You’ve bought your first snowboard. Congratulations! You’re in store for all sorts of winter fun

on the mountain. Although, before you even get in the lift line, it is important that your snowboard is set up safely and correctly for you.

The correct setup for a snowboard and bindings is crucial for enjoying the mountain and have the most fun. These instructions will show you how to adjust your snowboard for the correct stance width, angles, and direction. Along with some tips and things to avoid, this tutorial will give a new snowboard owner a comprehensive idea of their new board and how to get the most out of it.

Step 1: Equipment

1 Snowboard

2 Snowboard Bindings

Screws and washers (included with bindings)

Step 2: Tools

1 large Philips head screwdriver

1 large Flat head screwdriver

Drill set

Step 3: Stance Direction

The first thing to determine is which direction you will

favor and will be your dominant direction. This means, more simply, the foot you will have forwards when you are unstrapped in the lift line. A regular stance(left) has the left foot towards the nose(front) of the board. A goofy stance(right) has the right food towards the nose of the the board. This is usually determined by which hand is your dominant. Right handed people usually ride with a regular stance and left handed people usually have a goofy stance. Although, it’s more important to ride in the direction that you feel the most comfortable.

Step 4: Binding Angles

Snowboard

bindings allow you to set the angles that the bindings themselves will be from perpendicular with the snowboard. Most riders, professional and amateur, ride with both feet open to a certain degree. For beginners, it’s often best to have the front foot open 9-15 degrees and the back foot with an angle of zero to 3 degrees to help them become comfortable on the snowboard. More intermediate and advanced riders like to have their back foot more open so that they can ride switch, riding backwards, more fluently. These riders usually like an angle of 6 to 12 degrees, almost always keeping the angle of the back foot less open than the front foot. Although, it’s often best for you to experiment with different binding angle set-ups and choose the settings that you are most comfortable with.

Step 5: Selecting Your Stance Width

The stance width is something that is easy to mess up. The most important thing to determining your

stance width is the width of your shoulders. I would suggest setting the width of your bindings to either equal to or slightly wider than your shoulders. This will keep your snowboard extremely responsive through turns and allow you to flex the board with nose and tail presses.

TIP: Make sure you set the width equal for the screw holes on both sides of the snowboard. Riding on a board where you are not centered over the board feels very weird and can be extremely challenging for new riders

Step 6: Setting the Bindings

Setting the bindings is something that can trip people

up. The first thing to do is determine which is the left binding and which is the right binding. This may seem rudimentary, but I have made this mistake multiple times and had to fix it after the fact. Next, make sure to recognize the nose and tail of the board. This is extremely important, although most snowboards have tips that look completely similar. Many snowboards have technology built into the tail that allows it to flex which are not present in the nose of the board. Set the bindings on the snowboard so that they are established for your stance direction (Regular is left foot forward, goofy is right foot forward). Make sure that the they are set so that the bindings are equal on either side of the of the board as I mentioned before.

WARNING: The one thing that is very important is making sure that your binding discs will attach to the screw hole designs on the snowboard. The best way to do this is by asking a technician at your local ski and snowboard shop if the two are compatible. Many binding discs are universal or have multiple discs that fit different screw configurations. This could be an issue if you have already purchased the bindings without considering this issue, but hopefully it is not an issue as many manufacturers are utilizing the same patterns more and more.

Step 7: Attaching the Bindings

Using the screws that were included with the bindings. It is time to put your bindings on the snowboard. Align the screw holes on the snowboard with the slots on the binding disc. Put the screw inside of the washer then place them into the screw holes. Using either the appropriate screwdriver or a drill, attach the screws into the snowboard. Repeat these steps for the second binding. Now put down the screwdriver, throw your snowboard in the car, and go hit the mountain with your brand new snowboard tailored to you!

NOTE: Many people warn against using a drill with the screws, but I find I strip the screws more with a manual screwdriver and don’t get as tight a fit with the screw.

WARNING: Snowboard bindings will become loose over time. You will need to tighten them periodically to make sure that you still have complete connection with the board.

WARNING: Some people will recommend that you utilize super glue to keep the screws in place. NEVER DO THIS. The glue damages the snowboard. Also, this will set your snowboard into one permanent