Snowboard Magazines If you can't get to the slopes, you might take some pleasure in reading about snowboarding. Our Biases There's a lot to not like about most snowboarding magazines. At least that's the opinion of the reviewer, a whitebread middle-aged guy who is blissfully ignorant of nearly everything dealing with MTV, indie rock, and hip-hop. He has been known to take a glass of wine with dinner or a pint of stout during an evening among friends, but can't imagine that drinking until dawn and then puking on the chairlift the next morning is any fun. He's also a cruiser rather than a cliff-dropper, and is taking his time in trying out the halfpipe. He does not think that sports injuries are cool or a badge of honor, but he does appreciate the poetry of a well-executed turn, jump, or landing. Keep these things in mind, reader, as they color the reviews below. Though he enjoys riding, our reviewer bristles at the thought that snowboarding is a "lifestyle," reserving that term for other matters such as faith and family. Your mileage may vary; adjust your TV set accordingly. Pricey and Classy We start out with a high-gloss, high-price production, Frequency: The Snowboarder's Journal, It's on the expensive side; subscriptions go for $40 (4 issues a year), while a newsstand copy will set you back $13. But take consolation in this: high price means less advertising clutter. The magazine has 110 pages available, but use only 10 or so for advertisements. Given its high price, it shouldn't be a surprise that there is little content on the magazine's web site; no use giving away the store. Frequency emphasizes big mountain riding, including back country terrain suitable only for advanced or even expert riders. In a typical issue, it includes an interview with or profile of a professional rider, and a story about riding somewhere outside the U.S. Most importantly, it features full-page photos, on heavy paper stock, of spectacular scenery and riders enjoying untracked powder. You don't have to be able to ride on that terrain to appreciate the eye candy. Subscriptions also come with a DVD, so you can enjoy more visual treats. One downside to the magazine: like others in the trade, it uses very small fonts. Maybe it's an incentive to pay more attention to the photos. Click here to subscribe to Frequency. The Snowboard Journal used to fill this market space as well, but it ceased publication after only few years in existence. Fair to Middlin' Future Snowboarding Future Snowboarding made its debut with the November 2005 issue. It suffers from some of the design problems of the group, namely tiny typefaces set against a background that produces a difficult-to-read color combination. The magazine also indulges a fair amount of vulgarity, though not as much as TransWorld Snowboarding. On the other hand, it's got much of the same attitude as that publication. In his inaugural letter to readers, the editor muses that snowboarding requires a "recessive gene that starts humming as soon as you point your carcass down a hill." To which we say: nonsense! Humans don't have carcasses, thank you very much--even if it's only a snowboarding expression. Oh yes, there's also a one-page review of some indie music. Ah, the "lifestyle" folly once again. Can we get letters? Gear review? Something actually related to riding? Future Snowboarding has a useful Q&A section as well as a collection of readers' tips, and factoids about snowboarding. The first issue contains a review of boards, including women-specific boards. A photo gallery provides a tie in to the web site, with a "vote for your favorite photo" feature. A review of Whistler contains a fold-out trail map, and a "best of" list, that includes--cue up the stereotypes--"Best place to eat breakfast with a hangover." If that's your thing, it will be useful to know. The charter issue came with a DVD. The disk has better resolution on the computer than on a regular DVD player. It also contains computer wallpaper and links to web sites, neither of which will do any good on a TV-top DVD player. The features of the disk could be better arranged. Published bimonthly, Future Snowboarding is available for subscription at a rate of $12 per year, the news stand price of one copy of the two previously reviewed magazines. Click here to subscribe to Future Snowboarding. Snowboarder Snowboarder is dominated by freestyle and hardcore snowboarders. How hardcore? Consider this: One of its features is "Battle Wounds," in which readers submit stories of injuries suffered, usually while performing tricks in the terrain park. Black-and-blue photos are included. Still, Snowboarder gets some credit. A recent issue featured a letter from a 56-year old rider, and a list of 22 notable riders who are "Over 30 but not over the hill." The DVD that came with the issue used for review purposes had many freestyle tricks worth a look, for admiration if not inspiration. On the graphic design front, the web site may be more readable than the print edition--not a great testimony to a magazine. Click here for a subscription to Snowboarder, which is $15 for 8 issues a year. By the way, the magazine's name is snowboarder, but its web site is snowboardermag.com. Enter snowboarder-dot-com, and you get taken to a spammish web site. Snowboard Simply titled Snowboard, and subtitled "Products, Places, and Personalities," this bimonthly magazine has good photos but microscopic text. It also favors odd color combinations, such as light sage on white. What were they thinking? Tricks get heavy play here, but there's also room for big mountain riding. The copy reviewed for this site included one article authored by a man who concluded that snowboarding was his life (yawn--how predictable). On the other side of the maturity divide, a second article was penned by someone who has come to peace with his diminished number of riding days. There's a photo spread of various gear and clothing; since the credits are obscured, one must conclude that the feature is meant to be eye candy rather than informational. A few interviews of pro riders about the boards they designed comes and goes quickly without leaving much of a trace. On the other hand, there are some impressive photos of backcountry riders. Note that its web site is snowboard-mag.com, not snowboard.com. Loads of ads are one reason why it's only $10 for 6 issues a year. Click here to subscribe to Snowboard. If you like MTV TransWorld Snowboarding A magazine that seems to go out of its way to reinforce the popular stereotypes of snowboarders, TWS makes liberal use of vulgarity, profanity, and crude and juvenile humor. (To be fair, these elements, especially crude language, are not absent in the other magazines reviewed here. But TWS seems to make more use of them than the others.) While these elements need no explanation, some readers may wish to keep a dictionary of hip-hop words on hand. With its references to "your parents" and "your grandparents," TWS pitches itself as a "no adults allowed" club. That might be just as well; older eyes may be strained by the extra-small type formatting of some articles, as well as white text laid out on red backgrounds. Snowboarding history is filled with anxiety over "selling out," or what the rest of the world calls "growing up and getting a job." TWS pays tribute to that ethic, though it should be noted that the periodical is published by a giant corporation (Bonner) with nearly $3 billion in annual revenue. Here's a clue, folks: snowboarding can happily exist as a participant sport, a spectator sport, and a business. The mountain's big enough for everyone to find a place. While TWS has elements that the grown-up reader may find tiresome, it does have a handful of useful articles. A recent edition, for example, featured stories about gear and techniques, as well as a preview of the 2006 Olympics. Click here to subscribe to TransWorld Snowboarding. Taking Care of Business TransWorld Business This covers the business side of snowboarding, as well as skateboarding and surfing. Ski Area Management If you'd like to look into the business of operating a ski and snowboard operation at a mountain, subscribe to Ski Area Management. Others Ski Press World A free magazine available at many snowsports shops, deals a lot with skiing. But its broader topics, such as helmets or changes to snow sports areas, are of interest to snowboarders too. North American Snowsports Journalists Association Many people who write for newspapers and magazines, including the publisher of GraysOnTrays.com, are members of NASJA. Discussion For more information about snowboarding for adults, check out the Grays on Trays discussion board Additions? If you have suggestions for items to be added to this list, please send e-mail to the publisher through this form. Return to snowboarding links. Return to the home page.