How to easily choose a snowboard

Enjoy snowboarding with your equipment this winter! Decathlon guides you to choose your beginner, advanced or expert board!

By placing you sideways on the slope, snowboarding guarantees you a sliding sport with unprecedented sensations. Whether you want to rediscover the slopes with a new winter activity or improve your skills with high-performance equipment, it is important to know how to choose a snowboard before investing in your equipment. This way, you are assured of a model that will meet all your expectations once in real life. In this guide, Decathlon presents you the different criteria useful for your selection.

Why is the choice of your board important?

With a variety of shapes and features, snowboard actively contribute to your riding experience. According to your level, your morphology, or the way you wish to practice this activity, it is thus advisable to choose a board which will be able to adapt to the wished environment and to ensure you a comfort essential to your pleasure and your progress.

Indeed, inadequate equipment can unnecessarily complicate your exercises and quickly discourage you from pursuing snowboarding. Although you were attracted by this discipline, you gradually lose interest, thus depriving yourself of a stimulating and fun sport to enjoy the joys of the mountains in winter.

How to choose a snowboard according to your level

Some snowboards may be easier to handle and ride than others. If you want to enjoy a technical and pleasant equipment to use on the slopes, one of the first criteria to take into account in your choice is your level of practice in snowboarding.

- A soft board for beginners: When you lean on the edge of your board that is not supportive, you make what is called an edge fault. A loss of balance often unavoidable for beginners and requires the use of a more forgiving board to encourage your progress. If you have never snowboarded before or if you frequently make this type of mistake and you don't feel comfortable on a black run, a beginner board is the best choice. Flexible and playful, this one will allow you to familiarize yourself with this sport in the best way.

- A medium board for advanced riders: At ease on the slopes as well as off-piste, you can now opt for a more technical snowboard that will satisfy your freestyle or freeride desires. With an average practice of one to two weeks per year and perfectly acquired basics, your confirmed level requires nevertheless a board whose characteristics assure you a minimum of tolerance in your movements. You will be able to continue to progress serenely with a medium equipment.

- A rigid board for experts: If you're already an expert snowboarder and can get down the slopes quickly in both soft and powder snow, it's best to choose a responsive and responsive board. You benefit from a precise grip in your curves for even more sensations in your sports practice. The opportunity to confront new environments and more complex freestyle tricks with a high-end and demanding board.

Choose a snowboard adapted to your practice

The snowboard you choose must be able to respond properly to the exercises you are used to doing. Indeed, a ride on powder, on piste or in the park, do not imply the same effort on your board.

By choosing features that are consistent with your expectations, your practice will be more fluid and enjoyable.

- Freeride snowboarding: While freeride boards can be effective on groomed slopes, they were designed primarily for off-piste use. This type of board is more rigid and guarantees a longer equipment to help you glide over sometimes rough terrain. With an adapted directional profile and a central rocker, you will be able to easily take speed on powder, but also enjoy an efficient grip on hard snow.

- Freestyle snowboarding: Freestyle snowboarding in the park requires a particularly maneuverable board in order to perform fluid sequences between the different modules, but also your different tricks. Whether you want to ride in the opposite direction, slide on a rail, or take advantage of a jump to perform a frontside or backside rotation, it is advisable to opt for a snowboard with a twin-tip shape. The symmetry of this shape will allow you easier landings, but also more freedom in your performances. Shorter and more reactive, the freestyle snowboard also guarantees a good grip, even on frozen pipe or course walls.

All-mountain snowboarding: All-mountain snowboards allow you to have a more versatile equipment. Indeed, if you want to keep the possibility to do some tricks while still enjoying freeride courses and groomed slopes, a board with a directional twin shape is to be preferred. The latter has the characteristics of a twin-tip shape but positions your feet slightly further back on the board to guarantee your stability in all circumstances. This ensures that your equipment is responsive and maneuverable to meet all your expectations and progress on a variety of terrains. An ideal compromise that will satisfy both experienced snowboarders and expert profiles.

How to choose a snowboard according to your body type

When you choose a snowboard, you will have to quickly define the size required for it. A criterion that depends on your practice of this winter sport, as well as your personal size. Here, we lay out the equivalences for an effective choice and a board that will suit you perfectly once on the snow

Calculate the size of a snowboard for men and women: In order to calculate the size of a snowboard, a general rule can be applied to allow you to make a first selection of boards. In the standing position, your snowboard should arrive between your shoulder and your chin. You can thus define a first approximate board size by applying the following formula:

- Your height in cm - 15 to 25 cm

This estimate can be used for both men and women. Nevertheless, the final choice of your equipment requires a more precise calculation of the size of a snowboard. With this in mind, you can consult our dedicated guide How to choose the size of your snowboard to find the ideal dimensions of your equipment according to your morphology, as well as your practice. Our equivalence tables for men, women and children will allow you to make a more effective comparison for your purchase.

How to calculate the size of a snowboard for a child

To begin and discover the sensations of snowboarding in the best conditions, a versatile all-mountain board is recommended for children. The size of this one will then have to correspond to that of your snowboarder in the making.
- For a child who measures 95 to 115 cm: a board of 88 to 92 cm will be preferred.
- For a child who measures 115 to 130 cm: the height of the snowboard must be between 103 and 107 cm.
- For a child who measures 130 cm to 145 cm: the choice of your board will be made on models from 118 to 122 cm.
- For a child who measures 145 to 160 cm: a snowboard measuring 133 to 137 cm will be suitable.
- For a child who measures 160 to 165 cm: the size of your board should be between 143 and 147 cm.

The size of a child's snowboard will generally be larger than an adult board in its proportions. With a longer model, your young rider will be more stable and can progress in optimal conditions.

Choose a board width adapted to your shoe size

If the length of your snowboard assures you a performing equipment for this winter, the width of it must also be taken into account in your criteria. Indeed, for an optimal handling of your board and a good balance in descent, your feet should not exceed the edges of the snowboard, at the risk of hitting the snow at the time of the turns. On the other hand, a small shoe size on a board that is too wide will not be able to press properly on the frontside and backside edges to maneuver easily. Depending on your shoe size, you can then opt for more or less wide models:

- Narrow snowboards: with a width of less than 25 cm, this type of board is the narrowest and will fit all sizes under 41.
- Standard snowboards: the most common for men, they generally correspond to a size ranging from 41 to 43.5.
- Mid-wide snowboards: wider, these boards will be suitable for sizes 44 to 45 for a perfect ease on the slopes.
- Wide snowboards: riders with a shoe size of 45 or more will find these boards comfortable, but more difficult to handle.

Find your snowboard easily with decathlon!

If you would like personalized assistance in finding your next snowboard, the Decathlon teams are at your disposal in store and online. Our snow sports experts can help you choose the right snowboard for your needs.

A warm contact that will allow you to save precious time to reach the slopes and the mountain courses more quickly!

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