Snowboard rental for beginners: which board to rent, how to find your stance and where to start nearby

Your first days on a snowboard are mostly about balance, braking and patience. Beginner-friendly equipment and a slope that holds no surprises help a lot. Below you will find which board to rent, how to check your stance and how to behave on the piste.

Snowboards for beginners: a shorter, softer board is more forgiving

Beginners are generally advised to choose a board from the shorter part of the size range that matches their weight, with a soft flex, meaning a more bendable board. Such a board is easier to turn and more forgiving of small mistakes. Longer and stiffer boards tend to be more stable at higher speeds, but you do not need them for your first days.

As a rough guide, board length and width are chosen based on several things:

• Weight. According to manufacturers’ and retailers’ size guides, it matters more for board length than height does.
• Height. Board length used to be estimated mainly by height, today’s guides treat it more as a secondary pointer.
• Boot size. This determines the width of the board. If you have big feet, you need a wider board so that the toe and heel of the boot do not stick out too far over the edge and catch the snow when you tilt the board.
• Experience. Beginners tend to go for the shorter end of their range.

We will help you choose the right board on the spot. It helps if you know your height, weight and boot size.

See our snowboard rental

Regular or goofy? How to find your stance

On a snowboard you stand sideways with one foot always in front. Regular means left foot forward, goofy means right foot forward. The bindings are set up accordingly, so it is good to have an idea already when you pick up your gear. If you do not skateboard or surf, try a few simple tests:

• The push: ask someone to give you an unexpected but gentle push from behind. The foot you step forward with to keep your balance usually goes in front on a snowboard.
• Scooter or skateboard: the foot you naturally put in front on them is usually in front on a snowboard too.
• Stairs: if you take the stairs two at a time and start with your right foot, that points more towards goofy.

Boots are the foundation: snug, but pain-free

You control the board through your boots. If your foot slides around in the boot, the board reacts late and imprecisely. If the boot pinches, you think about your feet instead of riding. So it pays not to rush when choosing boots.

• The boot must hold your heel. When you bend your knees and lean forward, your heel should not lift.
• When you stand, your toes may lightly touch the front of the boot. With your knees bent, they should have a little more room.
• Bring the socks you will ride in when trying boots on. One pair of ski socks is enough, two pairs on top of each other can wrinkle and press inside the boot.
• Your trousers go over the boot, not inside it.
• If the boot presses painfully somewhere already when you try it on, tell us. It usually does not get better on the slope.

Where to start: gentle slopes in Vrchlabí and at Horní Mísečky

On your first day you do not need long pistes. You need a gentle slope where you can calmly practise balance, braking and shifting your weight from edge to edge. Two places nearby are well suited to this:

• Kněžický vrch in Vrchlabí is a few hundred metres from the historic town centre. According to the official Krkonoše tourism website, it has gentle slopes suitable for beginners.
• Horní Mísečky is part of the Špindlerův Mlýn ski resort. The website of the town of Špindlerův Mlýn describes it as suitable for children and for beginner skiers and snowboarders.

Be prepared for the drag lift to be a discipline of its own for a beginner snowboarder. On a T-bar or button lift, only your front foot is in the binding while your back foot rests freely on the board, so your first attempts may not work out. Do not let that put you off.

Your first day on the slope: FIS rules and an instructor

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) has drawn up ten rules of conduct that apply to skiers and snowboarders alike. For a beginner snowboarder, these are the most useful:

• Ride in a way that keeps you in control. Adapt your speed to your ability, the terrain, the snow, the weather and how busy the slope is.
• If you are coming from above, choose your line so that you do not endanger the people ahead of you.
• Before entering a piste or starting off again after stopping, look both up and down the slope.
• Unless it is necessary, do not stop in narrow places or where visibility is poor. If you fall there, clear the piste as quickly as possible.
• Walk only along the edge of the piste.
• Respect all signs and markings.

Sitting down in the snow is perfectly normal on a snowboard. But do it at the edge of the piste, not in the middle or below a drop-off where people coming from above cannot see you.

You can learn the basics on your own, especially if someone who already rides comes with you. But do consider at least one lesson with an instructor, ideally right at the start. An instructor can correct your stance and braking before you get used to your mistakes.

What you can rent from us and how we set up your bindings

Our rental shop is in Vrchlabí, which the road from the Czech interior to Špindlerův Mlýn passes through. If you are looking for snowboard rental for Špindlerův Mlýn, you can stop by on your way. According to a route planner, the routes from Prague, Hradec Králové, Jičín and Brno pass about 600 metres from the rental shop, and the route from Trutnov goes right past it. According to the same planner, it is about 16 km from us to Špindlerův Mlýn, roughly 18 minutes by car.

• Snowboard set: board, bindings and boots.
• Just the board, if you have your own snowboard boots.
• Helmets and goggles can be rented separately.
• We set up the bindings according to whether you ride regular or goofy, and to your shoulder width.
• For beginners, we recommend a softer and shorter board.

You will find current prices in the price list on our website. If you have your own board, you can have it prepared at our service, meaning the edges sharpened and the board waxed.

Book a snowboard in advance