There are hundreds of boards on the market today and it’s often quite intimidating when trying to make sense out of all the different options that are available to you.  I often recommend using the following criteria to narrow your board selection down, ranked in order of importance:

 

1.    Riding Style – You must choose a board that best fits your riding style (keep reading this site to find out why this is important).  For example, if you are only going to riding in the park and spending most of your time on rails, your search should be focused on freestyle boards.

 

2.    Cost – In a perfect world snowboards would be cheap – or free!  But in this capitalist economy, you know that board costs vary greatly.  You need to take your overall budget into consideration and narrow your choices down to what you can afford.  (Be sure to read our notes on board costs and budgeting later).

 

3.    “Special” Characteristics, particularly related size – If you have large feet or are a very big person (no, I didn’t say fat), then you need to narrow your search to boards that will fit you.  If you have Size 14 feet, sorry, you probably need to rule out boards with 245 waist widths.  If you weigh 275 pounds, a model whose maximum size is 159 isn’t going to work either.  (Read our notes on selecting board length and waist width later).

 

4.    Manufacturer and Model – Once you’ve narrowed down your riding style and budget, you can start looking for specific boards that suit you best and take it from there.  

 

Manufacture catalogs and websites, as well as your local board shop, can assist you in identifying what’s available on the market today.  At the end of your research process, you should be able to say something like “I am looking for a freeride-focused board with a mid-wide or wide waist width that costs between $350 and $400.”  Using these criteria, you should be able to identify models that can potentially fit you.

 

 

 

 

There are a lot of places to turn for help these days, but you need to be careful.   The three most common mistakes that people make when searching for help are:

 

1.    Taking advice from someone who doesn’t have a clue as to what they are talking about.  (There are many of these people out there)

2.    Taking advice from someone who is heavily biased for or against certain brands or, worse, is highly in-scented to sell a certain brand.  (e.g. people who say “Don’t buy Burton cause all Burtons suck!” or “You’re stupid if you buy anything other than a Neversummer”, without having any basis for their argument.)

3.    Giving into the marketing hype (e.g. “This board is the most technically-advanced freestyle board made today!”, or the classic, “Our boards are made BY riders, FOR riders.”).   Snowboard manufacturers spent a lot of money to attract you to their products and they will be sure to make all their products sound like they are the best that you can buy.

 

Stock traders often use the term “DYOR” or “Do Your Own Research” anytime they recommend a stock, signifying that you can take someone’s advice, but ultimately you are responsible for your own purchase and the ramifications of making that purchase.   This doesn’t differ when it comes to snowboards.  The best thing you can do is to aggressively research the boards available to you and receive input from multiple sources.  Quite simply, you are foolish if you take advice from a single source, particular a faceless person sitting on some computer attached to the Internet  (Yes, this site included).   If you are lazy and take the first bit of advice that you receive, you have a much higher risk of buying a board that is not best for you.

 

One of the best things you can do is find a good independent board shop.    Independent shops employ individuals who are more in-touch with the products that they sell and are less focused on selling other things like tennis racquets, lawn darts or golf clubs.  

 

Manufacturers can also be a great resource for information.  Besides their websites, most people don’t realize that manufactures love talking to potential buyers about their products.  I have spent countless hours on the phone getting product information directly from the manufacturer and have often had the opportunity to speak directly with the chief product engineer or designer.  Just be sure to make sure you ask the manufacturers questions directly related to their products, e.g. “Which of your boards in this price range are built for park riding?” or “If I spend most of my time freeriding, would it be better to ride Board A or Board B”.  Remember, when you talk to a manufacturer, their boards will always be the best available on the market.)

 

I would also recommend befriending someone who has been riding for a while and has gone through the board buying process before.  Your friends mean well, but many of them probably don’t have a clue as to what they are talking about.  Choose your friends wisely.  Choose the people you take snowboard advice from even more wisely.

 

 

 

One of the most important things to keep in mind is that just because a board is more expensive doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a better board when compared lower-cost models.    It saddens me when I see a newbie boarder drop $500 on a new board (before bindings and boots!) just because he thinks that an expensive board will make him ride better.  Buying Danny Kass’s pro model board won’t give you the ability to hit back-to-back 720s in the pipe at the US Open.  Sorry.

 

In fact, the reality is that high-end, expensive boards may even HURT your riding, depending on your skill level.  Expensive boards at the top of a manufacture’s line are typically advanced, aggressive models that are intended for more experienced boarders.  A new boarder who drops $600 on a stiff, aggressive freeride board, for example, is going to have a hard time learning to link turns and utilize proper technique.

Ultimately, the answer to the question depends on your personal budget.   The most important piece of advice I can give, however, has nothing to do with your snowboard at all:  Make sure you get yourself a good set of Boots and Bindings!   Your boots and bindings are the link to your board and should not be made an afterthought.   They are primarily responsible for the level of comfort you experience while riding.  You will have to spend a hell of a long time in your boots throughout the season, so you best make sure that they are comfortable.