Times Have Changed
How to choose the right size snowboard.
It's about more than just your height. Get familiar with Volume-Shifted Snowboards...
Back in the day when twin snowboards ruled the world, it was a common rule of thumb to buy a board that reached the height of your nose. In the last 10 years, that has changed a lot, especially for directional freeride boards.
Snowboards have generally become shorter and wider, so-called volume-shifted shapes. Volume-shift means that a shorter and wider board has the same surface area as a longer and narrower snowboard. Fringe benefits are Less drag and more float.
The New Formula:
Everything Matters
Length, nose width and shape, tail width and shape, sidecut, setback, rider weight and boot size, riding style, terrain and more. Combined, it's likely that you can ride a Moonchild far shorter than your current or past boards.
With a combination of a tapered profile and long rockered tips, these boards can be ridden in shorter sizes. Example: Travis Rice rides his volume-shifted model in a size 153cm to maintain maneuverability in steep terrain and rides his longer model 161cm to keep speed on the lower mountain.
There are definitely riders who prefer a longer board for big mountain and they normally ride a board up to 180cm. In general, though, if you want a maneuverable board, then you should buy a volume-shifted shape around 4-8 cm shorter than your normal snowboard. Volume-shifted boards also come in handy for the bigger rider to avoid toe- and heel-drag.
Moonchild Snowboards specializes in volume-shifted snowboards.
Our freeride models are super maneuverable and have amazing float in the deep stuff. The proper combination of taper and rocker makes them solid carvers and stable at high speeds. The tapered outline then makes them really quick from edge to edge when you're fully sending it on groomers or riding backcountry. We also pay special attention to the forward contact points when designing our shapes. A nice smooth transition from a normal side-cut radius to a reverse radius at the nose prevents the board from being aggressive and will not catch an edge-- even when you're riding the board on a flat base. With a combination our surf-style noses, the board will inevitably glide through powder with ease.