Hey guys, I'm going snowboarding for the first time and my friends have told me to purchase a whole bunch of stuff that seem kinda expensive.

Could you guys recommend what I need to buy versus what to rent? Do I really need waterproof jacket, waterproof pants, gloves, helmet, goggles, asspad, etc.?

(P.S. I think this will be the 1st and last time I'll be going).

i really depends on the conditions you skiing but the essentials are
1. A helmet (it has saved my head a million times)
2. Goggles (if there is going to be snow)
3. Jacket, pants and gloves are dependent on the weather
4. wrist guards and "asspad" are dependent on preference if you want to be safer
5. Long underwear is nice if it is going to be cold

Originally Posted by began

i really depends on the conditions you skiing but the essentials are
1. A helmet (it has saved my head a million times)
2. Goggles (if there is going to be snow)
3. Jacket, pants and gloves are dependent on the weather
4. wrist guards and "asspad" are dependent on preference if you want to be safer
5. Long underwear is nice if it is going to be cold

What weather conditions will I need 'waterproof' jackets, pants and gloves?

If you have a winter coat and snowpants, thats fine. Most specialized 'snowboarding coats and pants' are waterproof in the sense that when you get snowed on or fall on your butt over and over, the wetness of the snow wont go through your jacket.. you WILL (without a doubt) fall on your butt about one thousand times when you go, so make sure you wear layers underneath your snowpants.. i typically wear spandex and comfy pants/track pants (do NOT wear jeans= very uncomfortable) and 2 pairs of socks, and i wear a long sleeve t shirt, sweatshirt and then jacket... glove wise- dont wear wool mittens or anything like that..this is where you might want to buy something snowboarding/ski specific/waterproof... there's nothing worse than wet gloves.. wear a toque, you dont really need goggles unless its snowing out, so dont waste your money.. also if its your first time you wont be going fast enough to need goggles to see even if it is snowing... might want to pack a scarf just in case it snows you can wrap it around your face and thats good enough..
you dont need an asspad, its going to hurt either way when you fall lol, and helmet-wise you should see if you can rent one when you rent snowboard and boots...
dont spend your money on a bunch of stuff like goggles and helmets and gear until you decide whether or not snowboarding is something you enjoy... its fun, but the first time can be frustrating. but if you do end up loving it, then I would recommend for the future just slowly building up a collection of snowboard specific gear.. like investing in a nice pair of googles, and then a good pair of snowpants... but for the first time or first few times, i wouldnt worry about it
sorry this was so long lol

Originally Posted by Allan

What weather conditions will I need 'waterproof' jackets, pants and gloves?

tl;dr: when there's snow.

You don't want to wear non-waterproof clothes on the outside, because you'll end up getting those wet if you're not wearing enough layers, and because there's snow, it means that the temperature in your area is within or under freezing temperature. Water freezes, and having a high enough specific heat capacity in addition to the low temperature, it'll stay frozen. It is very likely to seep through and end up making you colder and more prone to frostbite.

That's assuming it's real snow, however.

WOW, thats a pretty big list for a first time snowbaorder.

You don't need to buy anything!!! Esp since your just starting out.

-Just make sure you have a good winter jacket.
-Nice gloves (they sell really good ones at the ski resort depending) - (Snow valley has good ones for under 20$)
-MOST IMPORTANT THING!!!! --- Make sure you wear 'Snow Pants' or waterproof pants.
-Helmet (This you can rent for 5$)

If your not gonna be going often just buy a cheap part of snow pants from Wall-mart everything else you should have already

You only need to buy all the other things if your going be going often and plan to take it seriously.

Also where are you going snowbaording?
-If you going to blue mountain, you likely gonna be stuck on kiddy hills all day and won't need a helmet.

-There are other places like SNow Valley that teach you how to come down the basic Green hills right of the bat, a helmet would be nice for this.