Essential Gear for Summer Snowboarding – Outerwear

All those UV rays beating down on the glacier all day means inevitably the snow will be wetter than you’d be used to if you’ve only ridden in winter. Plus it’s gonna be hot and you will sweat. There are two ways to combat this: either accept you’ll be getting wet and ride in a a shirt, hoody, joggers or even shorts (a la Shorts & Shades), or don some outerwear – but make sure there’s plenty of venting and no insulation. Breathability is key here, and when we’ve ventured up for a summer shred we’ve tended to opt for a high-end, lightweight, super waterproof/breathable pant, and a base layer plus shirt or hoody.

Essential Gear for Summer Snowboarding – Eyewear

Sure, you could opt for your regular goggles with a dark mirrored lens when slashing up the glaciers of Europe this summer, but the warmth they give your face in the cold winter months is amplified in the heat of summer and can lead to what doctors term a ‘Big Sweaty Head’. It’s a terrible affliction, and one we’ve suffered often, so you could also consider leaving the gogs at home and rocking a decent pair of sunnies. The UV bouncing around at altitude is no joke, though, so check out ones that are pretty big, thus minimise light creeping in and burning your retinas to a cinder.

Dragon Mountaineer X sunglasses review

Anon M3 MFI snowboard goggles review

Essential Gear for Summer Snowboarding – Headwear

While of course you could, you don’t wanna be rocking a beanie in the summer. Fishermen the world over can breath as sigh of relief as the hype for bucket hats appears to be waning, although we’ve been seeing more of the enormous straw variety up on the catwalk of Mt Hood, so perhaps it’s the mariachis of the world that will be feeling the nibble of snowboarders biting their style. But whatever variety you opt for, a good hat that’ll stay on your bonce at speed is mandatory to see off the death rays. Then you might want to consider a lightweight facemask – certainly if you’re ginger or British. Or get all on fleek and wrap a t-shirt round your head, budget-ninja style.

Essential Gear for Summer Snowboarding – Park Backpack

A good, lightweight bag that you can load with your water, snacks, layers and so on is essential to have. You won’t be riding with it on much (it will predominantly live in a pile of other packs at the foot of the park), and you certainly won’t be strapping a board on to hike all day, so don’t worry too much about features and tech specs. Just make sure it’s big enough to carry what you need for a day on the hill and you’ll be sweet.

Burton Day Hiker 25L snowboard backpack review

Essential Gear for Summer Snowboarding – Suncream

You don’t want your otherwise epic summer shred experience being ruined by being burnt to a crisp by the high alpine sunshine, so make sure you whack on generous amounts of suncream. Get some SPF 50 on any part of your skin that is exposed, and re-up every few hours. It’s also worth noting that suncream’s effectiveness dwindles with time, so if you’ve had a bottle kicking around in your drawer for a few years it’s best to bin it and buy new supplies or run the risk of getting an inadvertent lobstering. This has happened to people we know, more than once.

“If you’ve had a bottle kicking around in your drawer for a few years it’s best to bin it and buy new supplies or run the risk of getting an inadvertent lobstering.”

Essential Gear for Summer Snowboarding – Boot Dryer

Though perhaps not essentially essential, you, your feet and your friends might thank you if you invest in a boot dryer. Long days spent slashing and hiking around in slush means you can get a bit of trenchfoot and to prevent a) having to put on wet, cold boots the next morning and b) your boots developing a pong that could qualify as military-grade chemical weaponry, it is essential you make sure your dry your boots out properly after a summer session – take the liners out! Sure, you could leave them in the sun for the afternoon and hope for the best, or dry them near the campfire (but BEWARE), but to be sure just pony up and get yourself a set of boot dryers and – summer or winter – everyone will be thankful you did.