A Breakdown Of All The Snowboard Riding Styles

Welcome to our explanation of the different snowboard riding styles on The Good Ride.

There are many different types of snowboard styles and many different types of boards to match. We will break these snowboard riding styles down from the park to pure powder riding from me, James Biesty, the creator and editor of The Good Ride. This isn’t a perfect science and their are many boards that overlap but this is is my best effort after riding over 800 boards to help you understand a boards personality. You can find all of our reviews here and filter by your desired category.

Snowboard Riding Styles Explained The Good Ride

Park/Jib/Freestyle

These shine more in the park than they do on the mountain. They also do very well in the jib park more than they do the pipe and bigger kickers. You usually ride these a little softer and shorter than you would a Mtn Freestyle or All Mountain board. They can feel unstable on the mountain.
Shape- Usually Asymmetrical Twins or True Twins
Size- Usually small to very small.
Flex- Usually Med/Soft to Soft.
This is pretty much for going at slower speeds in the park and isn’t too friendly on the other side of the park fence.

Mountain Freestyle

These are boards that treat the mountain like a park but also do really well hitting big kickers in the park or riding pipe. You generally ride these in a more normal size, and they are generally stiffer than Park/Freestyle boards. These are great for riding regular and switch on the mountain. If you like to set your board back in powder to get a better float, this is not a good option.
Shape- Usually Asymmetrical Twins or True Twins
Size- Usually small to mid-size.
Flex- Usually Medium.

All Mountain

These are excellent boards for those who like to do a little of everything but can only buy one board. You can ride these centered/switch on groomers but also set these back in powder to get much better directional float that starts to give you a freeride type of feel. This duality is very unique, and while it does nothing excellent, it does a lot of things very well.
Shape- Usually Directional Twins to slightly Tapered Directional
Size- Usually in the middle of the sizing chart.
Flex- Usually but not always Med to Med/Stiff

Freeride

Freeride boards take it a step more directional than an All Mountain Board. You usually ride these the same size, a little larger or a lot larger than an all-mountain board.  They have more setback on board, are more directional, and often have a good bit of taper. They are really good in groomers but also do better in powder than an all-mountain board would. These are for riders who want a setback feel but still don’t want to ride too close to the tail so it doesn’t feel as weird getting air.
Shape- Usually Tapered Directional to very tapered and directional
Size- Usually mid to large.
Flex- Usually mid to stiff flex.

Alternative FreerideSnowboards

Alternative Freeride Boards are like Freeride boards but usually come in a slightly shorter and more tapered shape.
Shape- Usually Tapered Directional to very tapered and directional
Size- Usually ride a little shorter but not too short compared to Freeride boards
Flex- Often Medium to Med/Stiff to Stiff Flex.

Short Wide Snowboards

Short Wides are often like Alternative Freeride or Freeride boards, but they come in a much shorter and wider package.
Shape- Usually Tapered Directional to very tapered and directional
Size- Usually ride considerably shorter.
Flex- Often Medium to Med/Stiff to Stiff Flex.

Snowsurf Snowboards

The Snowsurf boards emulate how it feels to actually surf but on snow. They ride much more set back towards the tail and often require a positive (posi) stance to really unlock the board’s potential. You want to go with something like +24/+6 or more directional. These are often excellent pow boards too, but they also have an amazing turning experience on groomers. That is why we don’t call these pow boards, as you would miss half the riding experience.
Shape- Usually very tapered, very set back, very directional, and often have swallow tails.
Size- All sizes
Flex- Often Medium to Med/Stiff to Stiff Flex.

Powder

I often call these Pure Powder boards because they do much better in powder than anywhere else. Some can ride groomers, but many don’t do well there at all. These boards are often the last piece to add to the quiver. Or they are for those that go on heli or cat trips often.
Shapes: Come in everything from True Twins to very tapered, set back, and directional
Sizes: All Kinds
Flex: All Kinds of flexes from medium/soft to stiff.

Carvers

We don’t get many carvers sent for reviews. We don’t have a category up for them, but they’re definitely their own unique category. These are boards that are almost all camber and all effective edge with little nubs of a tail and nose. They are pretty scary in powder but live to carve up good to firm conditions.

Shapes: Usually tapered, set back, and directional
Sizes: A Little short to pretty long
Flex: Usually pretty stiff, but some brands make medium flexing rides.

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