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Best Snowboard Shape For Beginners
A true twin snowboard shape is the best for beginners because the tail and nose are symmetrical for balance. The true twin shape offers a smoother ride that is more stable at high speeds and easier to handle in fast turns.
It also has more pop coming off of turns which makes it safer to learn how to snowboard. The true twin shape also reduces fatigue, which is crucial when learning how to snowboard. There are other benefits too, but you'll have to watch out for those yourself.
If you are a beginner, it's best to have a snowboard with this shape. This is because both the nose and tail are the same shape, flex, and camber profile.
The tail of the snowboard will be concave with the bottom end being wider than the top end. This ensures that beginners can stay upright when they are learning balance tricks for the first time.
The balanced tail also prevents beginners from rotating too quickly when they are learning their first tricks on land. This works the same with the nose maintaining your balance and keeping you stable while riding.
What Is A True Twin Snowboard Shape?
A true twin snowboard shape is a board that uses a symmetrical design to create an easier-to-ride board for beginners. It is designed specifically for balance so snowboarding beginners can improve their skills.
Nose & Tail
The nose and tail on a true twin snowboard are completely symmetrical and designed to be the exact same shape. This creates a more balanced board with no extra weight towards either side so a person with little to no experience on a snowboard does not struggle with their balance or stability when riding.
The nose and tail are also the same widths too. This helps with turning and stopping when keeping your balance on the snowboard.
As a snowboarder starts to learn more and looks to improve their skill set, they will try to upgrade the snowboard shape that is more forgivable for advanced tricks.
Flex
The flex is important when choosing a snowboard because it impacts how well you will be able to control and maneuver your board. It also factors into the type of movements you can make at different speeds.
For beginners, it is ideal to find a board with a soft to medium flex between 1-4, with 4 being the medium-soft flex. A softer flex allows you to maintain more stability at faster speeds with easier turning capabilities.
A stiffer flex is better for a more advanced snowboard that prioritizes tricks and carving over stability and balance. Beginners can use a softer flex that makes it easier to learn the proper rider techniques before making an upgrade as your skills progress.
Camber Profile
Typically, a true twin snowboard will use a traditional camber profile for the ultimate beginner snowboarding shape that works with extreme balance, stability, and control. You can make adjustments if you find this isn’t the best for you.
However, all beginners will stick with a camber profile of some sort with only slight adjustments based on board size and personal preferences. For example, there is a hybrid camber profile that allows for a little more freestyle capabilities.
But as a beginner, the priority is in balance and keeping control as your speed rises. The traditional camber profile can provide the best support to do so.
Stance
The stance on your snowboard will play a major factor in how well you ride it and what you are best at when riding. Beginners will not be completely sure right away exactly what the best stance for them is. But a true twin snowboard makes it easier to find out.
The reason for this is because the board is symmetrical with centered bindings right in the middle of the board. This puts your stand in a well-balanced position on the board to get started.
From there, you can try out both a goofy stance and a regular stand to determine what gives you the most balance. As you start to ride more too, you can adjust your bindings forward or backward to accommodate your perfect stance.
Why Is A True Twin Snowboard Shape The Best For Beginners?
The true twin snowboard shape is completely symmetrical from nose to tail making it easier to use for beginners. Most of the time, rental snowboards are a true twin shape too because the majority of renters tend to be beginners or first-timers.
The true twin shape is also great for riding and learning to ride switch, park freestyle riding, and learning flatland tricks. However, the symmetrical shape will limit how much you can learn for tricks because of the weight and design.
Some of the most notable benefits of a true twin shape for beginners include improved balance, a centered stance, and learning to ride switch.
Balance
A true twin snowboard shape is designed symmetrically to provide better balance. This is because the symmetrical design of these pieces can create a balance and provide a stable feeling on your board.
With better balance, you can control your snowboard with more accuracy on all types of terrain. This is especially important for beginners who do not have the same ability to slow down or stop as accurately as an advanced rider.
As a beginner, you should value balance more than anything when learning how to snowboard. It becomes incredibly difficult once you start to stay upright, so it goes a long way to provide yourself with as many advantages as possible.
Centered Stance
The best stance for a new snowboarder with no experience is a centered stance. The centered stance helps you learn how to control your board while keeping you balanced at all times. It also allows you to learn different riding techniques early on to become more skilled in the long run.
The centered stance will also give you more control to perform tricks and ride switch with more comfort. It gives you a better overall feel when snowboarding too, knowing you are in the middle of your board to change directions or stop abruptly.
Riding Switch
The true twin board is designed to allow anybody to learn how to ride a switch. Beginners will not understand why this is important, but doing it early on is another skill you can pick up on that will be beneficial as you become a more advanced and experienced snowboarder.
Riding switch basically means you can snowboard in the opposite direction that you are used to going. This is only possible on a symmetrical board like a true twin because all sides are the same size.
It also helps if you get turned around on the mountain because you won’t fall right away. Instead, your board will adjust and give you time to correct yourself and keep going.
What Else To Look For In A Beginner Snowboard
Beyond just the shape of the board, other factors often get overlooked in both the shape and style of a snowboard. These features help gear a snowboard more towards beginners. The most notable features include the camber profile, board flex, and board size.
Camber Profile
A camber profile is a snowboard design feature that helps provide stability and riding versatility for beginners and intermediate riders. There are different types of camber profiles and it is based on the shape of your board when viewing it from the side.
The traditional camber profile includes an arched center area that allows better board control, edge control, and overall board balance. It works best for beginners and as you improve your skills, changing your camber style becomes a priority.
Flex
Before starting snowboarding, beginners should consider using a softer flex on their snowboard. It will allow someone with no experience on a snowboard to have better control over their snowboard when riding.
A soft flex will ensure that beginners can easily learn the basics of snowboarding. The softer flex is much easier to control and direct with your body, allowing you to slow down more accurately and eliminate mistakes.
Size
Snowboard size is an underrated factor that needs to be considered when finding the right snowboard for beginners. Your snowboard shape is most important, but an oversized or undersized board has an equal impact too.
It is best to look for a wider snowboard as a beginner to add even more stability and support when riding. This allows you to keep the most control possible over your board, especially when turning and hitting faster speeds.
What Other Snowboard Types Are Good For Beginners?
It is not easy to choose the best snowboard from the many available ones for beginners. Besides just the shape of the board, there are so many other factors that will determine if it is the right option for beginners.
Because of this, you can use other shapes that are more advanced if you tailor specific features like the camber and rocker to be more beginner-friendly. You may be better suited to try this strategy and look at either a directional twin or directional snowboard instead.
Always remember to look into the camber and rocker profile on your board too before making a final decision. It has a major impact on the overall balance and control of a snowboard.
Directional Twin
A directional twin is more closely related to the true twin shape, but instead, it has a directional finish. This means it goes in one direction better with more speed and accuracy, but the twin features make it an excellent choice for mountain or park riding too.
Beginners can equip their directional twin boards with a hybrid camber, soft flex, and extruded base to become more user-friendly for a snowboarder with less experience.
Bindings are also adjustable so you can optimize your stance and move them more towards the center of the board in an attempt to create better balance and control. While this option is not as good as a true twin, it provides plenty of customization options to be a reliable alternative.
Directional
A directional board has a simple layout and is designed to be ridden mostly in one direction. However, not all directional boards are great at all times. Some work better in certain situations than others.
This is a board shape more suited for advanced riders, but when you pair a directional shape with a hybrid camber you can design a solid board for beginners. By doing so, you have a board that controls your speed with a profile that maintains excellent balance and control.
Typically, you will see many all-mountain or freeride boards as a directional shape. This is because they are best for high-speed carving and more advanced tricks. You can also adjust your directional board to be more flexible and make it much more ideal for a beginner.
How Important Is Snowboard Size For Beginners?
Many factors go into determining the right snowboard size for beginners, however, many people will say that board size is not the most important factor. The rider's height and weight are factors that should be considered before deciding on snowboard size.
The first thing that beginners should keep in mind is stability. A board with a lot of flex is not necessarily better at carving or performing tricks. Instead, it is more stable and offers good control. When choosing your board it is important to check out the flex options so that you get one that is most suited to your needs.
Snowboard sizes vary widely from board size to board size and manufacturer to manufacturer, so it’s not always easy to differentiate between the ideal board sizes when buying new gear.
Weight distribution is also important in snowboarding, especially for beginners who might not be physically fit enough to complete their first few tricks.
As a beginner, it is best to go with a wider snowboard that can help you maintain more balance because you will likely be less precise with your movements. By having a slightly larger board, it becomes easier to control and maneuver.
Beginners’ board size will vary based on height and weight, but generally, you should look for a size between 155-157 to get you started. As you start to improve, you can size up closer to 162-165.
