Looking for your first snowboard to hit the mountain this season? Or maybe you’re looking to step it up a notch and take your snowboarding to the next level? Having the right gear is key to your level of enjoyment while you’re out there ripping it up! Take some time to carefully choose the right gear for your ability and the kind of riding you want to be doing.
Step 1: What type of Snowboard do you need?
- All-mountain – best for any terrain. Good beginner board while trying to find the style of riding you’re in to.
- Freestyle – best for the terrain park and doing jumps and rails.
- Free-ride – best for the hard-core rippers who seek off-piste terrain.
All-Mountain
All-mountain boards let you ride the entire mountain. This type of board comes in a very wide range of shapes, camber profiles, and flex patterns. They can be directional in shape or be true twin (symmetrical in shape) which allows easier switch riding. Most all-mountain snowboards can be ridden anywhere from groomed trails, to off-piste on the resort, powder conditions, and often even in the park and pipe.
Freestyle
If slaying every jump and rail in the park is more your style, then a freestyle board is what you’re after. A freestyle board is great for buttering, jibbing, and all round playful snowboarding. They tend to be true twin in terms of shape and flex, and often have a blunter nose than all mountain or free-ride snowboards. Choose this type of snowboard if you’re looking to push it to the limit at the terrain park.
Free-ride
These boards are designed for variable terrain, but are best suited for off-piste. They’re almost always directional in terms of board shape and stance, and tend to be stiffer than other board types. Free-ride snowboards are stable and predictable and thus are great for hucking it fast downhill, and in most cases are great for carving when riding on-piste.
Step 2: Choose the right size/shape Snowboard
For an Entry-level snowboarder, generally you’ll want the end of the board to reach somewhere between your chin and nose. There are many other factors such as weight and type of riding that should also be taken in to consideration. It’s best to talk to one of our team members who can help you find the right sized board.
Snowboard Shapes
Directional: These boards are designed to be ridden downhill in a forward only direction.
True Twins: Ride these boards in both directions. Good for terrain parks and pipes.
Directional Twin: Boards designed to be ridden all over the mountain.
Flat Base
Flat snowboards have no bend through the body of the snowboard, until after the widest part where the tip and tail start to rise up. Flat base snowboards fit right in the middle of camber and rocker, and take a number of design benefits from both. Flat boards are more responsive and are faster edge to edge than rocker snowboards, but aren’t as responsive as camber – a happy medium and often a great compromise for intermediate snowboarders.
Camber
Camber boards when laid flat on the ground have a slight upward curve towards the centre of the board, with the curve ending at the widest part of the snowboard touching the ground. Camber snowboards offer precise edge hold and are powerful into, and out of the turn.
Camber offers a powerful, stable, and responsive ride that is incredibly versatile, and favoured by the more experienced rider.
Rocker
With upturned ends of the board, the rocker design makes buttering and jibbing easy. If you’re still getting the hang of things, a rocker design is more forgiving as it is less likely the board’s edge will catch.
At low speeds rocker snowboards are playful to ride, however become unstable if you are looking for a high speed ride downhill.
Hybrid
Hybrid profiles are designed to give the best of both worlds, with power and edge hold through camber under foot, yet providing easy turn initiation, float, and forgiveness with rocker in tip and tail. In essence a hybrid snowboard is an all-rounder and is generally a happy medium that isn’t overly specific to a particular terrain.
