You have been to the snow and are now hooked, you might of battled with rental gear or borrowed some odds and ends from a friend but now you feel ready to buy your own board and don't know where to start. You might have found the perfect graphic or a board online you really like but its hard to tell how its going to ride, if its the right size and will it help improve your riding.
For newcomers to snow sports the technology and snowboard jargon can be difficult to understand, but with a little help it can be quite simple. A few things that you need to think about first are where you will be riding predominately and the style of riding that you will be doing as this will have an impact on whether you buy slightly longer or shorter.
If you will be riding overseas a lot on mountains with lots of soft snow like Japan, USA and Canada then you will want to buy something a little longer which will help you keep the board above the powder floating like a surfboard. Otherwise you might see your self as a future park shredder wanting to hit jumps and rails all day then going a size smaller with make the board easier to control, spin and hit rails with. Otherwise for general mountain use you can use the provided size guide here.
The next thing that you have to take into consideration is the camber of the board, the simplest and easiest to use camber is flat/rocker this is because it allows the edges to be catch free and makes transitioning much easier. The most aggressive camber is traditional camber as the pressure on the edges can be perfect for an experienced rider it can make learning difficult as the edges tip and tail feel more pronounced. Hybrid cambers are the perfect in between, they are nice and easy to transition but give you nice edge hold and pressure where you need it. Still unsure check out more about camber here
You will also have to consider the shape of your board for your first board a twin tip will be the best, this allows you to ride your board forwards or backwards and the board will feel the same.
If it still feels a little daunting trying to pick a board yourself then you can use our snowboard finder and one of our expert staff can give you some suggestions. When buying your first board being realistic about your riding will allow you to progress faster without having anything hold you back.