PRINT

Basic maintenance will pay off

by Matt Boxler/

I've got this informal maintenance checklist during snowboard season, and it goes something like this: Find board in basement. Throw (or gently place) board into my trusty Thule box. Go ride.

As you may suspect, I implement a similar procedure in reverse between rides and between seasons.

As you also may suspect, there’s not much right about what I'm doing. But Jason Vadeboncoeur, who was working the Rome SDS booth at the Boston Globe Ski & Snowboard Expo last week, cut me some slack.

"At least you're storing your board in a warm place," Vadeboncoeur said as he mounted a binding plate. That's what I love about snowboard culture — it focuses on the positive. He didn't stop there, however. Vadeboncoeur added a few steps to my checklist and offered equipment maintenance recommendations for both in-season and off-season.

Protect the base

The base of your snowboard should be completely flat, the edges should be flush with the board surface. If your base is concave or convex in shape, it should be taken to a professional tuner for attention.

Scratches and gouges are part of the sport. "The basic rule here is that you don’t want water to get into the pores and into the core," Vadeboncoeur said, "because when it freezes, it expands. If it's just some scratches, they will be taken care of next time you take the board in for a basic tuning. If it's a gouge through the plastic, that's a different story."

Gouges need to be filled with P-Tex. This is a process that can be done at home with a P-Tex candle, but if the gouge is deep or has compromised one of the edges, Vadeboncoeur recommends it be left to a professional for repair.

Storing the board between rides and between seasons in a warm place is important. That means taking it off the car and moving it inside between riding days. This is a better way to maintain the flexibility in bindings straps, too.

One other no-no is storing a board in a bag after using it, even if it's brought inside. "Definitely take your board out of the bag when you get home,"Vadeboncoeur said. "Those bags are designed to be waterproof. Water can't get in, but water also can’t get out."

At the end of the season, the most important thing is to clean your board’s base and seal the pores. "There are a lot of solvents and formulas out there you can use to clean with, and then it's a good idea to put on a coat of wax before storing it in the garage," Vadeboncoeur said. The wax helps prevent the base from becoming brittle and more susceptible to gouging.

On the edge

Clean, sharp edges equate to improved control and performance on the snow. Over time, snowboard edges become rounded and burred. These are minor imperfections that can be easy to fix.

"Run a basic household steel wool along the edges to remove rust and minor burrs," Vadeboncoeur said. "That’s preferable to riding the rust off."

Once edges are clean, they can be tuned with a small file. Specially designed edge files can help you dial in more exact edge angles. The most important thing when working on edges is to not file the base.

"Even new boards need some edge work," Vadeboncoeur said. "They need to be de-tuned. Just take a file or stone and dull the edges around both tips of the board. That makes them less grabby, gives you a little more of a skid, makes the board more forgiving."

Buckle up for safety

Bindings should be given the once-over on a frequent basis. "Check all the mounting points, make sure they're secure and tight, every three or four days that you ride," Vadeboncoeur said. "You don't want to be the guy out there fumbling for tools when you get to the top. It’s basic common sense.

"Everything is pretty well-designed nowadays. There are a lot more tool-free systems out there," Vadeboncoeur said.

That’s good news for people like me!