Your Snowboard style and associated type
For both beginners and more experienced snowboarders it can sometimes be difficult to buy a new snowboard. In a good shop the salesperson will almost immediately ask you what your preferred style is. And then he is not talking about your preference in clothing or music, but what you are most occupied with on the slopes. There are roughly 4 Snowboard categories (style and type), let's go through them for a moment;
All-mountain Snowboard
This is about the most common style, an All-mountain Snowboard is universal and as the name suggests can be used for almost everything you will encounter on the mountain. On the slopes? No problem! Next to the slopes? No problem! In the park? No problem!
Well, we may be exaggerating a little bit, because there is no Swiss army knife among snowboards that can really do everything, but with the right skills and technique you can really pull your plan in almost any situation with such a board.
This style allows you to easily alternate between Freestyle and Freeride Snowboarding and they are available in both a Directional and Twin Shape.
When we talk about the Flex of the board, this will fluctuate in the mediums of the scale. Think of 4 to 6 out of 10. This way they are stiff enough to fly smoothly and stably over the slope, but also flexible enough if you want to do tricks like buttering, jibbing and those fat jumps.
Are you still a beginner? Then this is the type of board you prefer. Are you already an advanced snowboarder? We bet you already have an All-Mountain Snowboard?
Freestyle Snowboard
Judging from most manufacturers' marketing machine, they supposedly have the All-mountain Freestyle board in their range, but don't be surprised, as we mentioned before, there is not 1 board that can do absolutely everything. Freestyle stands for stunts, tricks on the piste, next to the piste and mainly in the park. For the real daredevils there is also street style.
In terms of shape, a Freestyle Snowboard should have a true True-Twin shape. In addition, they are rather short in length to easily rotate, but also to ride faster in Switch or Fakie between stunts.
The Flex in freestyle is very personal; if you want to butter and press, a super soft Flex is nice, think of a Bataleon Wallie for example, which will bend just by looking at it! On the other hand, the jumpers among us want a slightly harder Flex, or at least Stringers in the Nose or Tail of the Snowboard, which allows for more stable landings.
The average Flex rate for a Freestyle board is between 0 & 6 out of 10, and almost all Freestyle snowboards are also good to use on the slopes, and can therefore be useful for real beginners. Their softer Flex is more forgiving, but on the other hand you will notice that - as soon as you reach higher speeds - they still offer a little too little stability and grip.
The advanced Snowboarder usually has more than 1 type of Snowboard, often one specific to Freestyle style.
Freeride Snowboard
This type of board is also perfect for use on the piste as well as off the piste. These stiffer boards almost always have a Directional Shape, although it does not necessarily have to be with a so-called Swallow Tail.
This style is known for speed and sharp turns, perfect for Freeriding, where you need to be able to avoid obstacles quickly. If you go off-piste, you don't want to crash into a tree, and you obviously want to be able to maneuver quickly to avoid rocks or precipices.
The Swallow Tail and variants are designed because you usually only go one direction with this. Often this type of Snowboard, and style, goes with a wider board, and the bindings are slightly to the back so that you can easily surf over loose powder snow, also called POW.
It will come as no surprise, but due to their stiffness this type is less forgiving, and you will therefore only see them very rarely in a Freestyle park. This hard Flex is namely necessary to really cruise stably at rocket speeds. The average Flex Rate of such a Snowboard is therefore between 6 & 10 out of 10.
Alpine Racing Snowboard
Did we just mention a stiff board? Discover the super-super stiff board! Alpine Snowboards are rock hard and specially made for competitions, of course speed competitions because otherwise we wouldn't call it Racing ????
This type of Snowboard expects a perfect style! These boards are long and narrow, you could sometimes compare them to Skis. Forget about those Soft Boots, because they do not give enough support when making sharp turns at a breakneck speed.
This Snowboard is actually only suitable for real experienced snowboarders, because every mistake will be punished mercilessly. And believe us, you really don't want to fall at those very high speeds, the outcome of that is usually quite serious.
It will therefore not surprise you that the Flex Rate of this type of Snowboard starts at 10/10, and yes, if this is new to you: there are also Flex Rates of 11, 12, 13 out of 10 and higher!
If you need such a Snowboard, you undoubtedly already know the way to Wax & Board!
Which Snowboard Type and Style is Right for Me?
This depends entirely on what you want to do with your Snowboard. Therefore, think carefully before purchasing a Snowboard.
If you plan to go mostly on the piste, and sometimes off-piste, then you better choose a Freeride Snowboard. This way you are sure to have grip and stability. However, if you want to do tricks every now and then, then you better choose an All-Mountain board, these are flexible and universally applicable.
However, if your focus is entirely on jumps, butters and other tricks? Then you will obviously choose a Freestyle Snowboard. These are short, easily manoeuvrable and quite flexible. However, if you still want to go on the slopes every now and then, you would do well to buy a slightly longer version, which will give you more stability. The so-called All-Mountain Freestyle Snowboards are actually Freestyle boards with a slightly longer length to find the ideal compromise.
As a beginner, you should take an All-Mountain Snowboard, if you are a slightly less muscular or sporty beginner, we dare to recommend a Freestyle Snowboard. But certainly do not hang around for too long, and do not let this be your only Snowboard so that you can improve your technique with a slightly stiffer board.
Finally, are you a speed freak? Well.. then you know what to do. Do yourself a favor and buy an Alpine Racing Snowboard and of course the super stiff boots that go with it!
Do you have any questions or comments about your Snowboard style and type, please leave a message below. And are you looking for a new Snowboard, even one custom made? Contact then definitely Wax & Board!
