Things that are important when choosing a camber for beginners:

• A feeling of stability underfoot;
• Ease of turn initiation;
• A board that isn’t easy to catch the edge on.

At the very  beginning, you should feel stability to control the balance, ability to easily initiate board turns, and have the inability to catch the edge.

The best cambers in this case are Flat to Rocker and Hybrid Camber.

Stability

Hybrid Camber has a classic camber zone underfoot, which gives stability. Flat to Rocker has a flat zone under feet, which also provides good stability.

But, boards with a permanent camber zone, or flat zone along the entire length will contribute to the edge catch effortlessly.

Turn initiation

It is important to perform easy turns for beginner in order to have confidence in actions. If rider constantly catches the edge (edge clings to the snow surface), confidence will be lost and time to restore it will take long time. This cause in turn will contribute to the slow progress.

Classic camber (traditional camber) has a camber zone not only under the bindings but also along the entire length from the tip to the tail. This means that it will be very easy to catch the edge and this is not the thing that beginner needs. The same situation is with boards, which have a flat zone from the tip to the tail.

Hybrid camber has rocker zones from bindings to the tip and tail and the chamber zone between the bindings. This in turn allows the rider to catch edge less during training.

But not all hybrid cambers are the same. Only those boards that have large rocker zones are suitable for beginners. The larger the camber zone, the more the board will feel like a classic camber.

The same situation with flat to rocker.

Cambers to avoid

As it was already written, classic camber and flat camber are not that things that beginner needs. Also, a classic rocker will not be a good alternative, since it will give the feeling of excessive lack of control. The board with classic rocker is excessively agile.

The best flex for beginners board is a soft or medium soft, depending on raiders weight.

The reason for this is that low flexibility makes boards maneuvering and manipulating easier, especially at low speed. Stiff board is difficult for turn initiation, and to control. In this case, the board controls rider, but not vice versa.

Big stiffness gives greater stability at high speed on steep slopes – but these are not the things beginner is involved in at the very beginning.

A stiff snowboard is physically harder to turn. This means that it takes up much more energy that tires muscles faster. But the thing that is more important for beginner is that great efforts for turn initiation in the necessary direction leads to poor quality of riding technique. In this case rider likely uses hind leg as a rudder and twist upper part of the body to help initiate the  turn. These are two things that are not good habits for beginner and leads to poor technique in the future.

The medium-soft board also provides a good balance between easy maneuvering and progress, and also allows to bump into the snow riding steeper slopes and control  at faster speed.

Riding a snowboard with inappropriate length can greatly affect its effectiveness, even if it has proper camber and stiffness. Wrong lenght snowboard is not ideal for training and progress.

Too long, and the board becomes harder to control and harder to perform turns. This feeling intensifies the longer you ride the board!

A board that is too short is unstable while riding. The board will be too maneuverable.

For the beginner, it’s good to start from the snowboard that is 3-5 cm shorter than all mountain board that suits for riders parameters.

The best stance for a beginner is central. With a centered stance it is easier to control the balance and it also promotes learning to ride switch.

The best shape of snowboard for beginners is the symmetrical shape (true twin, twin tip). The symmetrical shape contribute balancing and helps learn tricks as well.

Also, the central stance and symmetrical geometry are the ideal choice if the rider is not yet sure which leg is leading (regular or goofy) at the very beginning of training.

There are two types of running bases, extruded and sintered.

Extruded base is more suitable for the beginner.

1. Extruded base is slower. A fast running base is not the best choice for a beginner.
2. The extruded surface is easier to maintain and wax.