The Best Snowboards for Beginners 2023-2024

BEGINNER BOARD #10=

Board: GNU GWO

Beginner Board Rating Score: 89.5/100

Ability Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Style of Board: Freestyle

Flex: Soft (3/10)

  *HARD/ICY SNOW OPTION

Starting off the list at #10 we have GNU's GWO.

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 but still want a looser feeling, easy going board. 

Check out the Video for More on the GWO 

Score Breakdown for the GWO

BEGINNER BOARD #10=

Board: Ride Agenda

Beginner Board Rating Score: 89.5/100

Ability Level: Beginner-to-intermediate

Style of Board: Freestyle

Flex: Medium-Soft (3/10)

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.  

Learn More About the Agenda in the Video Below

Ride Agenda Score Breakdown

BEGINNER BOARD #9

Board: YES Basic

Rating Score (as a beginner board): 90.5/100

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

The Basic’s Score Breakdown

BEGINNER BOARD #8

Board: Rossignol District

Beginner Board Rating Score: 91/100

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 dropped down the list a bit this year, but that's because it got a little pricier. Other than that, it's still a really good beginner choice. 

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 sell and upgrade. 

The Districts Score Breakdown

BEGINNER BOARD #7

Board: Burton Instigator

Beginner Board Rating Score: 91.5/100

Ability Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Style of Board: All-Mountain

Flex: Soft (2/10)

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, such is it's versatility. 

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

Score Breakdown for the Instigator

BEGINNER BOARD #6

Board: Salomon Sight

Beginner Board Rating Score: 91.5/100

Ability Level: Beginner-to-Intermediate

Style of Board: Freeride

Flex: Medium-Soft (4/10)

The Sight is a great option for those that see themselves getting into riding powder in the future. It's the only freeride snowboard in this list, so if you think you'll be skipping anything freestyle but know you'll want to explore powder in the near future, the Sight is a great board to get started on.

The only other beginner friendly freeride board I can think of is the Burton Ripcord (which while didn't make this list, is also a good option - see honorable mentions below). 

So, if you're looking to take on freeriding/powder early in your snowboarding life, but want a board that won't be too hard to ride, then the Sight is a great option. 

Score Breakdown for the Sight

BEGINNER BOARD #5

Board: Nidecker Play

Beginner Board Rating Score: 91.5/100

Ability Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Style of Board: All-Mountain

Flex: Medium-Soft (4/10)

At #5 we have Nidecker's Play. 

The Play is a great option for anyone new to snowboarding. 

It combines a friendly flat-to-rocker profile, an easy going flex and friendly price-tag. Not only that, but it's also nice and versatile, allowing you to go in whatever direction you want to go with your snowboarding progression.  

Check out the video for more about the Play

Score Breakdown for the Play

BEGINNER BOARD #4

Board: K2 Standard

Beginner Board Rating Score: 92/100

Ability Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Style of Board: All-Mountain

Flex: Soft (2/10)

  *FAST PROGRESSION

In at #4, we have the K2 Standard. 

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.

Score Breakdown for the K2 Standard

BEGINNER BOARD #3

Board: Arbor Foundation

Beginner Board Rating Score: 92/100

Ability Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Style of Board: All-Mountain-Freestyle

Flex: Soft (3/10)

The Foundation is about the ideal beginner board. 

The only thing to note 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. And that feeling makes it easy to initiate turns on, which is super helpful when you're just learning to do so. 

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

BEGINNER BOARD #2

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 #2 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 (along with the Nidecker Play (#5 above)) on this list too, 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

BEGINNER BOARD #1

Board: Rossignol Evader

Beginner Board Rating Score: 93/100

Ability Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Style of Board: All-Mountain

Flex: Soft (3/10)

And finally at #1, we have Rossignol's Evader. 

The Evader has a very friendly camber profile, a nice easy soft flex and provides a very versatile ride that allows you to progress into which ever area of snowboarding you want. It also comes in at a friendly price tag. 

So, in other words, ticks all the boxes as a beginner board. 

Score Breakdown for the Evader