If your snowboard’s best days are behind it now and somehow the pop is gone, then you need to check out the skatedeluxe Online Skate Shop and browse through our huge selection of snowboards from top brands like Bataleon, Burton, Capita, DC, Gnu, Lib Tech, Lobster, Nitro, Slash, YES and many more. Whether freeride, freestyle, park or a dignified allrounder - here you’ll find the right board for every style.
One for all or one of each? Which snowboard best suits me?
Just like life itself, snowboarding also offers the opportunity for free development. For a rough orientation, you can still differentiate snowboards based on their preferred areas of use. Accordingly, the skatedeluxe online shop offers playful Freestyle Snowboards, buoyant Freeride Snowboards for your day in the pow and All-Mountain Snowboards for those who are undecided, yet looking for uncompromising fun.
Form for Fun - the right shape for your needs!
The right shape makes all the difference. Above all, what you want to do with your board is important, because not every form is equally suitable for all terrains. Basically, one can differentiate between two shapes: Twin Shapes and Directional Shapes.
Twin Shape Snowboards are perfect for the park, as the nose and tail are cut the same for both forward and backward riding. A variant of this is Directional Twin Shapes, where the nose is slightly longer, giving it more lift.
Pure Directional Shapes are typically found on freeride snowboards, as the nose is both wider and stronger to provide decent lift in the snow. In order to further optimise the lift, the inserts are also slightly offset towards the rear in order to shift the centre of gravity towards the tail. An extreme variation of this is seen in the Tapered Directional Shapes, where the board tapers towards the tail, giving you tremendous buoyancy even in deep Japanese powder.
Wondering what the right snowboard for the streets is? Then the skatedeluxe Street Snowboarding Guide can definitely help you.
Proper Tension on the mountain – the right profile for your riding!
Still here? Good, because there are still some details we’d like to clarify so that you’ll find a snowboard that you can really go hard with in the snow. Even though you shouldn’t be tense while snowboarding, pre-tensioning is everything here. We’re not talking about stress up on the mountain, though. We’re referring to the material tension of your new snowboard. Again, there are four different types: snowboards with the rocker profile, snowboards with camber profile, flat profile snowboards, and hybrid constructions.
Rocker Snowboards
For rocker boards, the point of contact with the snow is in the middle of the board between the bindings. Due to the negative pre-tensioning, rocker boards have an easy and forgiving ride. That makes these boards perfect for beginners because you won’t tilt so fast. They also have great buoyancy in deep snow.
Camber Snowboards
As for camber boards, the ends of the snowboard form the contact points to the snow. The term derives from the fact that a kind of camber develops in the middle of the board. This ensures super smoothness and enormous pop for Ollies, which makes this type of tension interesting for the park as well. Camber boards also provide powerful edge control and a very precise and lively ride.
Flat Snowboards
Unlike the other pre-tensioning types, flat boards have little tension. The board is therefore completely flat on the ground, with only a slight lift in the nose and tail. Flat boards have less pop due to the low pretension, but are particularly suitable for kickers and rails, as they are very forgiving. The flat profile results in a longer edge than in a rocker profile and the board is also very turn-friendly. For beginners, these boards are much more difficult to ride and therefore are primarily an option for seasoned snowboarders.
Hybrid aka Loaded Snowboards
It’s all in the mix! This principle holds true for snowboarding especially when it comes to innovative hybrid forms of camber and rocker. There are hybrid rockers, where a light rocker in front of the nose and tail provides more lift in the powder and there are hybrid cambers, where there is a slight rocker in the middle of the board that provides smooth turning and slightly more buoyancy. Here, a pre-tensioning profile is particularly prominent, whereas the additional profile should provide some benefits. From a riding point of view, hybrid or loaded boards should combine the respective advantages of camber and rocker technologies.
Flexible in the head, stiff on the slope? The right flex for your riding!
Once you’ve settled on a pre-tensioning profile, you can move on to this next step. Flex is important and determines how hard or soft your board is, so how well it flexes. The rule of thumb for the rigidity of your snowboard is that the more aggressive and powerfully you ride, the harder the board should be. Soft boards are easier to steer, more forgiving of mistakes, and are ideal for buttering and pressing. However, at high speeds, they tend to get less stable and aren’t suitable for steep descents in the backcountry. Think about what your riding is like and choose your board accordingly. If you're in the park a lot, you should get a soft board with a lot of flex. If you are more adventurous and like a good backcountry ride, you should choose a hard board with less flex.
The right size for your snowboard - not only crucial for beginners!
Size matters! At least, it does when it comes to your new snowboard. But not to worry, because size only plays a role proportionally. Namely in proportion to you, your preferred terrain and your height. For starters, your board should at least come up to your chin, but not go past your mouth. It’s the optimal size for beginners because the board has so much area, is quiet and still manageable. As your skill level increases, the size of your snowboard can vary as needed.
If you like deep snow, you should opt for a longer board for good buoyancy. Park queens and kings, where jibbing and the kicker line are very popular, should go for shorter snowboards. In terms of width, there are differences for shoe sizes EU 44/45 and up. In this case, you should think about buying a wide board, so that your toes and heels don't protrude too far over the sides of your board.
If you want to know more about snowboards, you should check out the skatedeluxe Snowboard Wiki. We’ve got many more useful tips for snowboard beginners in our Snowboard Beginner’s Guide.
