How to Choose the Right Snowboard

How do you choose the right snowboard? It all depends on you because snowboarding is not a one size fits all sport. There are so many different boards to choose from and it’s easy to get lost in the data. Before deciding exactly what snowboard is right for you, it’s important that you understand your unique riding style and preferences. These 4 questions will guide you through understanding yourself as a snowboarder and what kind of snowboard is best for you.

Where do you snowboard?

Where you ride most makes a difference in what board you should buy. Do you ride a Midwest hill with a couple lifts and a tow rope, or do you ride a mountain with enough runs to never hit the same run twice? If you ride in the Midwest all season you will not need a big expensive powder board. If you are lucky enough to live in a place that gets tons of powder, you want to take that into consideration while choosing a board. Powder boards are typically wider with a bigger nose and are a bit more expensive. If you ride at a resort with perfectly groomed hills all day every day, you will want a board that turns easy and rides smooth. 

What terrain do you ride?

Do you like to keep your board on the snow, or do you spend your days at the terrain park hitting rails and jumps? Some riders are all about tight carves down long runs. It’s a great feeling to be speeding downhill while your board glides over the snow with perfect control. Other riders like to get technical on the terrain park. Jibbers like to hit rails all day and need a soft, buttery board, while riders who prefer jumps need a little tighter control and responsiveness in their board.

How often do you ride?

Are you a sometimes slasher, a weekend warrior, or a daily destroyer? How often you ride plays a role in deciding what kind of snowboard you need. If you ride a few times a year, when you are on vacation, you can be comfortable with a less expensive, beginner level board for a long time. If you ride almost every day or weekend, snowboarding is probably your primary sport or hobby. If that’s the case, it’s worth investing in a more advanced board that will suit you even when you take your skills to the next level.

What’s your height and weight?

Boards come in all different sizes based on your height and weight and riding style. Boards are measured in centimeters but there is no perfect height to boards size ratio. The general rule is that if you stand your board up vertically, the nose would be somewhere between your chin and nose. If you are a park rider, you may want to err on the shorter side so you get max control in the park, and if you want maximum stability while carving at high speed, you want to err on the longer side. The weight range recommendation for a board is just as important as the length of the board. All boards are constructed differently are built with various levels of flex. If you are too light for a board, you are not going to be able to flex it as the manufacture intended. Likewise, if you are too heavy for a board it might be too flexible. Most manufactures give a weight range for their boards on the info tag or on the manufacturers website.

We’d love to help get you choose the right snowboard at Help Boardshop. One of our shop pro’s can get you fitted for a board and answer any questions that you might have. Please drop us an email at helpboardshop@jsaw.org to set up a snowboard fitting in our Edina store, right up the street from Hyland Hills.