As you are in the search for a new snowboard that can help you reach your next level of progression in your riding, you will need to figure out a few things to make sure that the right decision is made. It is important to first decide what style of board is going to help you reach your goals on the hill; a new riders goals should be to progress from the beginner level to intermediate level of riding as quickly as possible and the experienced rider may be buying a board to add to the ever growing quiver of boards. Once you have a few boards narrowed down to meet your needs, it is now time to choose what size of board is best for you.
To choose the best size of board you will want to make sure that you are making the decision based on the following:
Your weight, your body type and your boot size
Your riding style and level of experience
Your selected board type and the conditions that you will be riding
Weight
Start by narrowing down the list of available sizes by your weight. Many manufacturers will have a size chart specific for their snowboards. Some companies will even go as far as having a size chart specific for each snowboard they produce. These charts are a good place to start for narrowing down what size of board to ride, but usually any given weight will fit in two to three different sizes. Also, just because your weight is not listed on a given size does not automatically mean that that board is not right for meeting the needs of that rider.
Body Type
Now we will focus on our body type. Many people will wrongly focus too much on their height when selecting a board size. A snowboard does not receive input from the height of the rider. Rather the board is pressed into the snow by the weight of the rider. The body type of a given rider better determines the height of the rider in reference to the size of board. The body type is in reference to weight and height combined. If you are short and stocky than you will want a board that is on the smaller size of the sizing chart. This rider will have less leverage to flex the board in proportion the rider’s weight. If you are a tall and skinny rider you will want a board that is towards the longer size. The longer leg will allow the board to be more easily flexed and manipulated.
Snowboard Boot Size
Don’t forget to compare your snowboard boot size to the waist width of the board. As some boots will have a smaller foot print than others it is the size of the foot print of your boot that matters more than the actual size of your foot. This is extremely important for the riders with a boot size 11 and over. You want to make sure that you are doing what you can do avoid toe and heal drag. This will allow you to achieve the same level of performance as the smaller booted rider. A common misconception of wide boards is that a wide board is more sluggish and slower edge to edge. This is all relative to the rider that is standing on the board. For a rider with size 12 boots the board with a 250mm waist is going to be a pretty narrow board. While the same waist width board for a rider with size 9 boots will be a mid wide board. The waist width of the board and the performances achieved from a given waist width should be evaluated relative to the boot size standing on that board.
Riding Style & Experience
The size of a snowboard that will best suit a rider is also determined by the experience of the rider and the style of riding that the board is to be used. A rider with less experience will want a shorter board for everyday resort cruising to make turning and maneuvering easier and a longer board for powder riding to allow for good float while riding at slower speeds. The experienced rider will be able to more easily handle a longer board in all situations as well as be able to ride a shorter powder snowboard in the powder, due to more efficient movements and the ability to maintain speed. The style of riding is therefore very important in considering what size of board will work the best in a given situation. The freestyle rider is usually going to lean to the shorter size of board because it is easier to spin and maneuver. The freestyler that is focused on jibs (boxes and rails) will many times be stoked on a board that is one below the referred board lengths because the board will have an even lower spin weight and more clearance when in tight situations. The rider that is into freeriding the whole mountain will most of the time be on a board that will become to be referred as the riders normal board length. This is in part personal preference and determined by an individuals likes and dislikes of different sizes of board in their past experiences. Riders that like to freeride at higher speeds tend to lean to a board that is a bit longer. The backcountry rider will also tend to lean to a board that is on the longer size to give more float in the powder and variable snow conditions.
Snowboard Type & Conditions
The riding conditions and type of board is our last element in selecting the correct size of board. The rider that will be on groomed terrain and parks will not need as long of board as a rider that will be in soft and natural terrain. The area that you ride the most and it’s most common snow conditions is very important when selecting a size of board. The powder in Utah is different from the powder in the Sierras and your pow board will in tern need to be sized differently; Utah – less water content in the snow and less float = longer pow board, Sierras - more water content in the snow and more float = shorter pow board. A powder board that has more tapered shape will be ridden at times smaller than your normal resort freeride board due to the increased float of the tapered shape. Many freestyle snowboards will have a short blunt nose and a longer effective edge for a given length and need to be sized down in overall length.
Address each one of these aspects of your riding and your body makeup when selecting your next board size and you will be sure to make the correct decision every time. As each board is different, allow yourself time to get comfortable on different equipment. Learn to be adaptable and your overall skills can progress as you move from one type and size of board to another.
jlecoche -
thanks a lot!!! a perfect first resource for somebody who is confused about all the different sizes and types of boards 172 days 12 hours 49 minutes ago
Soul_train21 -
Thanks from a Newbie... I fall into several of these mulitple board catagories... I'm a military guy, 5'10 190 +/- 4, with a solid workout routine. So I went with a 162cm... Now clothing is not going to be fun... 176 days 1 hours 1 minutes ago
lockwobr -
Thanks for the info... Sometimes you forget this stuff. 177 days 8 hours 22 minutes ago
mommehK -
Well written -- good info! 193 days 6 hours 52 minutes ago
Mr. Mayday -
awesome 218 days 14 hours 2 minutes ago
HUFset -
wah wah wah 221 days 15 hours 50 minutes ago
marine2255 -
very helpful!
226 days 11 hours 27 minutes ago
Byers -
god this makes my life easier!! I've been running around all pre season giving my mates advice on what boards to get, what size, how thick etc, and now I can just copy and paste this link onto their facebook site - why didn't I see this earlier lol.
356 days 16 hours 12 minutes ago
Phillip4x -
It helps trying out a lot of different boards in the beginning. If you dont know what style you want to do then just go with a zerocamber. 357 days 16 hours 3 minutes ago
tromma2 -
Helped quite a bit! 403 days 9 hours 56 minutes ago
tiddles182 -
good stuff 411 days 2 hours 23 minutes ago
shuynh4 -
veryyyy helpful! 411 days 12 hours 30 minutes ago
jjm550 -
very help full the only thing that would help even more is if you had something to plug your weight and height in and that would tell you what size board 428 days 20 hours 9 minutes ago
tmcg715 -
good to know for when I'm looking for my new board 439 days 13 hours 53 minutes ago
Exilent -
extremely helpful 441 days 10 hours 30 minutes ago
morena_rider -
Muchisimas gracias, ha sido de gran ayuda, e sta muy bien explicado todo. 451 days 6 hours 5 minutes ago
Blueline88 -
Very helpful thanks heaps! 456 days 2 hours 11 minutes ago
CaliSnow -
very helpful 466 days 15 hours 8 minutes ago
badolf -
Very helpful to beginner riders 484 days 11 hours 14 minutes ago
AzNVi3tThaM -
helped alot 489 days 9 hours 28 minutes ago
BBOYLE -
thanks for the info! great advice! :) 492 days 3 hours 1 minutes ago
gordon -
thankss helped a ton 494 days 12 hours 50 minutes ago
dbalekian -
super helpful, thanks! 497 days 6 hours 6 minutes ago
dbalekian -
super helpful, thanks! 497 days 6 hours 7 minutes ago
SnowJock -
beautiful needed this soooo bad grew so much from last year 503 days 9 hours 9 minutes ago
Bobbywich -
learned a lot, thanks 517 days 8 hours 43 minutes ago
SafetyLouis -
Very educational video...definitely helped me pick a size. 526 days 13 hours 45 minutes ago
Atrain28DC -
I agree a calculator for sure. But never the less great information. 533 days 8 hours 3 minutes ago
chauchow25 -
There needs to be a calculator where you enter your weight, height, and random other facts and it spits out a board length and maybe makes some recommendations haha 539 days 13 hours 14 minutes ago
dyu -
Thanks for the article. Very informative. Now I just need to decide on a board. 541 days 2 hours 49 minutes ago
ticky -
Super helpful! thanks! Helped me pick my first board. Going to Whistler soon for the first time, yay! 545 days 17 hours 15 minutes ago
str33tsweeper -
very helpful. helped me find the right park board 548 days 1 hours 34 minutes ago
mckinneyfd -
extremely helpful... thx 549 days 10 hours 45 minutes ago
JCOST2006 -
good article. thanks! 550 days 9 hours 13 minutes ago
x-tiaN -
Thank you. This is very helpful. 552 days 14 hours 28 minutes ago
Aarock -
This is a helpful guide, especially for the rider with less board sizing experience under their belt 557 days 3 hours 41 minutes ago
annamaladec -
useful thing. good job 566 days 10 hours 34 minutes ago
Kamii -
Thanks! This was definitely helpful for a total beginner like me. 567 days 10 hours 15 minutes ago
w.southwind -
totally helpful. thanks alot. 569 days 12 hours 12 minutes ago
Kighted -
This was helpful! thank you! 572 days 12 hours 32 minutes ago
ichan -
Great! Have all the details for the beginner like me. 582 days 18 hours 28 minutes ago
Ahdee1314 -
very helpful for beginners like me 583 days 4 hours 3 minutes ago
alexandrakatex -
very helpful! 583 days 5 hours 28 minutes ago
gunnerbarnes -
just what i was looking for. thanks! 587 days 6 hours 23 minutes ago
dyu -
Thanks for the info. It was helpful. 590 days 4 hours 30 minutes ago
oehokie -
good info thanks 595 days 16 hours 5 minutes ago
aserran0 -
thanks...real useful 602 days 8 hours 33 minutes ago
kpcloud -
thx for the help! 607 days 10 hours 35 minutes ago
divide100 -
Thanks, this is very helpful 611 days 6 hours 12 minutes ago
dalico -
Thanks, this is helpful and will be invaluable when selecting a board to purchase. 630 days 3 hours 53 minutes ago
dalico -
Thanks, this is helpful and will be invaluable when selecting a board to purchase. 630 days 4 hours 12 minutes ago
jameskim -
it helps a lot for me... thanks so much.. 630 days 12 hours 59 minutes ago
jameskim -
it helps a lot for me... thanks so much.. 630 days 13 hours 3 minutes ago
kromeassassin -
When I got my board, I only checked the manufacturers sizing chart and bought it but this definitely helps. I'm the short and stocky type, need a few cms bigger!! 640 days 16 hours 16 minutes ago
pucktowake -
Now I finally know what the right size is. I was riding a board 10 cm too small! 643 days 11 hours 11 minutes ago
tokidoki.emi -
This is awesome...I always relied on the guys at the rental place to pick everything for me. 649 days 10 hours 16 minutes ago
caymanbound -
Solid advice...especially w/ repsect to H20 content of powder and influence on board size! 649 days 11 hours 27 minutes ago
beckman31 -
This was helpful 650 days 10 hours 36 minutes ago
jimjim190 -
this was helpful, would prefer a calculator to help simplify 659 days 13 hours 55 minutes ago
karolseed24 -
this was very helpful! 677 days 10 hours 44 minutes ago
dougfagel -
Glad we could help! 686 days 6 hours 50 minutes ago
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