BUY NEW OR USED? - Homies Shop

We won't hide it, practicing snowboarding can be expensive. We start with the equipment, say $400 for a beginner board, $170 for bindings, $170 for the boot and another $100 for the helmet. Then come the clothes, $250 for the coat, $200 for the pants, $100 for the accessories and you don't yet have a technical base layer at that price. Grossomodo, you must be ready to pay close to $1400 before taxes and you don't even know what slalom is yet. You can be lucky and find all these items at a good price, say 30% off. So $980 plus tax. You now have to go to Valinouët or Mont Édouard, 10 to 15 dollars worth of gas, buy the $35 lift ticket, have dinner for $15 and of course take a little brew at “L'après”. In short, it's not for the "broken" you will tell me. Last year, in Chicoutimi, a concept that existed in 1995 resurfaced. Flea Sports and Echo Sports of this world are back. These places where you get, at a fraction of the price, used snowboard or ski equipment.

As a specialist, experienced and passionate snowboarder, I would like to give you my opinions and advice if you are considering buying used equipment. And these tips are also good for BAZAARDS, flea markets, for Kijiji and also for your cousin Julie's equipment.

First, know that the difference between a new $400 board and a new $800 board is not the graphics but the components. New $400 boards are often built for a beginner rider and $800 boards for an experienced rider. Secondly, also know that it takes several years for an advisor to fully understand a brand and its technologies, and specialized shops often have several snowboard brands that all have different technologies. You wonder where I'm coming from? So here it is: having already done a few bazards and flea markets, it is impossible for the seller/advisor to know all the technologies and components of each used board that Mr. Tremblay and Mrs. Bérard came to exchange for a bike for their grandson David. So without knowing it, you, Simon, are leaving the store with a used board that you paid $100 for when it was worth $850 new. You say to yourself: what a deal! What you don't know is that you just got yourself a board with 2 x-shaped carbon rods in the center and TriAxial fiberglass when you, Simon, never set foot on a board . It will then take you 2 or even 3 times longer to learn to ride the board because it is built for an experienced rider, which will therefore reduce the FUN factor of the sport by 10 times. Third, the boots. My problem with buying used snowboard boots is that the normal lifespan of a mid-range boot is around fifty days of riding. The used boot you get at the flea market may have been wrinkled for 60, 70, 90 days. Might as well go snowboarding with your Sorel boot.

On the other hand, I am in favor of this kind of trade because buying used equipment can allow everyone to practice the sport that I love so much. Besides, I'm of the opinion that if your 12-year-old son asks you to go snowboarding, you wouldn't want to spend $1000, so that the whole thing would sleep all winter in the garage like the BMX. At Homies Chicoutimi and Jonquière, we can be part of your used equipment purchasing process. We do it regularly and in the end, you mix used and new items, which will fit well with the kind of snowboarder you are.

WELCOME TO HOMIES!

Snowboard

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