Extreme Sports

All skiers and snowboarders want the best ride possible. The difference waxing and tuning your skis can make to your day can be surprising. You’ll notice it even more when the conditions are far less than ideal such as icy conditions. A lot depends on where you live and tend to spend your time skiing or board riding. It’s super easy to get complacent and comfortable when we frequent the same places all the time. The following are some tuning and waxing tips to use on your skis.

Don’t start waxing your snowboards or skis when they are still cold, so let them warm up indoors for a couple of hours. You’ll get the best results no matter what you do when your gear is at normal room temperature. Unless you want bubbles to form at the base, for example, you shouldn’t wax your skis when they’re cold. It’s better to avoid this kind of problem and let your equipment warm up for a while. The wax iron you are using must be set to the proper temperature before you begin applying wax. The iron can’t be either too cold or too hot, as you can end up either with wax that hasn’t melted properly or wax that’s smoking.

Follow the advice of the manufacturer regarding the edge angle when edging your skis. If you’ve been doing this for a while, you can set this according to your own preferences. Yet if you aren’t sure about it, it’s a good idea to follow the manufacturer’s recommendation. The edge angle will usually vary from between one and three degrees. Aside from a file, many people like to use a file guide as well. A file guide can make your job easier, though experts can do without it. When you’re finished filing all edges, then you will simply do the same process but using a diamond stone. In order to maximize the effectiveness of the diamond stone, first wet it slightly.  Read more...

There is no better way to get physically fit than to engage in recreational activities like sports.  Playing any type of sport keeps the body and the mind all working together.  Just simply think about the healthy benefits you can get out of playing a certain type of sport.  Being actively involved in sports allows the individual to keep the self physically, mentally and emotionally fit.  The spiritual aspect is also influenced as well in the sense that it allows the individual to be near with the Creator when he is in need.

What’s not to love about engaging in sports?  The health benefits it gives plus not to mention the fun and excitement it brings, who would not love playing a certain type of sport?  There are different types of sports that you can actively participate in.  You can choose from the indoor and outdoor sports depending upon your preferences.  One specific type of outdoor sport and is also considered as an extreme sport is snowboarding.

If you seek a sport wherein fun, thrill, adventure and excitement is packed, then snowboarding is just right for you. When you watch videos or perhaps individuals playing the sport, you will feel so thrilled and be amazed as to how they do stunts and tricks effectively.  Snowboarding is wakeboarding only that there are no ropes, no boat to drag you.  You just have to slide all the way down the slopes and do your tricks.  It is a little bit dangerous most especially if you are not wearing protective gears.

In snowboarding, the need to use protective gears is a must.  The possibility of being involved in accidents and acquiring injuries is high.  When you are still learning to play this type of sport, make sure that you are fully equipped with the right and required protective gears that way you can minimize the risk of having injuries.  Read more...

I have never been snowboarding before but I cannot deny how amazingly cool snowboarding holidays look. It now seems likely that I will get a chance to prove myself on the slopes this coming April. After watching a few videos on the internet, I concluded that good snowboarders really do look fantastic. Less than good snowboarders however, look injured on hospital stretchers, which then prompted me to look up basic snowboard safety.

This, however, did not mean that I am put-off from the impending experience, through the fear of pain. If you never did anything that scared you occasionally, you would never take part in anything. I am in the mood to be a bit reckless and do something exciting for once and snowboarding holidays are always great for raising the adrenalin.

As with all snowboarding holidays, in order to get the most out of the experience, and indeed to get out of the experience itself in one piece, a healthy knowledge of the dangers and the pitfalls is essential for a safe snowboarding trip, for yourself and your fellow boarders.

I was slightly amused to find out that snowboarding injuries are statistically similar to car accidents, there is a tendency to be more accidents among women but injuries in men are often more severe. It is ‘bump in the car park’ vs. ’70mph head on collision’ gender thinking.

Even if you are a strong skier and it is your first time on a snowboarding holiday, take a lesson or two to begin with. Just because you are a good skier, does not automatically mean you will be a good snowboarder as things like body tension and movement are very different from skiing. This means you will need much time to adjust, it also means the injuries you can sustain vary as well.  Read more...

Scuba diving is one of the greatest underwater adventures you can ever experience. This ever growing sport requires specialist training and equipment, such as breathing apparatus along with a good knowledge of what and how to do it. The word scuba itself is derived from the underwater breathing apparatus, as a generality there are two types of scuba diving, being that of professional diving and that of recreational diving. Usually recreational scuba diving is performed in open waters near reefs and coral plantations. It is obviously far more pleasurable to perform this diving in the clear tropical waters around the planet.

These crystal tortoise warm waters are so clear you can see all inhabitants and offer a fabulous and splendid experience. There are many more and various famous scuba diving locations, seas and oceans around the world where you can enjoy these nice experiences and have super fun during your diving holidays. You can research find your own ideal spot for diving, where you will be very comfortable as it will be your choice, somewhere where you can come back time and time again. Or if you like diversity, you can change diving locations and find something new and more interesting and exciting somewhere else every time you want to dive.

But, you have to remember to take time with you all necessary scuba equipment- scuba diving suit and all the necessary diving accessories, including breathing apparatus and of course your PADI certificate that shows the dive master that you are qualified to dive.  Read more...

A few months ago one of my friends called to tell me he was going to be late to the trail because he had a part on his bike that was being recalled. He wanted to stop at the bike shop and have his part replaced before our regularly scheduled ride. I too thought it was a good idea to get the part replaced before our ride so I told him that I will see him when he is finished at the store.

When I met up with my friend later in the day I asked him how he found out about his recalled part. He told me that his wife signed up for email alerts on product recalls. She subscribes to these email notification to be aware of toy issue for their children and it just so happened that a mountain bike part was on the email.

Just like other consumer products, mountain bike products occasionally get recalled for various reasons. I do not want to speculate so I am not going to give examples. It is important to be aware and not to ignore these recalls because your safety could be in jeopardy.

So in an effort to keep riders aware of product recalls the links below will direct you to the Consumer Affairs and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission websites. These sites will allow you to search their database for product recalls that might pertain to your bike, gear or both.

The two sites listed below are not meant to be the all encompassing sources of information. It is to help you get started in you product recall search. If you come across more sites with mountain bike recall information let us know and we will add it to the list.