• Weirdfish@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Sports equipment has benefited greatly from advances in material science.

    I’ve been snowboarding since they weren’t allowed on the hills and a few years ago was finally able to buy a full new setup.

    There isn’t a single component of my gear that isn’t a radical improvement over the prior setup from 10 years earlier.

    Thermal form boots, fancy new strong and flexible plastics in the bindings, and who knows all the wizardry in the board itself.

    It is all so comfortable and performs so much better I can’t imagine going out with my old gear.

    I have to believe this is true across the board in football and hockey protection etc.

    • MrShankles@reddthat.com
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      7 months ago

      The first time I got to go to the slopes as a kid, I chose snowboarding (we were renting equipment). And I learned that it was rather recent that snowboards were fully-allowed to be used on their resort. Something about requiring the board to have a metal edge, if you brought your own? I don’t fully remember. I was too young to realize that snowboarding was not allowed on many ski slopes, or that the divide was ever a thing

      Then Johnny Tsunami came out and it blew my mind a little that it really must have been a whole thing. I kinda came in, just as snowboarding was more universally accepted, like early 90’s.

      No point to my story, I just always think about my first “ski” trip, anytime I’m reminded that snowboarding used to be banned

      • Weirdfish@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        The metals edges were one main element, as you could buy cheap plastic boards without them and “ride in control” is a major mantra on ski hills.

        There was also a big social “not on my hill” snob element, with snowboarders seen as bringing a “bad attitude” to the gentlemanly sport of skiing.

        I skied for almost 10 years before snowboards hit the scene, so I saw both sides of it, and as an instructor in the early 90s made a big point of asking snowboarders “please at follow the saftey rules, don’t give them an excuse to kick us out”.

        Having my lift ticket ripped and getting kicked out over building a one foot little jump on the same hill that has 20 foot gap jumps, hand rails, and a halfpipe today always makes me laugh.

        • MrShankles@reddthat.com
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          7 months ago

          don’t give them an excuse to kick us out

          It’s like you unlocked some latent memory of mine lol. I took a little “begginer instruction” course and that was one of the major sentiments… basically, don’t act/seem reckless. It didn’t really apply to me at the time, as I couldn’t even stop without falling. I would gain a little speed, then fall, and repeat. Took a little bit to figure out the “carving” aspect. Good times. And very very sore afterward, but still good times