The Best Snowboards for Beginners 2021-2022

Board: K2 Raygun

Beginner Board Rating Score: 88.5/100

Ability Level: Beginner-to-Intermediate

Style of Board: All-Mountain

Flex: Medium-Soft (4/10)

To start off the list we have the K2 Raygun in #15. 

The Raygun is a very versatile board, which is great to have when you're just starting out and aren't sure of your style yet. 

But more importantly it's a board that offers a great combination of stability and ease of turning, in a nice medium-soft flex. It's a board that you probably want to have a couple of days on the hill first to get on, but once you've rented a couple of days, this is a great first board option. 

Learn more about the Raygun in the video below

The following video is for the 2019 model, but nothing much has changed since then, apart from the graphic. 

Score Breakdown for the Raygun

Board: Arbor Formula Rocker

Beginner Board Rating Score: 89/100

Ability Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Style of Board: All-Mountain-Freestyle

Flex: Medium-Soft (4/10)

The Formula Rocker offers an easy going rocker profile that is catch-free and easy to initiate turns on. But Arbor do their rocker in such a way (called their System Rocker) that it's not as loose feeling as most all-rocker boards tend to feel. 

It's still on the looser side but not as loose as a lot of other continuous rocker boards. 

It's also a little stiffer than some boards on this list - which can make it more difficult but will also mean that it can be ridden further into the intermediate phase - and certainly within in the realm of most beginners, in terms of flex, unless you're quite light in terms of weight. 

2022 saw the Formula rocker switch from an extruded base to a sintered base. This means a faster base but also one that requires more regular waxing than an extruded base. So not as hassle free. But if you are looking for a sintered base, this is one of the least expensive boards with a sintered base going around. 

Check out the video for more about the Formula Rocker

Score Breakdown for the Formula Rocker

Board: Burton Ripcord

Beginner Board Rating Score: 89.5/100

Ability Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Style of Board: Freeride

Flex: Soft (2/10) 

  *FAST PROGRESSION

It's not often that a freeride board is also a beginner board, but this is the case for the Ripcord. 

So, if you're looking to get into powder in your early days riding, but don't want a super aggressive hard-to-ride freeride board, then this might be a good pick for you. 

Not something that will help if you want to learn to ride switch from the beginning or if you think you'll get into riding freestyle - but great for the budding freerider. 

Check out the video for more about the Ripcord 

Score Breakdown for the Ripcord

Board: Rossignol Sawblade

Beginner Board Rating Score: 90/100

Ability Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Style of Board: Jib/Park

Flex: Soft (3/10)

  *FAST PROGRESSION

The Sawblade offers a really easy going ride that, like the other Rossi boards in this list, features their "Auto-Turn" camber profile, which offers both ease of turn initiation but also enough stability. 

Rossignol's auto turn changed slightly for 2022 - now featuring 30% camber in the middle of the board with 35% rocker towards the tip and 35% rocker towards the tail (35/30/35). Previously it was 40/20/40, so there's a bit more camber in there now - but still rocker dominant. 

This is a park/jib oriented board. So, if you think that's something you'll get into later, then this is a great investment that you can learn to ride on now and that you can keep even when you upgrade to something for riding the rest of the mountain, then using this as your park deck.  

Check out the video for more about the Sawblade

Score Breakdown for the Sawblade

Board: Ride Agenda

Beginner Board Rating Score: 90.5/100

Ability Level: Beginner-to-intermediate

Style of Board: Freestyle

Flex: Medium-Soft (3/10)

  *FAST PROGRESSION

The Agenda is very much a freestyle snowboard – so if you were to go into something other than that once you progressed past the beginner phase, you would need to upgrade. But it's also great for just learning how to ride on before you get to that point. 

Otherwise it has an easy going hybrid camber profile with a camber section under the feet for stability and rocker sections towards the tip and tail for easier turn initiation plus a nice easy soft flex rating of 3 out of 10.

Note, confusingly Ride refer to it as a hybrid rocker profile, but by my definition it's hybrid camber (because the rocker is tip and tail, rather than between the feet). But ride call it that because it's a rocker dominant hybrid profile.  

Learn More About the Agenda in the Video Below

The following video is for the 2021 model, but nothing much has changed for the 2022 model, apart from the graphic. 

Ride Agenda Score Breakdown

Board: GNU GWO

Beginner Board Rating Score: 90.5/100

Ability Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Style of Board: Freestyle

Flex: Soft (3/10)

  *HARD/ICY SNOW OPTION

GNU's GWO takes off where the Carbon Credit left off. The only real difference between the Carbon Credit and GWO is that the GWO isn't asym. The other difference? The GWO is a little cheaper, so that's always nice. 

The GWO is one of the easiest boards to turn going around, so if you're still trying to link your turns, this is one board that will make it easy to do. 

And if you're looking at getting into riding freestyle/park, then this will be a great investment for that style of riding. 

Also a great option for those that encounter hard/icy conditions often.

Score Breakdown for the GWO

Board: Salomon Pulse

Beginner Board Rating Score: 91/100

Ability Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Style of Board: All-Mountain

Flex: Soft (3/10)

The only downside to the Pulse as a beginner board is that there isn't any rocker to speak of in the camber profile. This would usually cause me to cross it off the list straight away, but the Pulse is easy enough to turn on in spite of that. And part of that is the edges are slightly turned up at the contact points. 

A great option if you want a versatile all-mountain ride and think that you might want to go for a traditional camber board down the line - an easier gateway to trad camber than going straight to trad camber. 

This is also the equal cheapest on the list. 

Check out the video for more about the Pulse

The following video is for the 2020 model, but nothing much has changed since then, apart from the graphic. 

Score Breakdown for the Pulse

Board: YES Basic

Rating Score (as a beginner board): 91.5/100

Style of Board: Freestyle

Ability Level: Beginner-to-Advanced

Flex: Medium-Soft (4/10)

  *HARD/ICY SNOW OPTION

The YES Basic is a great little freestyle board that is also well suited to beginners.

It has a nice forgiving medium-soft flex, is easy to turn on but still feels very stable underfoot.

It’s a great option for those that often ride in harder or icy conditions, is very versatile and is a board that can take you beyond the beginner stage and even beyond the intermediate stage, if you're riding takes a freestyle dominant path. 

Check out the video for more on the YES Basic

The Basic’s Score Breakdown

Board: Burton Instigator

Beginner Board Rating Score: 91.5/100

Ability Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Style of Board: All-Mountain

Flex: Soft (2/10)

  *FAST PROGRESSION

The Instigator is a great board to get your snowboard learning underway and whilst you’ll probably want to upgrade once you’ve surpassed the intermediate phase, it can take you into any type of riding you would want to go.

It's not the cheapest on this list - but it's one of the most beginner friendly going around.  

Learn More About the Instigator in the Video Below

The following video is for the 2020 model, but nothing much has changed since then, apart from the graphic. 

Score Breakdown for the Instigator

Board: Rossignol District

Beginner Board Rating Score: 92/100

Ability Level: Beginner-to-Intermediate

Style of Board: Freestyle

Flex: Medium-Soft (3/10)

Basically perfect for the beginner - a very easy board to learn on that should ensure fast progression.  

It's a great option for those that want to head in a freestyle direction, or want something to learn the basics on, then either keep it in their quiver as their beat-up park deck or upgrade and sell. 

The 2022 model gets a little more camber in the profile, but only subtly so, and it's still rocker dominant (see Rossi Sawblade at #12 above for more details).

The Districts Score Breakdown

Board: Nitro Prime

Beginner Board Rating Score: 92/100

Ability Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Style of Board: All-Mountain

Flex: Medium-Soft (4/10) 

At #5 we have the Nitro Prime. The Prime is an easy to ride/progress on entry level board, that is nice and versatile for those starting out not knowing how they want to ride yet. 

It's the equal cheapest board on this list, so if you're a beginner snowboarder on a budget, this is definitely worth considering. 

Check out the video for more about the Prime

Score Breakdown for the Prime

Board: K2 Standard

Beginner Board Rating Score: 93/100

Ability Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Style of Board: All-Mountain

Flex: Soft (2/10) 

  *FAST PROGRESSION

This is a great option to start your snowboarding journey out on.

Like most here, it’s an up-to-intermediate level ride but it’s definitely a do-it-all kind of board – so you won’t have to worry about knowing the type of riding that you think you'll like.

More importantly, it’s a board designed to be very easy to ride and to build confidence on.

Learn More About the Standard in the Video Below

The following video is for the 2020 model, but nothing much has changed since then, apart from the graphic. 

Score Breakdown for the K2 Standard

Board: Arbor Foundation

Beginner Board Rating Score: 93/100

Ability Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Style of Board: All-Mountain-Freestyle

Flex: Soft (3/10)

  *FAST PROGRESSION

The Foundation is about the ideal beginner board. 

The only thing is that it's a little on the looser side, which can make it more difficult to one-foot off the lift for some. But it's certainly not super-loose. Not as loose as other continuous rocker boards tend to be, due to Arbor's System Rocker approach.

All-round it's a super easy going, catch-free, easy to turn ride that is confidence inspiring.  

Check out the video for more about the Foundation

Score Breakdown for the Foundation

Board: Rossignol Circuit

Beginner Board Rating Score: 94/100

Ability Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Style of Board: All-Mountain

Flex: Soft (3/10) 

  *FAST PROGRESSION

The Circuit is a great all-mountain starter board. It’s nice and forgiving, with easy turn initiations but also with a stable enough feel, when riding at slower speeds.

Whilst, it would need to be upgraded once you graduated from an intermediate level – it’s versatile enough to take you in any direction you wanted to go, up until that time.

The 2022 model gets a little more camber in the profile, but only subtly so, and it's still rocker dominant (see Rossi Sawblade at #12 above for more details). 

Score Breakdown for the Circuit

Board: Salomon Sight

Beginner Board Rating Score: 96/100

Ability Level: Beginner-to-Intermediate

Style of Board: All-Mountain

Flex: Soft (3/10) 

  *FAST PROGRESSION

And the #1 beginner boards this year - the Salomon Sight. 

It's one of the easiest boards out there to progress on – it’s nice and forgiving, catch-free, easy to initiate turns on and nice and stable underfoot at slow speeds. 

Whilst there is a reasonable amount of camber there - it's still really forgiving and easy to initiate turns on - and gives you a great introduction into more camber dominant boards, if that's where you're headed to.  

It’s also a very versatile board being an all-mountain board – so no matter which style of riding you get into as you progress, you’ll have a board that can take you there.

The only thing that drags down the versatility score (and overall score) and stops it from being a completely perfect score, is that that you’ll probably want to upgrade once you progress beyond an intermediate level. But it will be one of those boards that you can use to progress to beyond that intermediate level faster than most boards out there. 

On top of all of that, it’s a really reasonably priced board – helping to make it Snowboarding Profiles’ all-round #1 beginner snowboard.

Check out the video for more on the Sight

This is for the 2020 Sight Wide, but same things apply for wide and regular width models, depending on your boot size. The 2022 model is virtually the same as the 2020 model. 

Score Breakdown for the Sight