How Important is Snowboard Width Sizing and How Do I Get it Right?

Snowboard width sizing is very important and I will outline why in more detail below.

It can seem difficult to get this right but this post should help to make it easier.

There will be width sizing charts further down in this post.

However, anyone can just post a width sizing chart and you wouldn’t know how accurate it is or what the reasoning behind it is.

So before looking at the charts I suggest you read the rest of the article first.

UPDATE: Note that this post has had a major update as at February 23rd, 2018. This has been a long time in the making and I have done a lot of research, using real life data, to update my tables and whilst they were fairly accurate before, I feel like they are now even more fine-tuned. But do note all of the assumptions outlined under the charts below.  

How to define the ideal width

There are two schools of thought on the best width of a snowboard.

School of thought #1: The best width for you is where your boots overhang on both the heel edge and toe edge by anywhere between 1 & 2 centimetres (1/4 to 3/4 inch).

School of thought #2: The best width for you is when your feet are roughly exactly the width of the board at the inserts (where the feet will be on the board – i.e. where the bindings are) or a little over. In other words, in bare feet your heel would be right on the heel edge and your toes right on the toe edge (at your binding angles).

It should also be noted that this should be measured using the “underside of the board” as this is the side of the board that makes contact with the snow. The top side of the board is typically narrower due to the angle on the edges of a snowboard.

……………..So which one is correct?

Both!

Yes they are actually both right and are actually essentially the same thing. This is because when your feet take up the width of the board edge-to-edge then your boots are likely to hang over 1-2cm (1/4 to 3/4 inches) on both heel and toe side (for a total of 2-4cm of difference between foot length and boot length) – depending on the profile of the boots.

NOTE: The lowest profile boots I’ve seen add around 2cm total to the length of your feet and the longest profile I’ve measured added 4.5cm compared to the length of the foot.

Both schools of thought are the same for the same reasons too. Which brings me to the importance of getting the width right.

Why Does Width Matter?

School of thought number 2 suggests that the feet should be edge to edge (or a little over) as it is your feet that apply pressure to the edges when you’re turning the board.

Whilst there is a bit of leeway (a little bit inside the edges and you won’t notice it at all), if your feet are too small for the board (i.e. don’t reach the edges) then it is going to be harder to apply pressure to the edges which will make turn initiation more arduous and the board will feel heavy and less responsive.

NOTE: People who are lighter in weight will notice this even more if they are too far inside the edges. People who weight more won’t be as effected by this as they have more force to apply pressure with.

But too much overhang would violate school of thought number 1. The reason there is an upper limit on the overhang in school of thought 1 is that too much overhang and you risk dragging a boot in the snow on hard turns – obviously not what you want!

As a rule, 5mm overhang of feet on both toe and heel edge (max total overhang of 10mm) should be the maximum foot overhang and 4-5mm inside the edge of board total (so roughly 2mm on heel-edge and 2mm on toe-edge) should be the maximum “underhang”.

This translates to boot overhang of around 20mm (2cm or 3/4″) per edge, as the maximum (depending on boot profile of course – a low profile boot means your feet will have the freedom to overhang further and still maintain a boot overhang of 20mm or less – and a boot with longer profile will mean there is less room for foot overhang).

Foot underhang doesn’t change for low profile boots – you still ideally want to not go more than 2mm per edge on your feet, regardless of boot profile.

You can probably get away with up to 2.5cm (1 inch) of overhang on the heel-edge and 2.5cm (1″) toe-edge, in reality – but to be on the safe side it is better to try to stay under 2cm (3/4″) – especially if you like to lay down some deep carves.

If you can’t get your overhang even on both toe and heel edge, it’s better to have extra overhang on your heel-edge than on your toe-edge. This is because it’s easier to get lower on the toe-edge – so drag is more likely. For example it’s better to have 2.5cm (1″) on your heel and 2cm (3/4″) on your toe, if you have total of 4.5cm (1 3/4″) of overhang, than to have 2.5cm on the toe and 2cm on the heel.

TIP: If you can’t set up your bindings so that the toe and heel have equal overhang, always go with more overhang on your heel than your toe.

Width Sizing Tables

Unfortunately the width at the inserts (where the bindings go) of snowboards is not something that snowboard companies publish when they release the board specs. This would certainly make it a lot easier and I can only speculate as to why this information isn’t released.

What is published is the waist width, so this is what we have to go with to make an estimation of the right width (most companies also publish tip and tail width but waist width is a more accurate way to estimate the width at the inserts).

Due to brand variances, differences in side cut, stance width variations and binding angles it is difficult to get this completely accurate in a chart. However as a general guideline the following tables should get you close.

If you would like to know more about these variances and how much impact they can have check out the “extra reading” section below.

Factors such as boot profile (which is essentially how much difference there is between foot length and boot length), thickness of the base plate of your bindings and the bevel on the toe and heel of your boots will also play a part.

Remember that you do have a bit of room to play with and you don’t need to get this exact, but getting close is a good idea, IMO. The charts below should help you to get close.

The further away from the average foot size (i.e. the narrower or wider compared to the “normal” your feet are), the less accurate it will be – and the less board options there will be.

The following charts were created by compiling information from various width sizing charts in addition to intensive research into the average side cuts, reference stances and waist width of hundreds of different boards (by creating diagrams of those boards and measuring different feet sizes against those diagrams). I have also measured the width at the inserts of a number of different snowboards in different lengths and widths and from different brands and part of the process of creating this chart was to find the average ratio of width at waist to width at inserts.  

Basic Charts

These are the basic charts. They are pretty much what you will usually see, but I didn’t think they provided enough accuracy. But at a quick glance this is roughly where you might fit.

Refer to the “what If I don’t own boots yet” chart further down for foot sizes in inches + other boot measurements (UK, Euro).

The Following Charts break it down a bit further but are still subject to the same variances (e.g. boot bevel, boot profile).

Men’s Waist Width Chart

This chart has been updated after further research and I have now created two charts to take into account binding angles, where previously there was just one chart.

Not sure of your preferred binding angles yet?: 
>>What Snowboard Binding Angles Should I Use?

NOTE: The Maximum Width is based on foot size. The Minimum Width is based on boot size.

These tables are based on a number of assumptions, including:

1. That there is a 3cm difference between foot size and boot size on an average snowboard boot
2. That a 27.5cm foot will fit into a US10 boot – which is also consider a mondo print of 280mm. The idea of a mondo-print is that it fits the foot of the same length – so a 280mm (i.e. 28.0cm) would fit a foot of 28.0cm. In reality I have found, especially these days, it’s usually 0.5cm less – i.e. a 27.5cm will fit in a US10 (280mm mondo), a 29.5cm foot will fit in a US12 (300mm mondo). But if this assumption is not the same for you, then simply follow the charts above and base your maximum on your foot size and your minimum on your boot size.
3. That the ratio of the width at the inserts compared with the waist width of that board that you are looking at will be similar to the average ratio of the boards that I tested. This shouldn’t make a huge difference unless the ratio of the board you are looking at is significantly different to the average that I used.
4. The width at the inserts measurements that I took for the ratios that I used, are based on reference stance. A wider or narrower stance would produce different results. However, this difference shouldn’t be too significant.
5. Difference in ratios for wider and narrower boards: A different ratio was used for wide boards, regular boards and narrow boards – based on averages for those sized boards
6. Adjustments made for large sized boots, based on assumptions about boot bevel and outersole footprint: An assumption was made about boots that were larger than a US12 that there would be elements about those boots, typically that made them more able to get on a snowboard including being lower profile, and having a reasonable bevel on the toe and heel. This may not necessarily be the case and I highly recommend ensuring that you get low profile boots if you have a larger boot size (in my experience Adidas, Burton, Ride and Vans boots have the lowest profile – DC and Thirty Two are somewhere in the middle and Salomon and K2 Boots tend to have a longer footprint). 
7. Adjustments for narrower boards and wider boards: Some subtle adjustments have been made to recognize that The total amount of foot underhang allowable is greater for narrower boards as there is less board to have to put pressure on, the overall width of the board is narrower, therefore it’s easier to apply pressure, so the underhang allowable can be greater. The amount of underhang allowable for a wide board is less because the board is wider overall (not just at the waist) and inserts. So your feet need to be closer to the edges to maximize leverage as there is more board to move.  

If just one of these things is different it’s not likely to make a significant difference. But if there were a lot of these things (and they were all moving in the same direction) then it’s the accumulation of all of those differences could lead to a significant difference.

Women’s Waist Width Chart

This chart has been updated after further research and I have now created two charts to take into account binding angles, where previously there was just one chart.

If you think you are going to need something bigger than a 250mm waist width then you will probably have more options in the men’s snowboards.

These table are based on a number of assumptions, including:

1. That there is a 3cm difference between foot size and boot size on an average snowboard boot
2. That mondo print is typically a good fit – e.g. a 250mm (25cm) mondo print will fit a 25cm foot. If this is not the case for you, use your boot size for the minimum and your foot size for the maximum
3. That the ratio of the width at the inserts compared with the waist width of that board that you are looking at will be similar to the average ratio of the boards that I tested. This shouldn’t make a huge difference unless the ratio of the board you are looking at is significantly different to the average that I used.
4. The width at the inserts measurements that I took for the ratios that I used, are based on reference stance. A wider or narrower stance would produce different results. However, this difference shouldn’t be too significant.
5. Difference in ratios for wider and narrower boards: A different ratio was used for wide boards, regular boards and narrow boards – based on averages for those sized boards
6. Adjustments for narrower boards and wider boards: Some subtle adjustments have been made to recognize that The total amount of foot underhang allowable is greater for narrower boards as there is less board to have to put pressure on, the overall width of the board is narrower, therefore it’s easier to apply pressure, so the underhang allowable can be greater. The amount of underhang allowable for a wide board is less because the board is wider overall (not just at the waist) and inserts. So your feet need to be closer to the edges to maximize leverage as there is more board to move.

Aggressive Riders/Carving

If you’re someone who likes to get really low in a carve, who likes to really get up on that edge, then it’s a good idea to add 2-4mm to these tables to give you that extra room to ensure toe and heel drag is unlikely. If this is you, I highly recommend low profile boots, in order to prevent your feet from being too far inside the edges.

Beginners

If you are just starting out snowboarding you can afford to be overhanging more as you aren’t likely to be getting up on your edges as much. But if you buy a snowboard and plan on keeping it for a while, then you’ll still not want to have too much overhang.

If you intend to upgrade your snowboard after the beginner phase, then you can afford to have a little more overhang than is suggested here.

What If I don’t Own Boots Yet or Don’t know my Size?

If you do not own boots yet, don’t know your boot size or need to convert into US sizes for the charts above, then you can measure your feet and compare them to the table below to get your boot size.

Snowboard boots are made with a foot length in mind and as well as having sizing such as US 10, EUR 45 etc they also have something called a mondo-print which is the foot length that the boot was intended for – more on this here.

To measure your foot length, place your heel flat against the wall and measure along the floor from the wall to your big toe.

Alternatively place your foot on a piece of paper and mark each end of the foot on the piece of paper and then measure between the marks.

NB: Your snowboarding boot size may not be the same as your normal shoe size – and sizing may vary.

Want more Accuracy?

If you want to be completely sure you are getting the right width before you buy and are fussier about this, there are a couple of other options. i.e. if you have narrowed down your choice to a particular board but want to make sure the waist is fine before you buy.

Option #1: You could try measuring your foot and contact a store and ask them to measure your foot length against the width of the board at the inserts and at your preferred binding angles if you know them (if you don’t know your binding angles use this as a guide).

I haven’t tried this so not sure how accommodating they would be – but assuming they want your sale they should do this I would imagine.

Option #2: Go into a physical snowboarding shop and place your feet on the board at the angles you think they will be at. If the run from edge to edge (on the underside of the board) or overhang by up to 5mm on toe-edge and heel edge (10mm total overhang) – or underhang by up to 2mm on toe-edge and heel edge (4mm total underhang) then your good.

Option 2 would be the most accurate way of knowing, of course, it just requires you going into a store physically. Of course, you don’t necessarily have to buy in store if you can find a cheaper price on line (and can resist the sales staff’s charms!)

Option #3: Contact me using the comments below and I can let you know my opinion on the particular snowboard you are looking at.

This won’t be millimetre perfect but should be slightly more accurate than your average width sizing chart.

Buying Snowboards

As the average snowboard boot size for a male is between 8.5 and 11.0 US Men’s (remember snow board boot size can differ to normal shoe sizes – they’re usually the same but can fit 1/2 size smaller or 1/2 size larger (or even up to a whole sizes in some cases). The most common waist widths are going to accommodate for those sizes.

Hence, the largest number of men’s snowboard options fall within a certain waist width range. So there are more options for those waist width ranges than others. And the further from those “normal” ranges you get the fewer the options become.

But there are still plenty of options for those with smaller and larger feet.

Similarly for women’s boards – the more common sizes are more catered for.

Boards too Wide in Your Length

Sometimes a balancing act needs to be made between the best length for you and the best width. Usually there will be a good width in your length. But not always. If you are someone who can’t find a board narrow enough for your feet in your most suited length, it is often necessary to compromise a little bit.

If you decrease the length a little bit then this counteracts the fact that the board might be wider than ideal. A shorter length board is more agile, and a board that is too wide for you is less agile. So going shorter brings some or all of the agility that you loose with the extra width. Also, the extra width adds back stability for landings and float in powder that is reduced by going with a shorter length.

What Next?

Now that You’ve Hopefully figured out your width range, it’s time to find out some other aspects to get you on your perfect board. Check out the following to find a good length range and to find a board that will suit the way you like to ride and where you like to ride.

>>Find Your Snowboard Length Range

>>Find Your Style of Snowboard

Already know your length and style, then check out our Top 10 Snowboard Lists, which are organized by style of board (e.g. beginner, all-mountain, freestyle, freeride etc).

>>Snowboarding Profiles’ Top 10s Lists

EXTRA READING

How Much Margin for Error?

Fortunately there is a bit of room for error in width sizing of snowboards as has been mentioned.

This is a good thing because it’s always going to be hard to tell exactly what the width at the inserts is. This information isn’t generally published and waist width (narrowest point of the board at the centre of the board) measurements (which are published) don’t give you the exact picture.

There are several variances that can affect the width at insert compared to the waist width, namely

• Side cut radius (how sharp the angle of the curve is)
• Stance width
• Binding angles

Thankfully none of these things makes too much difference. Binding angles make the most differences – which is why I now have 2 men’s and 2 women’s tables above, to account for different binding angles.

Sidecut Radius:

I compared the difference at insert for a board with a waist width of 252 and a side cut radius of 6.5m and one with 9m.

252 waist width at 6.5 sidcut radius = 263 at insert

252 waist with a 9 sidecut = 260mm at insert

So that’s a difference of 3mm. This is starting to become significant however this is an extreme case. As boards are designed with a certain width in mind the difference in side cut between boards with a 252 waist width would seldom be this wide.

In fact, out of 175 men’s freestyle boards I analyzed, the largest variance of side cut radii at any given waist width, was 1.25metres and the average variance was only 0.57 metres.

The variance of 1.25 metres was on boards with waist widths of 264mm. The difference in width at insert even at 1.25 metres of variance was only 1.5mm (difference between the width at insert in relation to waist width, caused by side cut variances).

In most cases the difference would be much less (and I suspect with a larger sample size that the variance at waist width 264mm would move closer to the average) – probably less than half of this in most cases. So we’re looking at around a 0.5mm to 0.75mm difference – so not too much to worry about there.

For freeride boards the side cut variances between different boards may be more extreme.

I’m a total geek with this stuff and I know it!           

Stance width:

Even a whole inch wider or narrower than the reference stance width (and it’s unlikely that you will be that far off the reference width if you have the right length of board) only increases or decreases the width by 1.5mm with a 6.5metre side cut radius – so that’s with a sharper than average curve.

The lower the radius the sharper the curve and 6.5 is on the lower side. The higher the side cut radius the less difference the variance from reference stance will make.

Side cut radius tend to be a smaller number (so a sharper curve angle and therefore make more difference for stance widths) on shorter length boards and women’s boards.  But they shouldn’t make any more difference than 1.5mm per inch (25.4mm) of stance width variance, given that the experiment above was conducted using a 6.5m side cut, and very few boards will have a side cut smaller than that.

Binding Angles:

This probably makes the biggest difference and is particularly the case for certain binding angle set ups.

For example if you have front foot 15 degrees and back foot 0 degrees, the back foot is going to be flat on the board meaning that it will essentially be longer than the front foot.

i.e. if the front foot (at 15 degrees) was to span the board perfectly from edge to edge then the back foot (at zero degrees) could have overhang of up to 4-5mm on both the heel-edge and the toe-edge of the foot (total 8-10mm of overhang).

In some cases though, the back foot might be at maximum overhang and the front foot might have slightly more underhang than is ideal on the front foot. But it shouldn’t be the case that this is too extreme in most cases.

With a setback stance the back binding (always on the same or less of an angle than the front binding) is usually on a wider part of the board and the front binding is usually on a narrower part of the board (closer to the waist width) and can completely or somewhat offsets the differences made by the differing binding angles (depending on the board and the binding angles used).

With a lot of freeride boards the tail is narrower and the nose is wider, however it’s still usually the case that the width at the back inserts is a little bit wider than the front inserts, even as it’s tapering to the back binding.

Other Variations:

Boot bevel, the profile of the boot, and how thick your base plate is (i.e. how high off the snowboard you are) will also have some effect on how wide your snowboard will need to be.

Width sizing is definitely the most complicated part of snowboard sizing and the hardest part to get accurate – but it is also an important part. The width sizing charts earlier in this post can give you some idea but they will never be entirely accurate.

Usually, however, they don’t need to be millimeter perfect and you should be able find something that works for you fairly easily that fits within the margin of error.