There are several different types of snowboards. The boards have their own unique construction, material, shape, flex pattern, and size.
What type of snowboard you should ride?
It all depends on your height, weight, preference, and riding style.
There are some snowboards that are better suited for beginners than others.
Typical Specs for beginners. Medium soft (3-4/10) flex with True Twin Shape and centered Setback Stance. Hybrid Camber, Flat to Rocker best, and Extruded Base. The rocker/flat/rocker (Flat-to-Rocker) or rocker/camber/rocker (Hybrid Camber) profiles are great for beginners as they feel more stable in design.
Snowboards also differ according to the type of boarding.
Freestyle
Freestyle boards are made to do tricks, jumps, and hit jibs. Freestyle snowboards are light, short, and flexible. They are not stable enough for carving turns and traveling fast. The tip and tail of the twin tip board are symmetrical in shape with a centered stance. This design makes it easier for beginners to ride both forward and backward.
Alpine
The alpine is narrower compared to all mountain and freestyle, configured for riding and carving downhill, and not suitable for performing tricks. The design is long, narrow, and stiff. It is meant for higher speed and cleaner carved turns. The alpine is ideal for quick edge turns and stability for speed.
The alpine is both symmetrical and asymmetrical. The construction means that the alpine is supposed to be ridden only in one direction.
All-Mountain
The all-mountain snowboard is designed to be able to do a bit of everything. There will always be some compromise in an all-mountain snowboard.
For riding freestyle, you will want a true twin shape and a centered stance. For riding powder, you will want to have a directional shape and a setback stance.
An all-mountain board finds the middle ground that allows you to do a bit of everything.
Additional Snowboard Features
Traditional Camber
Flat Camber
Rocker And Reverse Camber
Mixed or Modified Camber
A camber profile is essentially the shape of your board when looking at it side on and this affects the feel of the board on the snow.
Looking at a board side on, a camber in the board is a convex shape (like an arch or the letter “n”) and a rocker in the board is a concave shape (like an upside down arch or the letter “u”).
