Rider level: Intermediate – Advanced

Camber is the OG profile, and for many years was the only option available. Cambered snowboards have a positive bend and four contact points with the snow, creating a stable platform underfoot. Riders looking for something powerful, poppy and reactive will usually opt for a cambered board for precise and dynamic riding. However, these attributes that make it so good for experienced riders are also what makes it a little aggressive for beginners to master.

Rider level: Intermediate – Advanced

Rocker (or reverse camber) gently rises up from the centre to the nose and tail, lifting them away from the snow. This profile is super forgiving, floats well in deeper snow and is easy to manoeuvre at slower speeds, but it can struggle with stability and precision when you want to put your foot on the gas.

Rider Level: Beginner – Advanced 

A flat (or zero camber) snowboard is exactly what it sounds like, it lays flush on a level surface and spreads pressure evenly across the snow. It’s stable, rides well on rails and is less ‘catchy’ than a traditional camber.

Rider Level: Beginner – Advanced 

A blend between rocker and camber, a hybrid profile uses rocker in the middle of the board and camber under the feet before changing back to rocker at the tip and tail. The result is a relaxed ride that still holds a solid edge when you need it.

Rider Level: Beginner – Advanced 

Another blended profile, CamRock uses camber between the feet and a mellow rocker out to the tip and tail - this mix is stable, poppy and more forgiving than full camber. It’s grown in popularity and is seen as a bit of a ‘best of both worlds’ solution.

Rider Level: Beginner – Advanced 

3BT snowboards use a traditional camber bend from nose to tail but incorporate what is essentially a torsional rocker at both tips. 3BT snowboards are easy to progress on as the upward lifting of the edges makes them forgiving and playful. They’re also great for deeper snow and railing turns, and thanks to the camber the board is still lively and chatter-free at high speeds.

A deep sidecut means a narrow waist for quick edge-to-edge transitions and on hardpack piste, you can rip big carve turns. The disadvantage of having a narrower waist is that your board will struggle to find lift in deeper snow due to its reduced surface area.

At the contact points (the widest parts of the boards at the tip and tail) the sidecut radius is large and mellow, easing you into the turn before the radius becomes shorter at the feet accelerating you out of the turn.

Several different sidecut radius sizes are used on the same board. Generally large at the tip and smaller at the waist this allows you to have a nimble board at low speed that's still solid at high speed.

When you stand on a snowboard your body and weight distribution are not symmetrical due to your body's centre of gravity. As a result of this, it’s easier to apply pressure to your toe edge than heel. Having a heel edge with a slightly smaller sidecut radius enables you to put less force into a turn yet it responds the same as your toe edge.

A traditional snowboard has two contact points at the tip and tail. A serrated edge such as found in snowboards featuring Magne-Traction increases the contact points with the snow, providing more grip and stability. If your snowboard has a rocker profile, Magne-Traction can add much-needed hold in turns.