What kind of snowboard for beginners

Rossignol is another huge name in winter sports equipment. This board is ready to roll if you pair it with a set of Rossignol Viper bindings that bolt right up. This is an advanced skill that Rossignol has made easier through improvements in board design. This board is a standby favorite that racks up consistent love and reviews from riders year after year.

Carbon Slimrods run partially through the board and add pop and power into the deck to help you really take off in the park. The flat deck is squirrelly yet controllable and designed to easily roll from turn to turn. The twin tip rocker design is meant to be at home on the groomers with a more freeride type style.

Overall the board has a careful and thoughtful blend of characteristics that can take the beginner snowboarder in just about any direction. Burton made this snowboard to be soft, playful, and easy to ride. The directional 5mm taper will make it so that your stability riding forwards is pleasant and safe.

Overall this is definitely a board for beginners that will bring easy enjoyment to the sport. Pair it up with the Burton Freestyle Bindings. Meant to deliver on buttery smooth turns, slides, and switches everything about the board should make your life easier, and more fun as you learn to love snowboarding.

I started writing online for my own outdoor sports blog in Those were the days when growing a no-name blog was easy. Today niche blogging is a different story. I still work closely with tons of outdoor gear companies to review and analyze products. In I began building my freelance writing career as readers and other bloggers reached out to me for help with technical outdoor sports content strategy for online businesses. Within weeks I was overloaded with requests for freelance writing and my new career blossomed.

There are tons of factors that go into creating a snowboard. These tools of shredding are engineered to deliver high quality thrills at top speeds in cold environments. So what factors really make a difference in choosing a beginner snowboard? Picking out a snowboard starts with understanding how length affects ride type and style.

Each snowboard is made to a set length. Some snowboards are made with several lengths available to choose from. For freeriding snowboarders — a longer board is needed. Freeriding is focused more on speed and long, smooth runs where the mountain is the playground.

Freeride boards are more stable at higher speeds thanks to their increased length. For freestyle boards — a shorter snowboard is ideal. These shorter boards are more agile, lighter, and easier to manipulate in the terrain park.

Err on the side of shorter when looking for a snowboard to rip some sweet freestyle moves in the terrain park. For beginners — it might make the most sense to choose a snowboard that is directly in the middle of your suggested length range. Since you may not be sure yet of your style or preferences, staying in the middle of your range leaves you room to grow into any style you prefer.

In the world of snowboarding, width is largely predetermined by the size of your snowboard boots. Because snowboard boots are mounted perpendicular to the length of the board, they determine width. If your toe side or heel side are dragging in the snow when the board is on edge, it can create dangerous drag and loss of control.

Snowboard width should be such that the toe and heel of your boots are just barely sticking over the edge of the board when mounted. Because narrow boards are more agile, carve harder, and can be put on edge with less effort it may be desirable to ride a more narrow board than your boot size allows.

In this case you can try to get outfitted for low profile snowboard boots. These narrower boots allow you to ride a narrow waisted board. While there are several other adjustments that might allow a rider to mount a narrower board, for beginners these are usually out of the question. Are meant to be ridden on any part of the mountain in any condition.

Most boarders will use this type of board and beginner snowboarders would be well advised to use this board type. These boards are shorter and usually twin tipped. They may be difficult to control in other conditions such as powder, crud, or off trail riding.

A re for off-trail riding and odd conditions. These boards are built to explore the entire mountain and excel in the trees, in powder, and usually feature a longer profile and directional shaping. Are wider, longer, and shaped to handle deep fluffy powder. Bindings on these boards may be set differently than other boards to help float the board through powder.

Snowboards may be shaped to help the rider achieve certain goals. Twin Tip — is a shape where the front and back of the board are identical in shape and design.

These boards ride equally well in either direction and usually belong in the terrain park. Directional Boards — are meant to be ridden in a single direction.

These boards are common in freeride applications. Asymmetrical Boards — can be oddly shaped. These boards might be stiffer in the tip or tail. They can also sometimes have unequal sidecut or profiling. They might be made so that heelside turns are sharper and harder, while toeside turns are longer and more gentle. What exactly is rocker and camber, and how does it affect your board? Rocker — is most easily described as a banana shape. Rocker refers to an upturned shape where the center of the snowboard is in contact with the snow while the tip and tail are elevated.

Rocker shape is helpful in applications such as park riding. Camber — is just the opposite of rocker. A cambered snowboard is bent downward so that the tip and tail are touching the snow while the center of the board is lifted off the snow. Once weighted, the entire board lays flat on the snow.

A correctly sized snowboard will help you reduce the chances of losing balance or catching an edge — something all snowboarders know about and dread. Check out the pointers below to find the most ideal snowboard type to help you link your turns quickly and start cruising down the mountains! Here are the basic points to consider when choosing your first snowboard:.

As a rule of thumb, if you place a board standing upright on its tail bottom end , the nose top end of the board should reach somewhere between your nose and chin.

To simplify things, a snowboard that stretches above your nose might be too long for you while a board that sits lower than your chin might be too short for you. Of course, this is over simplifying things and there are many more considerations to take note of before determining the ideal snowboard length — we will mention more of these considerations below. Selecting a snowboard on the longer side for you will help you achieve a more stable ride but it will require much more effort when it comes to initiation your turns.

As a result, it will prove to be more difficult to successfully link your turns smoothly. On the other hand, a shorter board will help you turn a lot easier great for beginners but tends to be less stable at higher speeds and you will often experience more chattering — an undesirable vibration between your snowboard and the ice below.

As such, selecting a snowboard properly sized for you is very important to achieve a stable ride that helps you turn effortlessly. It is always a good idea to check the size charts and recommended rider weights to help you choose the right snowboard length.

If you are above the average weight, consider a longer or wider board, this will provide more stability when riding. You can tell that a board is too short for you when you feel your board chattering under your feet as you pick up speed or when you start to lose balance riding over the smallest bumps. If you find yourself in deep powder, a shorter board means less surface area and less float to keep you on top of the snow.

Overall, a board that is too short makes you much less stable and not perform to the best of your abilities. Check out the Bataleon Global Warmer Snowboard A narrower snowboard allows you to initiate your turns with less effort and also makes it easier to transition from heel edge to toe edge. Wider snowboards on the other hand will give you more stability but requires more effort to control. Choosing the right snowboard width is important as if your board is too wide for you, you will experience some difficulty transitioning from one edge to another, making you movements slow and sluggish.

If the board is too narrow though, you will often unintentionally drag your toes toe drag or heel heel drag of your boot in the snow when turning. This slows you down, interrupts the flow of your turns and also damages your snowboard boots. Most frequently, toe drag occurs and this can be both irritating and dangerous when attempting turns at higher speeds. For beginners, freestyle or all-mountain snowboards are what you should look out for because these boards would usually have a centred stance which is great for beginners to start with, and they are usually of soft to medium flex.

It takes more power and skill to control a stiff board fully. I would recommend a twin shape for beginner riders. This is a typical shape for many snowboards. It looks symmetrical from tip to tail. Twin-shaped boards allow beginners to develop new skills and explore different riding styles.

They also tend to be slower, which is also nice for beginners because it keeps them under control. Though you might want to go out and buy your first snowboard right away, you might want to consider renting gear for a while before you purchase your own.

That will give you the chance to experiment with different models to find the option that works for you. If your rental shop has any of the boards listed here, give them a shot before you spend the money. I would recommend an all-mountain board with a soft flex for beginners.

This is a board that will help you improve your skills by being forgiving and allowing you to explore different types of terrains and conditions along the way. The size of your snowboard is related to your height and weight, alongside your ability level. Generally, most beginner riders have boards somewhere between cm. A shorter board is better for a beginner. These boards are easier to control and maneuver, which comes in handy when you are just learning the basics of riding.

If you are tall, a longer board might be the best choice. The best advice I can offer to new snowboarders is to stick with it. Hang in there. Only a select few people will become outstanding riders without years of practice. Even if you put in the time on the snow and a lot of practice, you may never reach a professional level. But there is so much fun to have, no matter what ability level you reach!

Learning the basics of the sport is essential for every rider. Taking a lesson with a good instructor is highly recommended. If you have a friend who knows what they are doing, they can offer some help as well.

Also, be prepared and do not push yourself too much. If you are tired or attempt a run outside of your ability level, you can easily hurt yourself and ruin your season.

Nobody wants that. Check out more from my beginner tips for first-time snowboarders. A good beginner snowboard can help you learn the basics of the sport while having a ton of fun doing it. Your email address will not be published. Skip to content. Best Overall Salomon Sight. Best for Kids Rossignol Alias Kids. Best for the Park Gnu Carbon Credit.