He took some time and materials and played around with snowboard design in shop class. Those modest creations were some of the first snowboards ever designed. They looked and performed very different from the snowboards we use today. They were heavy and clunky and not easy to maneuver on the snow. Men like Jake Barton and Tom Sims, who as teenagers pioneered the sport with custom-built boards, now own huge multinational companies and cannot produce boards fast enough to meet demand. They gave up regular jobs to follow their dreams creating snowboards and promoting the sport. Today it is a multi-million dollar industry. Jake Burton began experimenting with the "Snurfer", trying to improve it's performance in the snow. Tom Sims a champion skateboarder from New Jersey, started working on his own version of the snowboard, around the same time. Eventually, they created a very flat, fat, board that resembled a ski. Made from plastic coated wood, with metal edges for carving, this is the board that began the snowboard revolution. By the 1980's media coverage, and competition had brought the sport to the public's attention in a very big way. .
Unlike Skis, Snowboard bindings do not release, which actually leads to fewer knee injuries. There are no poles used like in skiing and the boots snowboarders wear are soft not hard like the ones skiers use. You need a safe, sturdy board that is a good fit for your height, weight, ability and size. For beginners you can measure this by standing a board on the ground in front of you, checking to see if it comes up to somewhere between your chin and eyebrows. Next, you need to test the width of the board with your feet on top of the drilled holes where the bindings will go. If your toes hang over the edge of the board, you will need something wider. Boards cost between $300.00 and $ 500.00 for a decent one. Stores that carry them should be able to help you find a good fit.