This page will cover what I consider to be the top 5 beginner snowboards for women currently on the market. This list has been updated for the 2016-17 season.
Each board will be assessed on how well it will perform as a beginner board and how well it is likely to aid the progression of beginners.
As per Snowboarding Profiles Tradition, each board will be given a score out of 100. Note that the scores reflect how suitable the board is for a beginner – not the overall performance of the board.
Of the 27 different women’s beginner boards that I looked at
- The average score was 87.5/100
- The highest score was 100/100 (see #1 board below)
- The lowest score was 70/100
- The average price was $401
O.K. let’s get into the top 5!
Women’s Beginner Board #5
Board: Salomon Oh Yeah
Price (USD): $349
Beginner Board Rating Score: 96.5/100
The first board we’ll look at, coming in at #5, is the Salomon Oh Yeah.
Camber Profile: The Oh Yeah has a mix between a Flat-to-Rocker profile and a Hybrid Camber profile . It has a flat section between the feet and camber under the feet – these sections help the Oh Yeah with stability and then there are rocker sections towards the tip and tail which help with turning ease.
Flex: The Oh Yeah has a medium-to-soft flex and rates a 4/10. Medium-soft (3/10 or 4/10) is the ideal flex for a beginner deck, IMO. It’s got enough stiffness to help with stability but is soft enough so that it’s easier to maneuver and forgiving or errors.
Manufacturer’s Label: Beginner-to-Intermediate
Price: The Oh Yeah comes with a really reasonable price tag. It’s way lower than the average women’s snowboard and even lower than the average women’s beginner snowboard.
Sizing: The Oh Yeah comes in 4 different lengths from 138cm to 151cm.
| Size (Length) | 138 | 143 | 147 | 151 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waist Width (mm) | 238 | 240 | 242 | 247 |
| Weight Range (kgs) | 35-60 | 35-60 | 45-65 | 50-70 |
| Weight Range (lbs) | 77-132 | 77-132 | 99-143 | 110-154 |
Shape & Stance: The Oh Yeah has a true twin shape and a centered setback stance. This is a great combination for a beginner, in my opinion, as it has a symmetrical feel and makes it easier to find your balance.
Base: It has an Extruded base – which is great for beginners. It’s not too fast (which is actually a good thing for beginners) and it’s easier to maintain than other base types.
Check out the video for more on the Oh Yeah
Score Breakdown for the Oh Yeah
| FACTOR | RATING (OUT OF 5) | CONTRIBUTION TO FINAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| Flex: | 5.0 | 20/20 |
| Stability: | 5.0 | 20/20 |
| Turning Ease: | 4.5 | 18/20 |
| Price: | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
| Shape: | 5.0 | 10/10 |
| Stance: | 5.0 | 10/10 |
| Base: | 5.0 | 5/5 |
| TOTAL | 96.5/100 |
Women’s Beginner Board #4
Board: Rossignol Tesla
Price (USD): $349
Beginner Board Rating Score: 97/100
Next up we have the Rossi Tesla.
Camber Profile: The Telsa has a Hybrid Camber profile. This means there is Camber underfoot which will aid in stability and, like the flat-to-rocker profile, has rocker towards the tip and tail for easier turn initiation.
Flex: The Tesla has a medium-to-soft flex (4/10) which is ideal for the beginner to help with maneuvering the board and being forgiving of errors, whilst still maintaining decent edge-hold and stability.
Manufacturer’s Label: Beginner-to-Intermediate
Price: This is a great price for a snowboard and even for a beginner board – somewhere between $299 and $399 would be reasonable.
Sizing: The Tesla comes in 4 different sizes from 136 to 148. Check out the table below for details.
| Size (Length) | 136 | 139 | 143 | 148 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waist Width (mm) | 232 | 234 | 236 | 238 |
| Weight Range (kgs) | 30-45 | 30-50 | 40-60 | 40-70 |
| Weight Range (lbs) | 66-100 | 66-110 | 88-132 | 88-154 |
Stance and Shape: The Tesla has a centered stance and a true twin shape – perfect for beginners.
Base: The Tesla comes with a sintered base – I’d prefer to see an extruded base on a board for a beginner but other than that this is one of the best beginner snowboards you can buy.
Check out the video below for more
The Tesla’s Score Breakdown
| FACTOR | RATING (OUT OF 5) | CONTRIBUTION TO FINAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| Flex: | 5.0 | 20/20 |
| Stability: | 5.0 | 20/20 |
| Turning Ease: | 5.0 | 20/20 |
| Price: | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
| Shape: | 5.0 | 10/10 |
| Stance: | 5.0 | 10/10 |
| Base: | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
| TOTAL | 97/100 |
Women’s Beginner Board #3
Board: Ride Rapture
Price (USD): $359
Beginner Board Rating Score: 97/100
Camber Profile: The Rapture has a flat-to-rocker profile which aids in stability and turn initiation.
Flex: The Rapture has a soft to medium-to-soft and rates a 2 out of 10 on Ride’s feel-o-metre. Ideally I would look for a 3 or 4 out of 10 – but that’s being pretty fussy! A 2/10 is a perfectly good flex rating for beginners.
Manufacturer’s Label: Beginner-to-Advanced
Price: Like the other boards on this list, this is a really reasonably priced board. It’s the most expensive on this list but it’s still well under the average board price.
Sizing: The Rapture comes in 5 different lengths ranging from 138 to 154.
| Size (Length) | 138 | 143 | 147 | 151 | 154 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waist Width (mm) | 238 | 240 | 242 | 244 | 246 |
| Weight Range (kgs) | 27-45 | 32-45 | 39-59 | 45-68 | 52-73 |
| Weight Range (lbs) | 60-100 | 70-100 | 85-130 | 100-150 | 115-160 |
Shape and Stance: It has a true twin shape and a centered stance – ideal for the beginner.
Base: It has an Extruded base. Again just what you want in a beginner snowboard.
Check out the video for more on the Rapture
The Rapture’s Score Breakdown
| FACTOR | RATING (OUT OF 5) | CONTRIBUTION TO FINAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| Flex: | 5.0 | 20/20 |
| Stability: | 5.0 | 20/20 |
| Turning Ease: | 5.0 | 20/20 |
| Price: | 4.0 | 12/15 |
| Shape: | 5.0 | 10/10 |
| Stance: | 5.0 | 10/10 |
| Base: | 5.0 | 5/5 |
| TOTAL | 97/100 |
Women’s Beginner Board #2
Board: Rome Royal
Price (USD): $339
Beginner Board Rating Score: 98.5/100
The #2 beginner board for women is the Rome Royal – this is a new board for 2017 and it’s definitely focused on the beginner and being easy to ride and progress on.
Camber Profile: The Royal has a Flat-to-Rocker profile . The flat sections between and under the feet aid in the Royal’s stability and and the rocker sections towards the tip and tail of the board help to make it easier to turn.
Flex: It has a medium-to-soft flex which is the perfect flex for a beginner board.
Ability Level: Beginner-to-Intermediate
Price: The Royal has an RRP of $349 (USD). This is well under the average price for a snowboard and also well under the average price for a beginner snowboard (which tend to have a lower price).
Sizing: The Royal comes in 4 different sizes from 141 to 150.
| Size (Length) | 141 | 144 | 147 | 150 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waist Width (mm) | 242 | 244 | 246 | 248 |
| Weight Range (kgs) | 32-52 | 36-59 | 41-68 | 41-68+ |
| Weight Range (lbs) | 70-115 | 80-130 | 90-150 | 90-150+ |
Stance and Shape: The Royal has a centered stance. I prefer this for beginner boards as I think it’s easier to get your balance when you are centered on the board.
It has a true twin shape. I also prefer this shape for beginners because it gives a symmetrical even feel when centered on a true twin.
Base: The Royal has an Extruded base – this is perfect for beginners.
Unfortunately I’m yet to find a video for the Royal. Hopefully one will come out during the season (it is a new model for 2017) and then I’ll add it here.
The Royal’s Score Breakdown
| FACTOR | RATING (OUT OF 5) | CONTRIBUTION TO FINAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| Flex: | 5.0 | 20/20 |
| Stability: | 5.0 | 20/20 |
| Turning Ease: | 5.0 | 20/20 |
| Price: | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
| Shape: | 5.0 | 10/10 |
| Stance: | 5.0 | 10/10 |
| Base: | 5.0 | 5/5 |
| TOTAL | 98.5/100 |
Women’s Beginner Board #1
Board: Rossignol Myth
Price: $299
Beginner Board Rating Score: 100/100
And coming in at #1 is the perfect beginner’s snowboard the Rossignol Myth and the only board to get a perfect score.
Rossignol are doing something right when it comes to women’s beginner boards. If this was a top 10, rather than a top 5, they’d have another couple in here based on the research I conducted.
As it is they’ve managed to get the #1 and #4 spots.
Camber Profile: Like the other Rossi board in this list, the Myth has a Hybrid Camber profile which should serve well in terms of both stability and turn initiation.
Flex: The Myth has a medium-to-soft flex and rates a 4/10 on Rossi’s flex scale. This for me is the ideal flex for a beginner snowboard.
Manufacturer’s Label: Beginner-to-Advanced
Price: The Myth costs a nice friendly $299 RRP (USD). This is a great price and the cheapest on this list.
Sizing: It has 4 different sizes ranging from 139 to 154.
| Size (Length) | 139 | 144 | 149 | 154 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waist Width (mm) | 234 | 236 | 238 | 240 |
| Weight Range (kgs) | 30-50kgs | 40-60kgs | 40-70kgs | 50-75kgs |
| Weight Range (lbs) | 66-110lbs | 88-132lbs | 88-154lbs | 110-165lbs |
Shape & Stance: The Myth has the perfect shape (true twin) and stance (centered) for beginners.
Base: The Myth has an Extruded base – perfect for the beginner deck.
For more on the Myth check out the video below
The Myth’s Score Breakdown
| FACTOR | RATING (OUT OF 5) | CONTRIBUTION TO FINAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| Flex: | 5.0 | 20/20 |
| Stability: | 5.0 | 20/20 |
| Turning Ease: | 5.0 | 20/20 |
| Price: | 5.0 | 15/15 |
| Shape: | 5.0 | 10/10 |
| Stance: | 5.0 | 10/10 |
| Base: | 5.0 | 5/5 |
| TOTAL | 100/100 |
I was able to hire a Myth for my girlfriend when we went to Whistler last year and she loved it. She is an beginner to intermediate rider and said she had ridiculously more confidence on this board than the standard hire boards she had been getting.
Her turns were way smoother, she felt way more confident and she was getting down the slopes much quicker – which was great as I didn’t have to spend as much time waiting!
Over to You…..
So there you have it – the top 5 beginner snowboards for women for the 2016/17 season. Hopefully this has helped with your research and helped to narrow down your search.
Often models don’t change that much from year to year, especially beginner models. So if you can find a 2016 model, it will likely be close enough to the 2017 model but you can get it cheaper, if available. If you’re unsure if the 2016 model will be suitable leave a comment below and I will recommend whether the 2016 is suitable or not.
For the latest model check out the links under each board above. For past year’s models check out the links below to see if they still have any left.
Where to Buy, Current Prices and More Info
If you can find one of these boards in the 2016-17 model, you should be able to get them at a considerably cheaper price than their MSRP. This is the nature of past season boards.
Check out the links below to see if you can find the board you’re after in a past model.
US STORES
CANADA STORES
NEW ZEALAND STORES
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