How to Hit Kink Rails on a Snowboard

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How to Hit Kink Rails a Snowboard

Introduction

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What up shredder?

It’s (Christian) from Shred School.

Who would want to wreck like this? Not me…

So WHY on earth would we hit kink rails?

Maybe it’s the sense of accomplishment? The feeling you get when riding away from a kink rail?

Probably the same reason humans do stupid things like ride bulls, or parkour.

Because it’s cool.

And today, you’re going to learn how to ride kink rails on your snowboard without breaking your face.

So you can ride away, knowing you have control over your life.

If you want to learn ALL the pre-requisites, this week we’ve got 50% Off Shred School: https://www.edshreds.com/school

Snowboarding Kink Rails

A kink rail is any rail that changes pitch abruptly.

We use words like “down flat down” or “up flat down” to describe kink rails based on their pitch.

The kink rail is based on handrails that change pitch when there is a landing in a stair set.

But on the mountain, we usually don’t have to worry about stairs, just the kinks.

Now, before you step to the kink rail, it’s best if you’re very comfortable on flat AND down rails, as this is a combination of the two.

I’d suggest a pair of shin guards too, saved me twice after busting my shin open on a simple flat down box.

The goal with kink rails is always to lean in to the pitch of the rail… without catching an edge. Unlike a normal rail, we have to change pitch one or two times with a kink rail.

And it’s not so much staying at the angle of the rail that’s the problem, it’s making the jump from one pitch to the next.

Shifting your weight to adapt.

By now, you’ve already dealt with all kinds of varying pitches when riding your snowboard, so this isn’t going to be completely new to you.

For that reason, we’re going to start with the 50-50.

How to do a 50-50 on a Kink Rail with a Snowboard

I recommend you start, whichever is most comfortable for you, frontside or backside. I used to like frontside a lot more, but these days I tend to hit a rail backside first try instead.

Ride up to the rail, go a little slow the first time so you can learn to handle the kink at slower speeds.

And Lock in to your 50-50. You’re going to Stare at the end of the first kink here, instead of the end of the rail like we normally do.

Maybe try this on a flat down kink, as this is super easy with no “inside” kinks, where you switch from down to flat. It’s much easier to catch an edge on an inside kink than a flat to down kink.

When the kink comes, loosen your legs, it almost feels like a little hop, or a push through the knick. You might feel like you’re lifting up, or “pumping” the kink.

What you’re doing is absorbing it with your knees, you are taking your full weight off to allow your board to make the transition without catching.

Most kinks in parks you can kinda just relax your legs then you will naturally absorb the kink.

Make sure to stay locked in straight, because if you’re not, you can catch an edge on the kink.

Change pitch until you get to the end of the rail, and ride away.

You just stomped your first kink rail or box.

How to do a FS Boardslide or BS Boardslide on a Kink Rail

Once you have the 50-50 down, it’s time to step up your game to the frontside and backside boardslide.

Unlike the 50-50, the boardslide is going to give our edge direct contact with the kink.

That means, a greater chance of eating shit, and a greater challenge staying level with the slope of the rail.

The key here is staying perpendicular with the rail at all times, with a 90 degree angle, and our board at the same pitch as the rail.

If you do a sub par boardslide at a 45 degree angle, it’s much easier to catch your edge in the kink.

Do a proper 90 degree boardslide here.

Pump your legs when you hit the kink, lean down the rail, and stay loose. You got this.

Kink rails are great for switch ups, where you do more than one grind on the same rail. The change in pitch gives you a natural spot to change your trick.

Can board to frontside boardslide, or a 50-50 to frontside boardslide. Whatever you’re feeling. Switch it up on every pitch change if you want to.

Mastering the Kink Rail on a Snowboard

That’s the kink rail on a snowboard. Start simple with a flat down, and progress to a down flat down. Pump your legs through the kink, bend your knees, stay at the angle of the rail and start small and work your way up and you’ll be slaying kink rails in no time.

Once you’ve mastered it in the park, it’s time to take it to the streets.

That’s all for today…

Peace out shredder

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How to Tail Press and Nose Press On A Snowboard

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How to Tail Press and Nose Press On A Snowboard

Introduction

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What up shredder?

One of the reasons snowboarding is so much cooler than skiing…. Yeah I said it.

One of the reasons it’s so much cooler than skiing is you can ride both ways, and press both ways, giving you so much room for creativity.

Whether it’s butters, blunts or presses…. There is almost an unlimited number of ways you can use your board to surf the mountain.

Today, we’re going to talk about one way to spice up your jib game. That means bringing boxes and rails to the next level.

We’re talking about the nose press and tail press.

If you want to learn ALL the prerequisites, this week we’ve got 50% Off Shred School: https://www.edshreds.com/school

Snowboard Press Tricks

I think I can tailpress a longer rail than any other trick, it’s kind of my go to for handrails and other jibs where I’m not sure what’s going to happen.

Tailpresses are cool because you’re setup to absorb anything in front of you on your tail, so if you fall off early on some stairs, or just on to the snow, you’re ready to ride away.

We’re also going to cover the nosepress, which is the inverse of a tail press, and much harder, with higher consequences, but still pretty easy, at least on a box.

Now before you jump in to pressing, there are a couple prerequisites.

I recommend you learn to ollie, 50-50 boxes and rails, and even butter, as these presses are pretty much just butters on a rail or a box.

How to Tail Press on a Snowboard

Let’s start with the tail press first. Find a flat surface, strap it to your snowboard and shift your weight over the back of the snowboard. You can do this at the bottom of the mt or your living room.

When you shift your hips over your tail, your nose should lift off the ground. If it doesn’t try bending your back leg, straightening your front, stand up straight, and move your weight further over your tail.

You can even reach your back hand towards the tail of your board.

Keep your shoulders in line with your snowboard, and keep straight posture. No bending at the wasbit.

Your board only needs to lift a couple inches, you don’t have to do the craziest tail press in the world or anything.

Practice this a couple times and, you’ll quickly learn how far you need to lean to get the board off the ground.

Try bouncing up and down on the flex a bit to get a feel for where you can find support and stability. The first few times you might have to find your balance point, but eventually you’ll figure out how to jump straight into the balance point.

You don’t need a super flexible board to do these, but it is easier to get into it on a softer board. If you don’t know the flex rating of your board… You can go to the mfgs website to check. Typically beginner and jib boards are soft, and all mountain and performance boards are stiffer.

Typically presses are easier on reverse camber, but you’re fine to do them on a camber board too.

Once you’re comfortable on the flat ground, go out on a mellow slope and practice the tail press moving.

Next try it on a box that you can ride straight onto. I like to ollie up, level out in the air, and then slam my tail down after I leveled out.

Snowboard Tail Press

If you’ve got that dialed. Try a frontside 5-0 on a rail from the side.

Scraaaatch.. Wait, fs 5-0? Oh yeah, that’s what it’s called on a skateboard and i tend to call it a 5-0 if it’s on a down rail.

I actually think this trick is easier on a down rail as the angle of the rail does a lot of the work for you.

Sometimes I’ll do a small nollie up on to the frontside 5-0 as it throws my weight straight back in to the tailpress, just like it helps to rock forward on your front foot to ollie.

Lastly, there’s the backside 5-0 with the rail behind you. Make sure you master backside 50-50s before giving this a go.

Once you get to the end of the rail, pop a small ollie off the end, level out in the air, then put down your landing gear.

Snowboard Tailpress 180

When you have the regular tailpress down, you can do a fs 180 or a backside 180 out by turning your shoulders (but keeping your legs straight) before you get to the end of the rail. Once you see the end of the rail, turn your shoulders and when you snap off the end, your legs will follow.

You can also add a half cab in to the trick with a backside 180 out. Just be sure to learn this trick as a butter first.

Snowboard Nose Press

Next, we have the nose press which is significantly harder than a tail press. When I talked to my editor about the nosepress, he said he wanted to press like Torstein, so we gotta have a shot of that.

The nose press is the same basic move as a tail press, but your momentum is moving forward over your board. It’s a lot harder to balance and a lot easier to eat shit.

Some things that go wrong:

Fall over the nose. You have to find the perfect balance point, without leaning too far.

Do like a crooked grind or a noseslide instead of a nose press. Keep your shoulders aligned over your board to avoid turning sideways.

Remember it’s all about moving your hips over the part of the board where you’re pressing.

When you make it to the end of the rail, pop a small Nollie out of the nosepress and land flat.

The nose press is going to be easiest to do on a flat box. Once you’ve got that dialed, it’s actually pretty popular to do a backside nose press on a rail, and I find it to be a little easier than a frontside nosepress, unlike the tailpress where FS is clearly easier. It’s just easier to get my hips over my nose when the rail is behind me.

Now, Nosepress backside 180 is an awesome trick, one of the coolest feeling things ever and you have to give this a shot once you get nosepresses dialed.

Snowboard Press Tips

That’s the nosepress and the tailpress. Remember, practice at the bottom of the mountain, or on your living room carpet. Move your hips over the nose or tail, keep your shoulders square with your board, bend the press leg and straighten the other leg. Stay off your edges, keep it flat based, and press it to the very end.

Add some 180’s in and out when you get comfortable, and have fun rubbing it in your skier friends faces.

Go out there, try some nose and tail presses and Send us a video of your press. Until next time…

Peace out shredder