With every sports activity, there are some health benefits that you can reap. With snowboarding, you are getting a great aerobic workout which can help you burn up to 450 calories in one hour. You can also improve your flexibility, balance and coordination too. Snowboarding also helps boost your mood, and is especially fun if you are riding on a powder board. This type of board allows you to slice powder, the softer more enjoyable snow.

There’s no other feeling that can replace the one you get when riding a powder snowboard, cutting through the snow. While it can be difficult to master riding on a powder board, when you’re able to do so you’ll get so addicted to it so much that all you’ll want to do when snowboarding is slicing powder. Of course, like every other type of snowboarding gear this won’t be possible if you don’t get the right powder snowboard for you.

What Makes a Good Powder Snowboard?

Shape

You snowboard needs to have a unique shape for you to take the full advantage of powder snow. All the great powder snowboards on the market have a directional shape which helps increase the board’s ability to cut through deep snow. With a directional shape powder board, you get better performance, although, with a bit less versatility. You can ride this type of board in one direction only.

Bindings Mounting Position

You want the board to install the snowboard bindings further back towards the tip. This way you’ll be able to shift your weight back on the board more easily. You’ll also be able to make more lift upfront which will allow you to both move and float better in the snow.

Rocker Profile

The profile is what allows the board to act in a different way. With a rocker profile which is also known as reverse camber, you have the top and tail come off the snow with the centre staying in direct contact. This is ideal when riding on deep snow as it allows you to float more and it can make it easier to carve and turn on large mountain lines.

Tips for Snowboarding in Powder

Stance

First, you need to know how to position yourself. Since the mounting position of the bindings is at the back of powder snowboards, your stance should be of similar fashion. You should set your stance so that your weight a little bit towards the rear of your snowboard. While the steepness of a slope is a determining factor usually you need to have about 60 % or 70 % of your weight on your back leg.

Make sure your core is engaged with your knee bent slightly. Your feet should be underneath your body at all times to help make sliding around more stable. You should also stay in a low athletic position. This does not only help you maintain speed but it also allows you to absorb bumps more easily. If you fall down just pick yourself up as lucky for you, this is deep snow you’re falling into which is like falling in a big pile of pillows. If you find it difficult to stand up roll over and push yourself up from your toe-side.

Rhythm

The key to a successful slide down a slope of untouched terrain is to have rhythm in your turns. Similar to surfing, it’s important to have less edge and more base when leaning with your body into a turn. The nose of your powder snowboard will sink if you were to have too much edge and it will eventually slow you down which is no fun.

What you should do instead is to stay relaxed and include some bounciness in your turns. This way you are able to maintain momentum. To maintain that rhythm you should lift your feet towards your chest in between turns. This should be done with a slight bounce so that you transfer the energy from one turn to another smoothly.

Speed

Unlike other sporting activities, when you’re snowboarding and especially powder boarding, speed is your best friend. Why? While it may be difficult to keep going at a high speed, it will help you stay above the compact snow. The steeper the hill is the faster you’ll go and it will be easier to maneuver the board and maintain more float too.

If you want to gain more speed you should use open turns. In these turns, you don’t cross the fall line fully. If you want to control your speed you should use closed turns. Closed turns are those where you cross the fall line on each turn which causes you to lose on speed. Depending on what you want to do this can be either beneficial or detrimental so be careful. Deep powder boarding can be quite the workout so make sure you stretch out your muscles the day after spending a couple of hours carving up deep snow especially your leg muscles.