Snowboards

Snowboard Types and Riding Styles

Snowboard Sizing: Length and Width

Snowboard length is guided by your height and body weight, with weight the more reliable measure of the two since it affects how the board flexes and performs. A simple rule of thumb: stood on its tail, a board should reach somewhere between your chin and the tip of your nose. Riders who prefer speed and stability generally size up slightly within their range, while riders who want a more playful, easy-to-turn board size down slightly.

Board width matters just as much as length, particularly for riders with larger feet. Your boots should sit just slightly over the edges of the board, by about one to two centimetres on each side. Too little overhang reduces leverage when you turn, and too much causes your toes or heels to drag and catch on the snow.

The most accurate way to size a board is to have it fitted in-store against your height, weight, boot size and riding style. Our team can talk you through this in person.

Camber, Rocker and Hybrid Profiles

The profile of a snowboard, meaning the curve along its base, affects how it grips, turns and floats.

• Camber: the board arches slightly upward underfoot and presses flat under your weight. This gives strong edge grip, consistent pop, and a lively, responsive feel, favoured by riders who carve or ride at speed.
• Rocker: the board curves upward at the nose and tail. This makes turning easier and more forgiving, and helps the nose float in powder, which suits beginners and powder riders.
• Hybrid: a mix of camber and rocker in the same board, aiming to combine the stability of camber with the forgiveness of rocker. Hybrid profiles are common on all-mountain boards built to handle a range of conditions.

Flex: Soft vs Stiff

Flex describes how much a board bends along its length and across its width.

• Softer flex boards are more forgiving and easier to control at slower speeds, which suits beginners, park riders and lighter riders.
• Stiffer flex boards hold their shape better at speed and on hard-packed or variable snow, which suits advanced riders, freeride terrain and heavier riders.

As a general guide, flex should increase alongside ability and the speed or terrain you ride.

Sidecut: How it Affects Your Turns

Sidecut is the hourglass shape you see if you lay a board flat and look at its outline. That curve along your board edge is measured as a radius in metres, and it has a big effect on how a board turns. A tighter (smaller) sidecut radius makes a board want to turn more sharply, which suits short, quick direction changes. A wider (larger) sidecut radius holds a longer, sweeping turn and tends to feel more stable at higher speeds.

In practical terms you don't need to worry about sidecut so much as the manufacturers will use a sidecut suitable to the type of board you are buying. But if you really want to understand the tech, it is worth knowing that there are different types of sidecut...

• Constant radius: a single, unchanging curve runs the full length of each edge. This gives a predictable, consistent turn shape.
• Progressive (variable) sidecut: the curve changes along the edge, often tighter near the nose and tail and wider underfoot. This blends quick turn initiation with a stable feel once the board is up on edge.
• Asymmetric sidecut: uses a different radius on the toe edge compared with the heel edge. This aims to make toe-side and heel-side turns feel more even, since most riders naturally have more leverage on their toes than their heels.

Snowboard Shape

• Directional: designed to ride primarily in one direction, usually with a longer nose than tail. Suited to all-mountain and freeride riding.
• True twin: identical nose and tail, so the board rides the same forwards and backwards (switch). Suited to park and freestyle riding.
• Directional twin: a twin shape with small directional tweaks, such as a slightly setback stance. A versatile middle ground for riders who want some switch capability without giving up all-mountain performance.

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