The costs of snowboarding

As with any other recreational activity there is always a startup cost and it is the startup cost that is the killer. The startup costs are always high due to the fact that you are starting out with nothing and need to purchase everything.

The costs indicated here might be higher or lower than what you actually need to spend. There are always ways to reduce the costs. Year-end sales are always a good time to go shopping and used sporting goods may be just as good as new ones. There are many fine stores that specialize in used sporting goods and guarantee that you are getting your monies worth. Also, due to other activities you may already enjoy, you may have some of the gear required.

The first place to start when learning to snowboard is in the rental shop on the hill. On average you can rent a snowboard, boots, bindings, get your lift ticket and lessons for $40-60. This is a fairly good deal when you are deciding if this is something that you wish to pursue.

Of course at some point the thrill of snowboarding is going to over take you and you will be addicted. At this point you need to start acquiring your gear. This is the expensive part but fortunately it is often a one-time expense and over a period of time will be cheaper than continued renting.

The breakdown from a shopping spree at a local board shop would end up looking something like this:

A standard snowboard with soft bindings	$400
Snowboard boots	$190
Goggles	$100
Gloves	$100
Total	$790

As you can see the first plunge isn't so bad and is actually fairly reasonable. However this doesn't include your clothing. To many people having the right look is very important and they will spend the extra money each year to maintain their look. While having this years look may not matter to all, having good quality clothing should matter. The key to staying warm and enjoying your day on the hill is the clothing that you are wearing.

Here is a breakdown of the costs for your clothes:

Snowboard jacket	$150-300
Snowboard pants	$100-240
Synthetic underwear and socks	$75

There's another $325 or more to add to the bill. This brings your grand total to about $1115. Of course after this you're pretty much set to ride for the next few years except for one thing, lift passes. The price of lift passes varies incredibly from one hill to the next so I will not try to estimate the cost here.

For some the initial startup fees may seem a little high but let me assure you that once you try snowboarding you will understand what it is all about and why it is worth the startup costs. There are few other winter activities that are this affordable and offer so much excitement and challenge.

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