Female riders like Gretchen Bleiler have paved the way for women specific snowboard gear
Back in the day there was very little women’s specific product in snowboarding, but as the sport grew and more women took part, manufacturers started incorporating women’s boards, boots and even bindings into their product lineup. Yet for some reason women out there are still struggling on men’s specific hardgoods. There are many benefits to buying women specific product, let us point out a few.
Boards
Women are built different than men. We usually have smaller feet and lighter and smaller silhouettes. Most importantly we have a lower center of gravity. Our anatomical differences have inspired snowboard manufacturers to produce ladies boards with narrower waist widths and softer flex patterns.
The waist width on a board needs to be suitable for your boot size so it can effectively transfer energy edge to edge. If your board is too wide for your boot it will be slower and take more energy to get up on an edge and make turns.
A softer women’s specific flex to the board will also make it easier to maneuver and control.
Boots
Since we have smaller, narrower feet with smaller ankles, there are many differences in women’s boots to make them fit great for us. Most boots today have heat moldable liners that will form to the contours of your foot. Most shops are equipped to set you up with heat molded liners right when you buy. We also have lower calves than men, so our boots don’t need to come up as high on our leg. A taller boot on a woman will just add more weight and make them uncomfortable.
Bindings
Likewise, bindings for women are made to fit the narrower and smaller profile of a women’s boot. You don’t need a tall men’s highback digging into your leg and you surely don’t want your nice fitting boot to be moving around an ill fitting binding. So be sure to get an appropriate fitting binding for good board response and maximum comfort.
