Snowboarding
There are several types of snowboards and finding the right one for you is very important.
Red Bull snowboarder Mark McMorris has had a storied career as a freestyle snowboarder.
However, the Canadian set his sights on conquering Natural Selection Tour, a backcountry snowboarding competition that tests a snowboarder’s freeriding capability.
“I was always excited to ride any type of powdery snow in the Canadian Rockies as a kid,” McMorris said. “And ever since, I’ve put quite a bit of time each year into riding untracked runs in the mountains.”
When riding in the backcountry, your snowboard profile matters. Simply put, the profile, or camber, means what the snowboard looks like from the side. It gives the board its personality in that the bend will determine if the board is playful in the snow, if it’s stable, or if it floats.
Lets get into the specifics of snowboard profiles and help you figure out the best one for you!
01
Camber snowboard profiles
These are the traditional profiles that have been around since the birth of snowboarding in the 1970s.
The traditional snowboard design has its contact points near the nose and tail of the board. The feet rest on the contact points, and there is an arch (or camber) in the middle that peaks at the center of the board. When a rider presses down with their weight, the camber straightens – so there is full contact with the snow.
The traditional camber snowboard has its pros and cons:
Pros:
- Feet located near contact points allow for better control at high speeds
- Good edge hold and suspension helps improve the precision of turns
- Design of the board gives it more pop
Cons:
- Edge hold makes it easier to slip, especially for beginners
- Low nose and tail makes board catch snow easily
02
Rocker snowboard profiles
Rocker profiles are also known as “reverse camber” profiles.
This is because instead of an arch in the middle, these boards have a dip (or rocker). This moves the point of contact from near the nose and tail of the board to the middle. These types of boards became really popular in the mid-2000s.
The rocker snowboard has its pros and cons:
Pros:
- Higher nose and tail lowers chance of edges getting caught in the snow
- More centralized contact point allows board to glide on powder snow easier
- Lighter feel makes board more responsive in subpar conditions
Cons:
- Performance decreases if the snow is more hard-packed
- Lack control and edge hold when moving faster speeds
- Shapes makes turning more unstable and harder to do
03
Flat snowboard profiles
Flat snowboards, as the name suggests, have no bend in the board except at the nose and tail.
These types of boards are more forgiving than camber boards but are more secure than rocker snowboards.
But the flat snowboard also has its pros and cons:
Pros:
- Flat bottom has a softer flex, making it easier for freestyle riding
- More contact with the ground makes board more responsive to turns
Cons:
- More contact with the ground means the board is much slower
- Good all-around board for nailing the fundamentals, but for specific types of snowboarding like freestyle or freeriding, there are better boards
04
Definition and characteristics of combination profiles
Some snowboard manufacturers also develop combination or hybrid snowboard profiles. These builds incorporate elements from rocker, camber and flat designs into one board, trying to amplify each board type’s strengths while mitigating its weaknesses.
Combination profiles:
Camber-rocker: The camber-rocker has a rocker in the middle, while the nose and the tail of the board have less upturn than a traditional rocker board.
- Pro: These allow the boards to feel less flowy than your standard rocker board while also feeling less of a sprint than if you were on a camber board.
- Con: Just like camber snowboards, they can get caught on the snow easier since the ends are lower.
Rocker-camber-rocker: This design has a rocker in the middle and camber underneath the feet. Then, further towards the nose and tail of the board, there’s another rocker that tilts the ends further upward.
- Pro: These boards still offer the lightweight feel of a rocker board while lowering the chance of catching snow.
- Con:There is less contact with the ground than a traditional rocker, so the board has less mobility.
Camber-rocker-camber boards: These designs have some areas of camber between the rocker in the middle of the board and the ends. This makes the upturn of the nose and tail of the board lower than standard rocker snowboards. Higher degrees of camber lower the upturn of the ends of the board.
- Pro: The added camber makes turning easier and stronger
- Con: It strips away some of the ability to float on powder snow.
Flat-camber: The flat-camber has a camber in the middle and is flat underneath the feet.
- Pro: The camber design means this board still has pop, while the flatness underneath the feet allow the board to better withstand the impact from landing.
- Con: The flatness does limit the energetic ride that camber boards provide.
Flat-rocker: The flat-rocker is very popular in freeride snowboarding circles. Also known as directional flat top boards, this design of board looks like a flat snowboard at the tail and has a rocker design at the nose with a higher upturn.
- Pro: The increased points of contact with the ground with the flat tail increases the board’s maneuverability and stability, while the rocker at the nose allows the board to float over deeper snow better. Traditional flat or rocker boards are twin-shaped (nose and tail are the same) and handle about the same with either end in front.
- Con: Flat-rocker boards improve the handling when the nose is in front but that control regresses if the tail is in front.
As you can see, there are several types of snowboards, and finding the right one for you is very important. You can see several of these board types in action at the Red Bull Slide-In Tour. After you find the right board, visit the best terrain parks in the US and spend time improving your skills.