How to compare snowboards

So, you are looking for a new snowboard and have narrowed it down to a few different models.

How do you make sure that you are going to choose the best one for you?

Here are the main things to compare:

Shape
FlexCamber

Core
Base

Shape

Is the board Directional? Twin?

If you want to spend a lot of time in the park, messing around jibbing and riding switch, then you would want to get a twin board.

If you are going to be spending most of your time riding all over the mountain, and only occasionally riding switch, you would want to get a board with a directional shape.

Flex

The softer the flex of the board, the easier it is going to be for you to butter, jib around and easilt move. If you are a beginner, a softer board is going to be more forgiving.

If you want to go fast, charge through chopped up snow and aren’t so worried about playing around in the park, get a board with a stiffer flex.

Camber

What camber profile does the board have? Is it all rocker, combination (such as V-Rocker or Gullwing) or regular camber

Core

The materials used in the core of your board will have a big impact on the way that your board rides. Lower end, soft boards can have a composite core (sometimes not even made of wood), while higher end boards have a full wood core.

If you are getting a cheaper jib board, you won’t have to worry about the core too much, as it is more important that the board is soft and light, but for big mountain riding you are going to want a strong wood core in your board.

Base

There are two basic types of snowboard bases – extruded and sintered.

In general, extruded bases are cheaper to make, and are found on cheaper boards. They are slower, but easy to repair.

The more expensive boards have sintered bases. They are tough, fast and hold wax well.

Price

The most obvious difference in boards is the price. Unless you are finding a board that is on special, the price is usualy a good indicator of the materials of the board.

A soft jib board with a composite core and extruded base is going to cost a lot less than an all mountain wood core board with a sintered base.

One last thing, that people put a load of importance on (but shouldn’t) is how the board looks. Remember, it is (hopefully) going to spend lots of time covered in snow, riding around the mountain rather than getting admired in the corner of your room.