Womens Snowboards - and How They Differ From Mens'
The 3 unique characteristics of women's snowboards
Womens snowboards perform just as well (or better!) than mens, but they do often have some unique characteristics -- that you may or may not like, or agree with. :)
First of all, manufacturers of womens snowboards make a couple of assumptions based on general ideas -- one, that women are generally smaller and lighter than men, that their feet are generally smaller, and that they aren't as 'serious' or competitive as many men in the snowboarding world.
These assumption or generalities may not be true for everyone, of course, but they create the conditions for womens snowboards to be made differently.
Sometimes manufacturer's simply dress up mens or kids boards with pretty, 'feminine' graphics and call them womens snowboards.
But don't be fooled -- here are the 3 unique characteristics of womens snowboards (whether they sport pink icons or not!):
1. Womens snowboards are softer, and therefore more flexible, designed for quicker edge-to-edge transitions on the slopes.
2. Womens snowboards are generally narrower than mens snowboards -- it's assumed that a smaller person will balance on the board differently.
3. Womens snowboards are usually shorter.
These characteristics might make some womens snowboards just perfect for you, and in that case, you go, girl! But womens snowboards are not for everyone -- my advice would be to try on and check out LOTS of different snowboards and see which ones feel right for YOU! You may find that womens snowboards may fit the average ... but many of us are NOT average, so it's important to get the board that will work for you the best!