How to pick out your new snowboard this season

Buyers' guides have been released, new sites have launched, and shop racks from coast-to-coast are loaded up with so many fresh, shiny new snowboards that you barely know where to begin. But before you can pick out that one, extra-special board you'll grow to love as much (or more, depending on the status of your relationship) than your girl or boyfriend, you first have to determine what your needs are. Are you a mellow, cruise around and avoid the jumps kind-of-guy? Do you drop in full-throttle to every hit in the park? Or maybe you're a fair-weather-shredder, and only buy a lift ticket when there's over 20 cm's of fresh? These are the questions you have to ask yourself, and prepare to answer with honesty. (And no, you're not a *** if you answered "yes" to the first question.)

Here's the good news: it's much harder to buy a truly crappy snowboard these days than it used to be. Every legitimate brand on the market makes good products, and you can find a board to fit your needs at a reasonable range of prices. So if you take the right steps to determine what you want, then follow it up with smart research, odds are high you'll be happy after your first day of riding on your new purchase. Although I do recommend finishing said "first day" in an après environment with a chilled Stella in hand and greasy plate of nachos in front of you; it'll elevate the whole experience from pretty good to fuckin' awesome.

The kind of riding you do will determine the kind of board you should buy. I'm not going to address specific boards, much less technology, in this article, because that's not the point. The process of picking a board is all yours; we're just here to send you in the right direction and save you from buying a 168 freeride board when all you want to do is jib boxes in the park. For the sake of simplicity, I am going to break down snowboards into four categories: Freeride, Freestyle, Jib and Powder. This doesn't necessarily define the only categories of snowboarding, since most of us like to dabble in more than one kind of riding, but it does reflect what the manufacturers are focused on and attempting to sell you.

Freeride
These boards are the great equalizers of snowboarding. After all, aren't we all "freeriders" when it comes down to it? For most riders, a freeride board will address their basic needs and provide the greatest level of versatility. And don't think you can't jump, jib, or ride pipe with these boards - think of freeride boards as the all-terrain-vehicles of snowboarding.

Expect the following characteristics in a freeride board:

• Slightly longer length: Freeride boards are longer so you can carry speed with confidence and easily gobble up the varied terrain you'll encounter.
• Stiffer flex: A stiffer flex means better stability, which is important when you're charging down a run.
• Directional shape: A longer nose than tail means you can float in deeper snow and power over variable terrain; it also allows you to ride back-of-center so you're less likely to go over the bars.

Powder
If you buy a specialized powder board for legitimate reasons, you're one lucky ***. That means you live at or near a ski resort where deep snow is common enough to warrant such a purchase. Consider me envious. I have a powder board, and while it may only get used a few times a season, I am the happiest man in the world when I'm riding it. Powder boards give you an almost unfair advantage when riding deep snow, thereby increasing your odds of staying on your feet and off your ass.

Expect the following characteristics in a powder board:

• Tapered shape: This is the defining characteristic. The board's shape actually narrows (or tapers) towards the tail, automatically making the nose float and the tail drop.
• Set-back stance: By combining an aggressively set-back stance with a tapered shape, you can essentially ride in powder with even weight on your feet.
• Shorter than you think: Weird, right? Wrong. A genuine powder board (assuming it isn't a 180 cm gun) can be ridden in a shorter length than you'd expect, thanks to the two points above.

Freestyle
There's a reason freestyle boards rank highly among younger riders: it's the best type of board for jumps, rails, pipe riding and all-around park shenanigans. It's what most pro snowboarders ride, and that has an obviously strong influence on what the kids buy. Many riders actually prefer freestyle boards for freeriding, simply because it can turn the entire mountain into a terrain park, and because these boards tend to be straight-up fun to ride in nearly any situation.

Expect the following characteristics in a freestyle board:

• Twin shape: Most freestyle boards have a "twin" shape, meaning that if you were to cut it in half, both ends would be the exact same. This allows you to ride it switch or regular with the same feeling.
• Softer flex: Freestyle boards are almost always softer than a freeride board, simply because you need a softer flex to comfortably land jumps and ride rails and boxes.
• Centered stance: For the same reasons that the twin shape is predominant on freestyle boards, so too is the centered stance. If you want to land and ride regular and switch, it's essential.

Jib
A relatively new style on the market, the jib (or rail) snowboard is for the truly die-hard rail rider; the kind of person who either only wants to jib, or wants to invest in a second, more specialized board to compliment their every-day snowboard. Why get a jib board? Well, for one thing they make riding rails a lot easier, by putting the odds in your favour. The only catch is that many rail boards are almost pointless to ride on any other terrain, so this is a board for the rail-obsessed only.

Expect the following characteristics in a jib board:

• No edges: Since no one likes to catch an edge on rails, jib boards either do away with them all together, or pre-round them (or recess them) to save you the trouble of doing it yourself with a circular saw.
• Super soft: Remember when I said that freestyle boards are soft? Jib boards are even softer. We're talking noodle-soft, which makes them super easy to press and butter.
• Even shorter: The same principle for flex applies to length. You don't need a long board for jibbing, so expect to shave at least 10 cm's off the length of a more conventional snowboard.

There you have it: the four main categories for snowboards on the market today. Think about what best defines you, and the style of riding you favour, and you'll more than likely have an obvious decision in front of you. From there, all you have to do is set your budget and explore all of the options from brand to brand. So set off on a cyber-journey of every brand's site you're interested in, narrow it down to a list of your top choices, then hit up your local shred shop to seek out a salesperson's advice and see the boards in person. And remember: the next best thing to snowboarding is shopping for new snowboard gear. So until the snow flies, this is you best source of satisfaction. Shop wisely, my friends.