Snowbored Specs: How to pick the right snowboard

Picking the right bored is not just about knowing the length of the bored. This oftentimes is a quick way for sales reps to get you on a bored and out the door quicker. This is in no way to approach it, especially if you are dishing out all the cheddar it costs for a new deck these days. If you really want to dive into what matters when picking a snowboard, you want to consider a few things.. First, your weight and shoulder width has a lot to do with the size of snowboard you should be picking rather than just your height. Some people may be kind of short, while having long legs and broad shoulders, this would allow them to ride a board that has more spaced out binding inserts and flex out a bigger bored during turn initiation etc. So walking up to a board and it “coming up to your chin” or something of that sort to measure whether that board will fit you or not is definitely NOT the move. Use a proper sizing chart such as this one when trying to determine whether a bored might fit you.

Height/Weight=Board Size

This graph is helpful as a starting point to start narrowing down your search, however there is much more information for you to consider when shopping around. Size is not everything. (pfff haven't heard that one from a less gifted man before)

The stats like sidecut, waist width, and effective edge are going to make the most contribution to how the snowbored is going to feel when you are making a turn. These statistics are arguably more important when shopping around than length.

Let's start with the sidecut, this particular part of the bored is going to make the angle in which you will lay a turn. Think about it this way, if you have a really deep sidecut and a shorter waist width, you are going to be making much quicker turns. (In your head you can continue the angle of the sidecut out past the board and into the snow, and that angle is how the board is going to draw its S shape into the snow.) Even if you have a super long bored, A nice tight waist will allow for more maneuverability in those tight trees. If you have a need for speed, grab a bored with a nice wide waist and a shallower sidecut to carve those straighter lines in the snow! (remember: rocks only hit you if you make turns, don’t be a wimp)

The next thing you want to look at is the effective edge of a snowboard, this is going to tell you how long the bored is actually going to feel when you are riding, this is more important than the overall length of the bored because it's the surface touching the snow as you bop around. For instance, a 160 length board could have the same effective edge length as a 155 if the 155 has a short nose and tail, the nose and tail of that 160 could be shaped like a rocket, making its overall length a lot longer, however the actual feel of the ride is going to be closer to a normal 155.

Not all companies will tell you the overall surface area of the bored, but if you can find that information (or calculate it) then it can tell you a lot about how easily the board will float, this info is pretty straight forward, more surface area= more float. Another huge recommendation I have for anyone looking to grab a new bored is simply chat with an expert, most companies will have a dirty hippy standing by to recommend a specific bored from their brand to a specific rider based on much more than just the height and weight you can find from charts. I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have as well. As one of my major purposes is to make bored sports much more enjoyable for all that partake. 

So try and consider all of this information next time you are making your selection, as it will definitely get you closer to the right bored. 

I really hope this enlightens you on how to pick the right snowboard! Thanks for reading, and happy hunting! :)