Skiboarding for young / small kids

[Fun Machine]

What are your opinions on how small is too small of a kid to skiboard? I've got a 60 lb kid riding 130 carvers everywhere on the mountain asking to try, and I can't come up with a good reason except that his Jr boots won't fit the adult bindings on my risers.

[Bad Wolf]

You can put your kids on any length ski you like, but you must stay away from non release bindings. A fracture to the lower leg can be devastating for a kid if it involves the growth plate. I kept my youngest on 90 cm K2 kids skis up to the age of twelve. She had a blast on them. And, no poles. Alas she was eventually lost to snowboarding.

I wonder if some younger riders would handle the width of a true skiboard?

[macrophotog]

I kept my youngest on 90 cm K2 kids skis up to the age of twelve.

This is what I would suggest. I have my 9 year old son, who is very tall, on 98cm center mounted twin tips and I plan to keep him there for quite a while - he really enjoys them, and has lots of fun.

I wonder if some younger riders would handle the width of a true skiboard?

I would question that also, especially at 60 pounds. . .

[Wookie]

What are your opinions on how small is too small of a kid to skiboard? I've got a 60 lb kid riding 130 carvers everywhere on the mountain asking to try, and I can't come up with a good reason except that his Jr boots won't fit the adult bindings on my risers.

My oldest daughter started "stealing" my loaner boards when she was around 9-10 [Likely 5'- approximately 80 lbs / I recall she was big enough to no longer use a car booterseat]. It was a great confidence builder and training tool for her and I would suggest that late elementary school/middle school range is an age where kids (especially bigger ones) can ride skiboards made for adults provided they are mounted with release bindings. During her time on skiboards she really began to learn how edge angles work, improved her hockey stops, and starting having fun in the park. She never went exclusively with skiboards but would ask to ride them every so often and still does (She is now 13 - 5'9" - 110lbs+)

My daughter used my 101cm Defiance Blades which have a direct mounted lightweight binding. This was key to making the experience enjoyable. These skiboards are modest width, symmetrical twin tips, have all the safety of a release binding but none of the weight and height of a riser.

Release is key here for safety and keeping light helps as well. If your kid wants to skiboard I would suggest one of these options.

1) Find a "snowblade" product like the ones made by Head, K2, Defiance, etc with a release binding. These will be narrower than many RVL, Spruce, Twoowt, etc. adult boards and will have a lower profile direct mount binding. The ride is not as good but they are more manageable and safer.

or 2) Grab a small board like the RVL8 Bantam and direct mount a binding to it. This is not recommended by RVL8 but I know other parents that have done it for their kids with success. Thelight weight rider has less of chance of pulling the binding out of the board.

or 3) Just grab an old shorter junior ski (maybe reskin/paint over the topsheet so they don't look like "baby skis")

You can put your kids on any length ski you like, but you must stay away from non release bindings. A fracture to the lower leg can be devastating for a kid if it involves the growth plate. I kept my youngest on 90 cm K2 kids skis up to the age of twelve. She had a blast on them. And, no poles.

The Wolfman is right. You can put your kid on any ski length you like ( maybe except for those cheapy plastic baby skis). For the first few seasons of learning I kept both my daughters at the lower end of recommended ski length. I still progressed them to longer skis but not as fast as their friends. I (and they) think they are better skiers for it. They now ride skis longer than their friends. Skiboards are just skis and if your kid wants shorties just get them some used short skis. Used sub 100 cm junior skis are one of the easiest things to pick up. Heck if you want to be like the Badwolf himself I will give you the 88cm K2 shorties that he references. He passed them along to me just for the cost of shipping. They were used this season by my neighbor but I don't have future plans for them other than to pass them on to someone who needs them. I would be happy to move them forward in the community just cover the shipping (PM me for pics, details, etc. if interested)

.... Alas she was eventually lost to snowboarding.

That loss was my gain. My daughter loves her Badwolf family hand-me-downs. Thanks again!

[Fun Machine]

Thanks for the comments. I should have said that my kid is an exceptional skier. He outgrew 100cm jr's a long time ago - not that he can't ski and have fun in 100s but he likes the 130s he's been on this season for the kind of riding he does. I got him 131 Jr Caddys recently but he won't be able to use them until next season. Skill wise he will have no problem with the narrower ~100cm skiboards like Slapdashes and Stickys - they weigh about the same as his 130s. Release bindings are a must of course. But he needs Jr bindings so I wanted to get some community thoughts or experiences with young kids on skiboards before I spend a lot of dollars getting him a binding setup that works with skiboards.

[Greco]

Thanks for the comments. I should have said that my kid is an exceptional skier. He outgrew 100cm jr's a long time ago - not that he can't ski and have fun in 100s but he likes the 130s he's been on this season for the kind of riding he does. I got him 131 Jr Caddys recently but he won't be able to use them until next season. Skill wise he will have no problem with the narrower ~100cm skiboards like Slapdashes and Stickys - they weigh about the same as his 130s. Release bindings are a must of course. But he needs Jr bindings so I wanted to get some community thoughts or experiences with young kids on skiboards before I spend a lot of dollars getting him a binding setup that works with skiboards.

We have some Tyrolia SX 7.5 Bindings we could install on Spruce risers for you.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

[Fun Machine]

We have some Tyrolia SX 7.5 Bindings we could install on Spruce risers for you.

Thanks for offering. I've already been in touch with Jeff at Spruce.