Snowboarding Research Paper
In order to understand some of the things that will be discussed in this paper, one must first know a few things about snowboarding. For those of you who live under a rock, snowboarding is a sport in which a rider straps a board to his or her feet and then slides/glides down a mountain, hill, slope, or basically anything that has an incline. One important piece of equipment is the bindings, which attach the rider to the snowboard. The bindings are connected to the board with screws that are short enough not to penetrate the bottom of the board, but long enough to be sturdy. The rider must wear snowboarding boots, which tend to be fairly thick and padded, in order to keep their feet warm. In order for the board to be attached to the rider’s
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Snowboard bases are produced from ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, which is also used in products such as plastic containers and bins. The polyethylene is a dense, plastic that resists scratches (for the most part) and has a low coefficient of friction. This means that they are very smooth and can move easily over snow. The base material can absorb wax, which is used to “patch up” the scratches, chips, and dings that accumulate over time. The main materials used for the base are P-tex, Isospeed, and Durasurf (Snowboard Materials). Most major companies use one of these materials because they are the highest quality. Base materials are classified as either extruded or sintered. Extruded bases are melted and then cut into shape, while sintered bases are ground into powder, heated, pressed, and sliced into shape (Mechanics of Sport). This causes extruded bases to be cheaper, lower maintenance, less durable, and slower than sintered bases. Extruded bases are used on park boards and some all-mountain boards while sintered bases are used for powder boards and higher end all-mountain boards. Graphics are added by printing them on the inside of the board and putting a clear base over it, or by having machines cut out perfectly shaped, colored bases that can be fit together like puzzle
Snowboard bases are produced from ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene, which is also used in products such as plastic containers and bins. The polyethylene is a dense, plastic that resists scratches (for the most part) and has a low coefficient of friction. This means that they are very smooth and can move easily over snow. The base material can absorb wax, which is used to “patch up” the scratches, chips, and dings that accumulate over time. The main materials used for the base are P-tex, Isospeed, and Durasurf (Snowboard Materials). Most major companies use one of these materials because they are the highest quality. Base materials are classified as either extruded or sintered. Extruded bases are melted and then cut into shape, while sintered bases are ground into powder, heated, pressed, and sliced into shape (Mechanics of Sport). This causes extruded bases to be cheaper, lower maintenance, less durable, and slower than sintered bases. Extruded bases are used on park boards and some all-mountain boards while sintered bases are used for powder boards and higher end all-mountain boards. Graphics are added by printing them on the inside of the board and putting a clear base over it, or by having machines cut out perfectly shaped, colored bases that can be fit together like puzzle