| Buying the right board for your riding ability and style is so important not only for safety but also for you to get maximum enjoyment of the sport. There are five main things to take into account: your height, body weight, foot size, ability level and preferred style of riding (All-Mountain, Freeride, Freestyle, Jib, Euro carve….etc.)
Choosing the right board length pretty much depends on your height and riding style.
The general rule of thumb is a board that sits between your nose and chin. A board too short will be great for freestyle jibbing, very quick at turning but quite unstable at speed (the shorter the board the smaller the surface area = less buoyancy on the snow). A board over your nose height will give you greater buoyancy on the snow (cool in powder fields!), will ride faster, but would be harder to turn. A correct sized board will give you good floatation, maximum speed, stability, ease of turning, and overall good all mountain performance.
Your foot size is also a factor when buying a snowboard. Excess toe and heel overhang (with your bindings set at your preferred angles) may cause toe drag when turning on piste or riding deeper snow; also your binding heel cup may slip out on steep gradients. A board that's too wide can also cause problems. Your toes have to be slightly over the edges otherwise you won't pivot enough, making it hard to edge your board. Once you've sorted the board length you require then check out the width, you could even take your boots into the store and marry them up to a board.
Most new boards these days have technical information written on the packaging. This can give you helpful advice on whether your body weight is within the perimeters for a stable, buoyant ride. Your body weight can also determine how stiff a board you buy. The heavier you are the more support you require to stay stable at speed.
The last two things to take into account are ability level and riding style. Your ability level is something for you to decide, this will be a key question asked by shop staff when your looking to purchase a new board, try and be honest with them and yourself! If you are really a beginner who's done one week on snow and you tell them you're an advanced freerider, you may walk away with a board that's way too much for you to handle causing you to go backwards with your riding instead of improving! For example an advanced board may be too stiff, making it hard to turn for a wary beginner, causing them to catch an edge and eat snow!
Freestyle, Freeride, All-Mountain …….These are three common terms given to 'riding styles'.
Most people these days like one board that does it all (All-Mountain). As you get more into snowboarding you may decide to follow a path into the world of Freestyle / Jibbing (tricks, airs, hand-rails and butters!) or Freeriding (carving around the mountain & finding perfect powder days).
There are so many board manufactures and models out there making it hard to decide what board to go for. The internet these days offers a lot of information on boards. Forums discuss pros and cons in great detail, but take this all with a pintch of salt, information can be out of date or come from inexperienced riders who perhaps bought wrong themselves. At Conspiracy we aim to give you the best advice, our staff are well trained by the brands and have first hand experience of testing boards. All our staff are riders themselves who are experienced and passionate about the sport, and want you to enjoy snowboarding like they do! Snowboarding saves lives!
BOARD AND RIDER STYLES
Beginner: Your going on your first snowboard holiday, have just had lessons or you just want an easygoing fun snowboard….
These boards are designed to be easy to ride. In brief they have softer flex which makes turning very easy for the first timer or someone wanting to build up their confidence on the slopes.
Beginner +: Perhaps you've done a week or two on snow, or you've spent sometime on a dryslope or in a fridge! (Indoors real snow slope)….
The same as a beginner board, perhaps with a slightly faster base and a bit stiffer for more stability as you begin to ride faster with more confidence.
Intermediate: You've been riding a while now, found your path in snowboard life. It's now time to explore the whole mountain….
Intermediate boards offer ease of turning but with added stability at higher speeds. With more in-depth construction, you start getting more whistles and bells in your equipment!
Intermediate +: You now have some mileage under your belt and can confidently turn on all terrain at mach 10 or shred every obstacle in the fun park!
These boards start getting more specialised, with base and construction materials being of a higher quality and laid out in different configurations, giving a variety of different rides.
Advanced: You know who you are and by now you know exactly what you want from a snowboard.
These boards are the best of the best, sometimes pro rider, team driven or just all out finely tuned shredders. All made from the most hi-tech materials giving you stability, control, manouverability and speed!
Freeride boards: Are generally stiff, directional in shape, have a longer spoon shaped nose than tail with a set back hole pattern. These boards have quick edge to edge response, carve hard on the piste and stay buoyant while slashing about during big mountain powder riding.
Freestyle boards: Normally ridden shorter than freeride boards, they have deeper sidecuts, more central hole patterns and are generally more flexible. They can be ridden over most of the mountain but are more at home riding switch, spinning and jumping.
All-Mountain boards: A mixture of freeride and freestyle, these boards are the ones that do it all. Set your bindings back for powder days or centralise your stance for a session in the park. Great for riders who like to go away and enjoy all aspects of snowboarding.
Park/pipe/Jib boards: Very similar to freestyle specifications but often more specialised.
Sometimes really quite stiff for pipe riding, or really flexy twin tip Jib boards for rail riding, buttering and kickers.
Board Lengths: Are determined by your height, weight and riding style. Your board should come up between your chin and nose. Under that length will be unstable at speed but fun for freestyling. Over nose level can make a board harder to turn but give you more speed and buoyancy, normally used for freeriding.
Wide boards: These boards are designed with wider waist widths to eliminate toe & heel drag when carving hard or attempting to turn on steeper gradients.
Ladies Boards: Specifically designed for riders with smaller feet and lighter body weights, most of these boards now come in a broader selection of sizes and styles. Also take into account that most 'mens' boards are unisex, so if your statistics measure up, don't be put off looking at these to.
Boots: The most important part of your set-up. If your boots don't fit well the response of your board can be compromised, not to mention the overall health of your feet! Because of this our staff always spend plenty of time fitting you with boots and use their experience and knowledge to help you choose the right boots.
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