Snowboard size guide

A snowboard has two sizes to get right. Length comes mainly from your weight and sets how the board flexes and floats. Waist width comes from your boot size and decides whether your toes drag in a turn. Here are the published numbers from Jones, K2, REI, Salomon and Burton, followed by three riders worked through to an answer.

Length: weight first, height second

Burton's sizing article says each board length comes with a minimum and maximum recommended rider weight, usually on the sticker or product page, and calls the range a suggestion. Below it you may find the board stiffer, above it softer. That is the logic behind sizing by weight: weight is what bends the board.

Jones publishes a straightforward weight table; these are selected rows. If your weight sits in two rows, Jones says to select the middle size.

REI runs longer at the same weight. For 150 to 165 lb it lists 154 to 162 cm, where Jones lists 150 to 155 for 145 to 160 lb and 152 to 157 for 155 to 170 lb. Sources disagree by a few centimetres, which is why this site shows overlaps and ranges. The snowboard size calculator does the overlap for you.

Height still helps

K2 publishes a table that uses height and weight together. It is the same chart Ride shows for its boards.

Salomon uses a plain rule instead: start with a board at about chin height, roughly your height minus 20 cm. For a 170 cm rider that is 150 cm. Salomon adds that 1 to 2 cm is hard to feel, and the difference becomes noticeable once the board is more than 3 cm above or below chin height.

Adjusting for how you ride

• Park and freestyle. K2 says 2 to 4 cm shorter for easier spinning and maneuvering. Jones says 2 to 3 cm shorter, though it also allows 2 to 3 cm longer if you want more landing support.
• Powder and freeride. K2 says 2 to 4 cm longer. Jones says 2 to 3 cm longer. Salomon puts freeride at 3 to 5 cm above chin height, which for a 170 cm rider is 153 to 155 cm.
• Beginners. Jones says often 1 to 2 cm shorter, or a softer flex. Salomon and K2 also recommend smaller boards for learners.
• Experts. Jones says often slightly longer or stiffer.
• Volume-shifted shapes. Jones notes that these boards can ride significantly shorter than a traditional shape.

Width: match the board to your boots

Width is the part that most often goes wrong. K2 and REI aim for your boots to overhang each edge by about 1 to 2 cm. Too little and edge-to-edge transitions get slow. Too much and the toe or heel catches the snow in a carve. Burton adds that a board that is too wide can feel sluggish and heavy through the waist.

K2's table, which REI also publishes, links waist width to boot size:

The boundaries overlap, so a boot size that appears in two rows is a judgment call. Jones is more precise and gives a minimum waist for each boot size. Regular width is fine up to men's 10, and from there the minimum climbs 2 mm per half size:

Burton is looser. Riders below men's 9 or women's 10 likely do not need a wide board. Men's 11 to 12 or women's 13 to 14 might, and it depends on preference and board length: a size 12 rider may have enough width on a 160 cm all-mountain board but benefit from a wide model on a 151 cm park board. Above men's 12 a wide board is almost certainly needed. Salomon sets the mid-wide line at EU 44 and above, which is US 10.5.

Three worked examples

Alex: 5'8", 165 lb, men's 9.5 boots, all-mountain

165 lb is 75 kg. Jones has two rows that include 165: 155–170 lb at 152–157 cm and 165–180 lb at 154–159 cm, so the middle size is 154 to 157. K2 at 173 cm and 130–180 lb gives 154–160. Salomon's chin rule gives 173 − 20 = 153. REI, which runs longer, gives 159–167 for 160 to 175 lb. With Jones that gives a shared span of 154 to 157.

That is where Alex lands, and the choice between a 155 and a 157 board comes down to riding. If he rides groomers and wants something quick edge to edge, 155. If he heads off-piste, K2's 2 to 4 cm longer suggests 157 to 159. Width: men's 9.5 sits in K2's 245–255 mm row and under Jones's size 10 threshold, so a regular board works.

Mei: 5'4", 135 lb, women's 8.5 boots, first season

135 lb is 61 kg, which sits on the edge of two Jones rows (125–140 at 146–151, and 135–150 at 148–153). Jones says to take the middle size, so 148 to 151. K2 for 163 cm and 130–180 lb says 148–154. Salomon's chin rule gives 143, which is the low outlier.

As a beginner, Jones suggests 1 to 2 cm shorter, which moves the target to about 147 to 150. Mei picks a 148 or 149. Her women's 8.5 is inside K2's 7.5–9.5 band, so the waist should be 235 to 245 mm. A board labelled for women often has a narrower waist already, which suits her.

Sam: 6'0", 200 lb, men's 12 boots, powder weekends

200 lb is 91 kg. Jones has 195–210 lb at 160–165 and 185–200 lb at 158–163, so the middle size is 160 to 163. K2 for 183 cm and over 180 lb says 164–170. The two charts barely touch, so Sam takes 163 to 164 as the shared edge. For powder, Jones says 2 to 3 cm longer and K2 says 2 to 4, which suggests 165 to 167.

Width is the bigger issue. Jones gives a 267 mm minimum waist at men's 12, K2 puts him at 260 to 265 mm or more, and Burton would say he may need wide. He looks for a wide model in the mid-160s, and checks the manufacturer's stated waist before buying. A 165 wide board still lists its own rider weight range, and 200 lb should sit comfortably inside it.

Checking before you buy

Three checks catch most mistakes. Stand the board on its tail: an all-mountain board should come between your chin and nose. Read the rider weight range for that length and make sure you are inside it. Then compare the waist width listed for the model with your boot size, using the tables above. If you are borderline on width, go by the board's stated waist and the minimums above. Our snowboard boot size chart can help match a boot to a shoe size, and the guide on choosing ski length covers the same sizing logic for skis.

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