Snowboard

Snowboards are used in snowboarding events which are designed to glide over the snow. The boards have a width between 6 and 12 inches (15 to 30 cm). The riders using the boards are referred to as “snowboarders”. The commercial snowboards require additional types of equipment such as special boots and bindings to help the participants attain an upright position. The size of the snowboards entirely depends on the height and bodyweight of the riders.

In 1965, the first snowboard (Snurfer) was presented to the world. Since then the sport has seen an increasing fan base over the years. Snowboards for the children are generally shorter in length approximately 90 cms whereas the racing boards are longer approximately 215 cm (85 inches). A well-suited board should provide better flexibility to the riders along with equal tail and nose specs or a longer nose with a directional shape.

Types of Snowboards

• All-Mountain snowboards - The boards are designed to work in all snow conditions and terrains. It’s a hybrid between the freeride and freestyle boards. The all-mountain snowboards have a directional shape or twin-tips. The board’s tail is narrower, shorter and flatter as compared to its tip region. The designing, therefore, aids in a more balanced structure towards the tail and helps to ride it backwards as well. 
• Freestyle snowboards - The boards are designed to perform various tricks on the terrain parks and halfpipes. These are lighter, smaller and more flexible with mirror shovels attached on both sides. The boards have a restricted edge grip which doesn’t provide appropriate stability while turning and riding faster (the only disadvantage of it). Some snowboards either have twin-tips or directional twin design. The tip and tail regions are symmetrical with a centred stance in twin-tip boards which makes it ideal for beginners to ride in both forward and backward directions. Whereas, the directional twin boards have a stiffer tail as compared to the tip. 
• Alpine/ Racing Snowboards - The alpine snowboard has a narrower base and is ideal to ride and carve downhill. It has a long, narrow and a stiffer design which aids in the board’s high speed and clean turns. The boards are either symmetrical or asymmetrical with a shovel attached to the tip so that it could be ridden in one direction only. 
• Powder snowboards - The boards are highly directional and have a tapered shape with a rocker nose. 
• Parks/jibs - The board’s size varies between shorter to medium length. These boards come with twin-tip structure with a twin flex and an outward stance to switch riding. The board provides easy spinning with a broader stance. 
• Freeride - The boards are longer in size as compared to the freestyle and park boards. The boards are directional and are ideal for use in all-mountain riding and extreme descents. These can be used to glide over various types of snow, ranging from the hard-packed to soft powdery snow.
• Splitboards - As the name suggests, the boards can split into two halves (lengthwise) and can function as cross country skis too.

Construction of Snowboards

The snowboards are composed of the strong wood core along with multiple layers of fibreglass to provide strength. Some boards also include materials like carbon fibre, Kevlar, aluminium and piezo dampers for construction. A typical snowboard has followed parts -

Nose - It’s the front region of the board with a little upturn (curve). The upturning aids in proper gliding of the boards on uneven snow surfaces.

Tail - It’s the backward region of the board that is also upturned to provide backward riding (also regarded as the switch) facility to the riders

Base - It’s the bottom region of the board which stays in contact with the ground. It’s generally made from polyethylene plastic. The bases are constructed according to two designs mentioned below -

• Extruded base - It is constructed with the aid of plastic-based materials. The materials are usually melted and moulded to give the desired shape.
• Sintered base - It is manufactured by powdering the plastic-based material followed by moulding it into the desired shape with the aid of heat and adequate pressure. The sintered bases ride faster than the extruded base. It’s because of their property to absorb wax which helps in reducing the friction between the board and the snow surface. 

Camber - It refers to the bottom contours present on the board. It provides a varying amount of edge contact and pressure on the surface. It assists in providing better turning, pops out and underfoot feels to the riders.

Edge - Metal strips are added on either side of the board. The edges are sharp and provide a sufficient amount of friction to ride on the ice and the edge radius directly affects the radius of carving turns and the motion of the board. 

Bindings - The snowboards have specially designed bindings on the surface to hold the boots of the rider. It helps to efficiently transfer the rider’s force to the motion of the board. There are three types of bindings -

• Strap bindings - The riders use boots equipped with thick flexible sole along with upper padding. The shoes are further held with the aid of two or three padded buckle straps which distributes the pressure evenly on the shoe. 
• Step-in bindings - The step-in bindings are modified to provide better accessibility and control to the riders as compared to the strap binding. Snowboarders use a special pair of step-in boots to be used with step-in bindings.
• Hybrid bindings - The hybrid bindings are similar to strap-in bindings, but the foot enters from the backside. Then it’s flipped upwards and clamped for a tight grip. These types of bindings are ideal for freestyle and recreational riders and provide maximum safety.

Evolution of Snowboards through the Years

In the mid-1960s, Sherman Poppen prepared considerably the first surfboards called as “Snurfer” to ride on snow. The idea spread like wildfire and was highly commercialized. In 1970, a surfer Dimitrije Milovich modified the models into short-boards. He included steel edges, laminated fibreglass, gravel along with nylon straps into the boards. His company “Winterstick” is considered as the first snowboarding company. In the later 1970s, a college student Jake Burton Carpenter added foot straps and fins to the board to increase the stability and a flexible wood-planked board came to the market.

By the end of 1980s to early 1990s, ski technology materials were used to manufacture the snowboards that offered better gliding ability on the snow. The evolution of the boards later included a rounded tail, hard boots, plate bindings, powder boards, race boards, freestyle boards, asymmetrical boards along with twin-tip and carving boards. By the mid-1990s, snowboarding achieved enormous popularity and became the fastest growing winter sport.

During the 2000s, modified snowboard designs were witnessed with better accessibility and travel options. Meanwhile, splitboards were also presented in the market. During current times, a wide variety of snowboards are available for the riders depending upon their needs. These boards are more durable with bearings and camber as compared to the traditional snowboards. The traditional camber had a rise in the tip and tail region followed by an apex at the centre. The evolved cambers are either flat which assist in quick turns with the increased float. The mixed modified cambers are also popular in current times.