Choosing the right snowboard can be tricky, particularly for larger riders such as myself.
To help you out, I used my decades of board buying experience to identify the best snowboards for big guys!
The Best Snowboards For Big Guys Are:
- The Burton Custom X Wide
- The Lib Tech Skunk Ape II
- The Gnu Rider’s ChoiceÂ
- The Bataleon Surfer
- The Jones Ultra Mountain Twin
Don’t believe me? Keep reading…
Features Of The Best Snowboards For Big Guys
When selecting a snowboard, it’s important to consider your weight, height, foot size, and riding style. This is especially important for bigger riders.
To do this, cross reference your stats with the sizing charts on the snowboard manufacturer’s websites. You should also try out our snowboard length calculator.Â
Ultimately, if you’re tall, heavy or have particularly large feet, check out the boards below. They share the following features:
- Firm flex, both longitudinally and torsionally. Heavier riders need this to maintain board structure and support, whilst still having adequate pop.Â
- Lengthy effective edge. Taller riders need a longer effective edge. This compensates for our weight and higher center of gravity.
- Sufficient board width. Bigger riders often have larger feet, requiring enough board width to avoid toe drag.Â
Best Snowboards For Big Guys
1. The Burton Custom X Wide
Flex: 6-9/10
Profile: Traditional Camber
Base: Sintered WFO
Shape: Directional (with twin flex)
Additional Features: Pro Tip, Dragonfly Core, Squeezebox, Frostbite Edges
- The absolute OG board for bigger riders
- Burton's top tech in all areas of design
- Incredibly responsive, with excellent pop
- Pretty much a one board quiver
- Excellent warranty
✖️ Expensive
✖️ Too stiff for beginners, unless you're strong or heavy enough (200lbs+)
More Details:
The Burton Custom X Wide is a high-end snowboard designed for advanced riders who want an aggressive and responsive board. It’s a wider version of the regular Burton Custom X, which makes it well-suited for bigger riders with larger feet.
Burton has given the Custom X Wide a camber profile which provides excellent edge hold and response. The board also has a directional shape with a setback stance, providing extra stability and control at high speeds.
The board has a stiff flex, so it is better suited for aggressive riding, such as carving and freeriding. The board also features Burton’s Triax fiberglass construction, which adds strength and stiffness without adding weight.
The Burton Custom X Wide has a premium sintered base, providing excellent glide and speed. The board also features The Channel mounting system, which allows easy and infinite stance adjustability.
Personal Thoughts: The Burton Custom X is one of the best snowboards for big guys. I’ve ridden at least 5 different versions of this board over the past decade. It’s an all-mountain machine!
Buying Advice: Don’t be tempted by the regular version of the Custom. The “X” is stiffer and more supportive, perfect for larger or stronger riders. Shoe sizes 10 (US) or below can look at the X in regular widths though. It still packs enough punch to support a heavier rider.Â
In the unlikely event that you haven’t heard of Burton, check out whether Burton is a good snowboard brand.
2. The Lib Tech Skunk Ape II Wide
Flex: 5-7/10
Profile: Hybrid C2X (Xtreme Riding All Terrain Contour)
Base: Sintered Knife Cut Base
Shape: Directional Twin
Additional Features: Magne-Traction
- Literally designed for the bigger rider!
- Refined over many years
- Super fun to ride
- Excellent size range
- Now optimised for pow (whilst remaining an all-mountain machine)
✖️Size guide risks oversizing, be careful not to go super long
More Details:
The Lib-Tech Skunk Ape is considered one of the best snowboards for big guys. It has a directional twin shape that makes it versatile and entertaining to ride. It is also incredibly powerful, making it lots of fun for experienced snowboarders.
The Legendary Big Guy Dream Snowboard - rages the resort and disappears in the woods. Constant testing and refinement by Trevor Phillips, Krush Kulesza, Neil Green and Kurt Jensen make this the best larger gentlemen’s power freestyle stick on the planet. The boys added a slightly more relaxed longer nose shape for pow float this year.
The Skunk Ape features Lib Tech’s C2, hybrid camber profile. This puts a rocker section in the nose/tail and a cambered section under foot.
The result is excellent float in powder and easy turn initiation. It also grips hard packed snow, even when your carving hard. This is enhanced by Magne-Traction edge technology.
Personal Thoughts: This board speaks for itself. It was literally designed for riders like you and me. I exclusively rode this board for a season and it handled everything perfectly. I even managed to size down a little the following season.
3. The Gnu Rider's Choice
Flex: 5-6/10
Profile: C2X Contour (R/C/R Hybrid)
Base: Sintered Knife Cut Base
Shape: True Twin
Additional Features: Magne-Traction, ASYM Level 2,
- Fast and responsive
- Awesome edge hold
- Eco-build construction
- A little more forgiving than some of the other options
- Literally the rider's choice - built by snowboarders!
✖️ Perhaps not stiff enough for the heaviest riders
More Details:
The Rider’s Choice is a super high-performance all-mountain snowboard. It works for most rider’s and includes wide versions for the advanced and larger riders with big feet.
It features their C2X Hybrid All-Mountain profile, so you can expect lots of float in powder, easy turn initiation and stability and edge hold on hard-packed snow.
The board has a medium-stiff flex, which makes it responsive and suitable for aggressive riding styles. This stiffness allows for quick edge-to-edge transitions and provides good stability at high speeds.
The board also has an asymmetrical sidecut, with a tighter heelside cut to make up for our physiological shortfalls on heel-side turns. The dampening technology also reduces vibrations and makes the board more stable when you’re haulin’ ass.
Personal Thoughts: I’m a huge fan of the Rider’s Choice. It’s one of the few boards that I happily recommend for most riders. The wide version is more than enough board for most larger riders, making it one of the best snowboards for big guys like me!
Read more about the Gnu Brand here.Â
4. The Bataleon Surfer
Best For: Powder Riding
Flex: 4-5/10
Profile: Medium Camber
Base: 7000-grade Sintered Base
Shape: Directional
Additional Features: 3BT, Carbon Stringers, Air-ride (dampens ride)
- An innovative & fun shape
- Excels in powder (still fun without)
- Truly tests your switch riding ability
- 3BT is super surfy (though an acquired taste)
✖️ Softer than other options, but this makes for a super fun bouncy ride. Just don't size down too much!
More details:
I talked at length about the joys of The Surfer in my article about the best surf style snowboards. Needless to say, it’s an absolute beauty!Â
The great thing about the surfer is that it’s already wide enough to handle bigger feet. I managed to take the 159 through 3 feet of Japanese powder and it floated like a dream!
It features 3BT (raised edges to help with transitions and float), an incredibly fast base and a super innovative tail design.Â
Personal Thoughts: This is an incredibly fun board from an incredible brand. Whilst a little more powder focused, I loved riding it across the whole mountain.Â
5. The Jones Ultra Mountain Twin
Flex: 8-9/10
Profile: Camrock (Hybrid)
Base: Sintered 9900 Base
Shape: True Twin
Additional Features: Traction Tech 3.0, V-core, Blunt Nose
- One of the best all mountain boards for big guys!
- Extremely premium construction and materials
- The base is incredible... super smooth
- I've ridden this thing everywhere. It slays!
- Eco-friendly factory and construction
✖️ On the pricier side
More details:
The Ultra Mountain Twin is easily one of the best snowboards for big guys.
As you’d expect from Jones, the construction is extremely high-quality. Packed with all of their flagship tech, the Ultra is a premium board for aggressive riders with a reasonable budget.
You can seriously ride this thing anywhere, including deep powder. You may have noticed that the Ultra was also one of the best snowboards for moguls. That’s how versatile this all-mountain slayer is!
Personal Thoughts: Fair warning, the Ultra packs a serious punch! That’s what makes it so much fun. However, if you’re a lighter or less confident rider, choose one of the boards higher up the list.Â
Conclusion
If you’re a bigger guy, the boards listed above are sure to bring a smile to your face. Unlike less qualified snowboards, they won’t wash out on you. They also won’t flex like a soggy piece of spaghetti!
How did I make my final selection?
Having tested over 60 snowboards in the past few seasons, the 5 listed above were the clear winners. So much so that I personally own each one of them. Each purchased with my own hard-earned dollar (don’t tell my wife!).Â
However, if you think that your board deserves a place on the list… please let me know in the comments below.Â
Happy riding!
2 comments
Helpful info. Fortunately for me I discovered your website accidentally before I ordered the DOA!
Happy to help!