Stomp Pads and Leashes

Besides a snowboard, bindings, and the right type of clothing, the next two most important pieces of equipment a snowboarder needs are a stomp pad and a leash.

Stomp pads? What?

Stomp pads are used for a variety of things. Their primary use is for a foot rest. Stomp pads provide you with a place to put your foot while you are skating across the flats, skating to the lift line, while you are standing in the lift line, or while you are getting off the lift. In these situations the stomp pad keeps your rear foot from slipping off your board. Stomp pads are also used as scrappers. They can be especially useful if you use step-in bindings and want to clear snow or ice from the bottom of your boot.

Stomp pads come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, and they should be put in a comfortable location between your bindings, usually more toward the rear binding.

Stomp pads are a useful piece of equipment that every snowboarder should have.

A leash is another important piece of equipment that every snowboarder should have. Unlike a ski a snowboard does not have a brake. So, if your board gets away from you it may fall all the way down the mountain and you may never see it again. Or, it could go down the mountain and hurt someone. Some mountains even have leash police to make sure snowboarders are wearing a leash.

The leash should be attached to your front binding and worn on your front leg, or foot. This is because your rear foot is the foot that will be coming out of the binding for skating or standing in lift lines. Also, the leash should be worn in a comfortable position, and it should not be extra long so that it is dragging on the snow where it could get caught under your board.

Leash with "pincher" type hook

There are several different types of leashes. Most are one part leashes, where one end of the leash attaches to your binding and the other end buckles around your lower leg. There are also two part leashes, which allow you to easily disconnect and re-connect to your board. Also, there are leashes that attach to your binding and then have a “pincher” type hook on the other end that you can attach to your boot laces or to a ring that can go on your boot laces. All of these types of leashes are effective and the type a person uses is their individual preference. Download our Leashes video clip, or click here to go to our Video Clips page. Stomp pads and leashes are two important pieces of equipment that every snowboarder should have.

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