Wintersports
Snowboarding
Snowboard profiles: Get to know the different board types
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.
Mark McMorris at Red Bull Natural Selection Tour 2021 at Tordrillo Mountain
© Dean Blotto Gray / Natural Selection Tour / Red Bull Content Pool
“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!
1 min
Get ready for Natural Selection Tordrillo
Take a look at what to expect at the tour’s finale when the 2022 Natural Selection Champions will be crowned.
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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:
Cons:
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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:
Cons:
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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:
Cons:
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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.
Zeb Powell
© Brian Nevins/Red Bull Content Pool
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.
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.
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.
Flat-camber: The flat-camber has a camber in the middle and is flat underneath the feet.
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.
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.
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