The Best Snowboards of All Time, Tested and Reviewed

We brought you the best skis of all time and couldn't leave out our sideways brethren. Alas, we tested, vetted, and whittled down a couple dozen boards to present the best snowboards of all time.

Not so long ago, snowboarding was a niche sport, comprising few outcasts and misfits. In the last couple decades, the sport has evolved from skiing’s overlooked stepchild to a global community unto itself. This groundswell has driven the development and commercialization of new shapes, styles, and designs, to meet the needs of every rider—an evolution that’s far from over.

Boards today look almost nothing like their plywood predecessors. From freestyle to big mountain to backcountry splitboards, we’ve seen improvement everywhere, often toward specialization for distinct styles of riding and types of terrain. A revolution in rocker and camber shapes, constructions, materials, and customization of both boards and bindings. Today, snowboards are made with the same materials in airplanes and spacecraft. (Yes, really.)

With rapid technological improvement and meteoric industry growth, one might assume the rebel culture of yore has eroded beneath capitalism, but that is far from the truth. The core of snowboarding is thriving. Carve turns, hit jumps, get weird, and have fun, all while sliding sideways down the mountain.

Our Testing and Vetting Process

To help you live that life, we tested dozens of snowboards at Mount Bachelor, an independent resort with a deep snowboarding culture, and in the backcountry of Three Sisters Wilderness to find the top boards of the decade.

After weeks of carving corduroy, playing in the park, and touring mountain peaks like Broken Top and North Sister, we collected our top picks, rating each on a variety of performance metrics. While there's no perfectly empirical way to do this, we did our best to test float, edging, pop, and playfulness in as many conditions as possible.

We then compared performance with the historic impact each board has made on designs, materials, and shapes of other boards. When the snow settled, seven remained.

Best Snowboards of the Decade, Tested and Reviewed

Best for Backcountry Versatility

Best for Bespoke Boards

Best for Inbounds Party Laps

Best for Big Mountain Charging

Best for Freeride Creativity

Best for Deep Days

Best for Getting Air