All the differences between skiing and snowboarding

Which is easier to learn snowboarding or skiing?

Both sports are obviously awesome, but which one is easier to learn? Click here for the answer to this question.

Which is more fun, snowboarding or skiing?

Both snowboarding and skiing are so awesome, challenging, exciting, not to mention occasionally frustrating! It’s really personal and it’s also about what you’re in the mood for. So do you want to glacefully slide across the slopes at exhilarating speeds? Then put your skis on and get going…. If you want to take more time, use that wilderness as your own personal playground and get creative, then it’s a snowboard for you. Really it’s a question, which has no definitive answer, it’s down to you. Experiment.

What gear do you need especically for snowboarding?

• Not surprisingly, you’ll be needing a snowboard with bindings. This you can rent from a snow sports shop or from the resort where you’ll be hitting the slopes.
• Snug fitting snowboots. If they fit well your feet have a better chance of staying warm and helping you perform.

What gear do you need especially for skiing?

• First things first. Skis. It’s a good idea to rent these initially. The rental place will be able to help you find the right size skis for your weight and height.
• Ski boots. Your boots need to be supportive and comfortable.
• Ski poles. You probably won’t need them when you’re just starting out.

And which gear do you need for both snowboarding and skiing?

• Goggles: If it’s snowing, it’s easier to ski and snowboard with goggles on. Many skiers and snowboarders wear goggles for sun protection as well. If you can’t get your hands on goggles, sunglasses will also do the job.
• Helmet: A helmet is a must. You need it to protect against head injuries. A helmet will also keep your head warm and you can accessorize them with ears, mohawks and even headphones.

Which ski and snowboard clothing do you need?

Wearing the right clothing is just as important as having the right gear. You need to have clothes that if help you stay warm, dry and comfortable while you are on the slopes. For our extended packing list, click here. And here’s a cheat sheet version. You’ll be needing the following:

• Base layers. We’ve got base layers for men, women, boys, girls and toddlers.
• Mid layers. We’ve got mid layers for men, women, boys, girls and toddlers.
• Ski and snowboard jacket. Yep, we’ve got water resistant, warm and totally awesome jackets for men, women, boys, girls and toddlers.
• Ski and snowboard trousers. Of course, we’ve got water resistant, warm and totally awesome trousers for men, women, boys, girls and toddlers.
• Ski socks. We’ve got these for men and women.
• Snow gloves or mittens. Yep, we’ve got water resistant and warm gloves and mittens for men, women, boys and girls.
• Other accessories. To make your outfit complete, like beanies, belts or suspenders.

Is it cheaper to ski or snowboard?

There is not significant difference in price between skiing and snowboarding. Both need the same lift passes, lessons cost the same. The only difference is that if you haven’t got your own gear, you need to rent a bit more for skiing.

What is faster, snowboarding or skiing?

Skiing is, until now, the faster of the two snowsports. To give you some awesome facts, when it comes to skiing, Italian speed skier Ivan Origone, beat his brother’s record in 2016, skiing 254.9km per hour downhill. Unbelievable. For snowboarding the speed record is held by the Frenchman Edmond Plawczyk clocking a speed of 203km per hour. To increase you speed, check out our slim fit jackets for men, women, girls and boys. These will help you be streamlined and increase speed while you’re carving the slopes.

Is it easier to use ski lifts on skis or a snowboard?

Not that this should be your chief worry but some people have asked us this question. The answer is on skis. There are quite a few different types of lift like traditonal chair lifts, drag lifts and cable cars. Chair lifts and drag lifts are more difficult for boarders. Getting on a chairlift may be easy enough but you also have to get off. That involves taking your back foot out of the binding. This can end up with the snowboarder falling over at the top of the lift. But why? Well, the snowboarder only has the front foot strapped to the board. This means that steering can become an issue as you’re working on half power. There’s a bigger chance of you loosing your balance and hitting the snow.

Is skiing more popular than snowboarding?

Skiing is more popular than snowboarding, especially in Europe. In the US, there are more people snowboarding than in Europe but still skiing stays in the lead overall.

Which is better for children to learn snowboarding or skiing?

What does your child want to learn? If they want to learn to ski put them on skis and vice versa. This will make learning fun and when learning is fun it’s so much easier to learn! When it comes to which is easier for a child to learn the general rule applies and that is, regardless of age; skiing is easier to learn but harder to master, whereas snowboarding is harder to learn but easier to master.

It used to be that all the kids you would see whizzing past you on the slopes would be on skis. But there is now a generation of snowboarders having kids of their own and they want to introduce their kids to snowboarding. So now you’ve got little skiers and little snowboarders dodging you on their way down the hill. There used to also be speculation as to whether snowboarding was bad for children’s developing bones and knees and that kids would find it too difficult to board as they lack the motor skills. But there has been no medical proof of this.

What is true is that muscle development in the feet and legs of young kids mean that different techniques are needed to teach them, compared with adults. Luckily developments have been made in the equipment available for kids and the way in which they are taught. There are now boards that are geared towards younger kids where the shape is more rounded and there is also a leash attached so that they can be pulled along. For skiing these sorts of teaching tools have existed for a long time.

Developments also in the clothing available for kids has improved so much in the last few years and this is important as kids spent a lot of time sitting in the snow or just making snow angels. Outerwear for kids is now better insulated and water resistant. We’ve got the kids covered here at Protest with ski and snowboard wear for boys and ski and snowboard wear for girls. We’ve even got an awesome range of toddlers snowwear.

Regarding your kids and safety, make your kids wear a helmet. The fit of the helmet can make a difference as to how effective it is so make sure the fit is snug. Wrist injuries are actully the most common injury with snowboarders so consider wrist guards for your kids as well. Be safe, be prepared.

Conclusion

So that’s our lowdown on the differences between skiing and snowboarding. So we’ve gone through the differences between the two sports regarding ease of learning, speed levels, gear necessary, which is good for kids and which is more fun! We love them both and would encourage you to try both if you get the chance. Be prepared, it’s time to get there.