scrapster Posted December 6, 2015 Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 Hi All, Trying to buy a softboot board for my nephew who started riding on rentals last year and progressed pretty quickly. The thing is, he's 10 years old, very athletic, but SUPER small. He weighs 50 lbs and is 49.5" and wears a size 1 shoe. That puts him in the 110cm range, maybe 120, according to most sizing charts. The things is, many of those boards are made for real little kids and often have pretty low quality. I found him a Burton Smalls Flying V 135 at a local swap that I picked up because I liked the construction and design (soft, non-cap, flat camber, nose and tail rocker), but I'm wondering if I should keep looking? It would be a few cm's over his head (which is about a head shorter than most kids his age.) Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted December 6, 2015 Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 Sounds like finding the right width might be the trick (along with flex) . I do have a few small kids boards. If I can help I will. Bryan. Smallest I have for sale is a 120 I think. similar to this board, 60$ shipped to you!! http://www.ebay.com/itm/Used-Burton-LTR-Orange-Streaks-Kids-Snowboard-Only-120cm-A-/141282354618?_trksid=p2141725.m3641.l6368 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utahcarver Posted December 6, 2015 Report Share Posted December 6, 2015 (edited) My grand-daughter is almost 3 and can skateboard (flat) with her dad's help. A Chopper 90 is still big for her. Thinking about a DIY build for her. Yeah, yeah, I know she's not even three but, she's got more energy than 3 grown adults after a Starbucks binge. Any recommendations? Mark Warning: Thread hijack! Edited December 6, 2015 by utahcarver Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 My grand-daughter is almost 3 and can skateboard (flat) with her dad's help. A Chopper 90 is still big for her. Thinking about a DIY build for her. Yeah, yeah, I know she's not even three but, she's got more energy than 3 grown adults after a Starbucks binge. Any recommendations? Mark Warning: Thread hijack! Mark, back in the day allot of guys just used skateboards for the wee ones. No trucks or wheels of course. They work fine for dragging them around on the carpet and getting them ready to go to snow. Even there they work good. Run some screws through an old pair of her shoes, bingo!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
utahcarver Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 Thanks Bryan! That's a great idea. I've got a local friend who makes binding-less boards for adults and kids. If I don't have an extra skate deck laying around the garage I'll hook up with my friend Jeremy. powsurf.com Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Futahaguro Posted December 7, 2015 Report Share Posted December 7, 2015 I thought Donek had a small board offering. I would think he could whip something up! My daughter is only 9 months old right now but I have high aspirations of getting her out there next year:) Obviously just sliding on something for now but she also seems to have an endless amount of energy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapster Posted December 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted December 8, 2015 Thanks everybody! Thinking I'll stick with the Burton. Turns out it's one of the better regarded kids boards in terms of tech and build. And by the time we have snow, the kid will likely have put on another 5 lbs and an inch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patmoore Posted December 26, 2015 Report Share Posted December 26, 2015 Proof that Santa does read letters from 3 year olds. Last year my grandson was running gates and the halfpipe on skis. He's now switched to boarding. 90 cm K2 Mini Turbo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patmoore Posted December 27, 2015 Report Share Posted December 27, 2015 (edited) First day on the snow. He seemed to instinctively understand what he needed to do and did some pretty good heelside turns. Note: In the background you can see the ski jumps at Canada Olympic Park in Calgary, site of the exploits of Eddie the Eagle. A movie about him is coming out in February. Edited December 27, 2015 by patmoore Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted December 27, 2015 Report Share Posted December 27, 2015 If he is anything like his Grandpa he will be amazing!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted December 27, 2015 Report Share Posted December 27, 2015 Proof that Santa does read letters from 3 year olds. Last year my grandson was running gates and the halfpipe on skis. He's now switched to boarding. 90 cm K2 Mini Turbo. That is one handsome young man, he has some serious focus going on too!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patmoore Posted January 8, 2016 Report Share Posted January 8, 2016 My son in law sent me this short clip of my grandson's third time on the board. He's picked it up a lot quicker than I did! Click on the image to see a short video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Brammer aka PSR Posted February 24, 2016 Report Share Posted February 24, 2016 So, Pat, could you bring the bindings further over, closer to the toeside edge? I see that gap, and I know that'll make Toe turns just a bit more difficult. Burton uses the old, '93 style small disc in the lil' kids bindings, which restricts the binding's placement considerably. They also make their smaller boards a bit too wide for any kid under a size 12C boot. What I had to do with my Twins (who are still small for their age) was add foam padding (kinda like what Burton used to do routinely in the late 80's) to the highback. I used those all-soft-foam construction kneepads that have elastic/velcro straps (they were $4 at TSC), cut them to fit and wrapped the elastic around the back of the highback. This added about 1/2" of shove towards the toe edge, and had the benny of making heelside sideslipping comfy all day, even in bumps. I also used sticky-backed foam insulation tape (like you'd put under a door to seal a draft) to create toe-ramps for added leverage. The result was that my kids both were riding chairlifts by age 3, with Justin carving his first 180* arc on toes when he was 5 (the boots finally fit well!). I had a bear of a time finding boots small enough at first, and more recently, finding something other than those horrid Velcro-fastened Burton boots (cannot possibly get them tight on the foot). Luckily, Head has a nice Boa model down to size 12C, so when the kids fit into those, we were set. One other thing to watch for is too much rocker or base bevel in some boards. It's nice to slide a turn easily, but it sucks when on trails that are cat-tracks or have flat spots that slow you too much. A solution of sorts for those moments (something I used often when Instructing munchkins at Stratton) is a shortened ski-pole with grips at both ends. With that, I can 'reach out', not be in the kid's line, and give them a 'slingshot' boost over those gravity wells that crop up. I've been very bummed with the new crop of kid's bindings that are non-adjustable cheap junk, with no regard for highback adjustment or the ability to be made larger as the child grows. It seems to reflect AASI's attitude that kids younger than 7 can't be taught. With equipment made that poorly, that's a for-gone conclusion. I, of course, disagree, having taught children as young as 2 Yrs. old (one of whom, Sophie, now a teenager, was riding with me at the last ECES, even using my 182 Tanker). I guess Skiing will just have fill in that 2-to-8 yr.-old age gap. Not exactly the best way for snowboarding to go if it wants future customers... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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