This question gets asked more and more each day as longboarding is reasonably straightforward to learn. Longboarders must wonder if they can apply their knowledge and experience in the winter sport we know as snowboarding.
The consensus is that snowboarding and longboarding are pretty similar, from body positioning to muscle conditioning and the confidence it helps you build.
This article will discuss the similarities and differences between longboarding and snowboarding and cover some frequently asked questions.
Differences Between Longboarding and Snowboarding
You must remember that snowboarding is an entirely different sport from longboarding. One glides on mountains while another hits the concrete roads. One is a winter sport while the other is an all-year-round hobby, sport, or means of transport. Yes, they have many similarities but before we get into them, let’s discuss the apparent differences.
Snowboards Use Bindings To Secure Your Feet
Unlike longboards, snowboards use bindings to strap your feet onto the board to help keep you planted and secured during your ride. The bindings have a much greater purpose than helping you stand on your board and assist in transferring power and moving during your ride.
Since snowboards use momentum to gain speed, they do not require you to use your feet as a longboard does. That’s why snowboarding is a downhill sport mostly carried out on mountains while longboards can be ridden on straight roads and to commute.
Snowboards Are Wider Than Longboards
This makes it a little harder to stay balanced. As useful as the bindings can be and seem, a lot of core strength is required to stay balanced on your snowboard. Snowboarders have to make sure that they are not leaning into the turn, whereas longboarders can lean in as much as they want without fear of tipping over thanks to its 4-wheel build.
Snowboarding is More Natural
Snowboarding has much more connection to nature because people use the natural landscape as their runway. Longboarding is not as natural because it’s done on paved roads or sidewalks. Snowboards can also go much faster than longboards because of their shape, allowing less resistance while riding down hills or mountainsides.
One is Meant for Snow, The Other for The Roads
The other significant difference between snowboarding and longboarding is that snowboards are used on snow. In contrast, longboards are best used on pavement or smooth dirt, making them more accessible to beginners than snowboards.
Affordability and Accessibility
You can grab 2-4 longboards for the price of one snowboard, which says a lot about the sport. On average, longboards cost about $100-$200, while snowboards come in at $300 to $600 for a decent one.
This board from Burton is an excellent example of a fantastic snowboard.
Also, you can longboard right outside your house, whereas you’ll more than likely need to go out your way to find the right conditions to snowboard in. So we’re not only saving money on the boards but also in terms of accessibility. For most people, a free location to snowboard is not so accessible, and if you come across a mountain that looks good to snowboard, how safe is it?
Similarities Between Longboarding and Snowboarding
As mentioned earlier, there are many similarities between the sports, but they do not concern the boards as much as the technique and learning curve.
Balance
They are both longboards and provide users with a lot of surface area to stand and balance on. The foot placement required on both boards is more or less the same, being the surf stance. A snowboard is just a bit bigger, and you strap your feet in versus planting your feet on a longboard. You use the same muscles and body parts to control the boards, almost allowing you to learn both sports while practicing one.
Gliding
Both boards are designed to help you glide across snow or asphalt, respectively. The only slight movement difference between snowboarding and longboarding is how they turn. Snowboarders lean into turns to adjust their body’s weight distribution, whereas longboarders use their feet to push down on the nose or tail as they turn to rotate the board and pivot around curves without losing speed.
Transfer Your Skills
There are many things you learn from longboarding which can simply be applied to snowboarding. How you contract your muscles to stay balanced on the board, your stance, and even carving is very similar in both board sports.
What we have covered above are the most common similarities and differences of both sports. Riding a longboard can be quite like snowboarding, but the learning curve required for each most certainly differs for known reasons such as snow vs. concrete, bindings vs. free stance, and the needed muscle-brain connection.
Most Frequently Asked Questions
Let’s look at some commonly asked questions and explore the similarities and differences between the two sports.
Is Snowboarding Harder Than Longboarding?
This is a question that has been debated for years, and there are many different factors to consider before answering it. For example, longboards typically have a more spacious deck than snowboards, making it easier to balance and control. There’s also the fact that snowboarders need to attach their feet to the board while longboarders can just place them on top of it. Furthermore, snowboarders use their feet to stop, while longboarders can use their hands or feet.
Some people think that snowboarding is harder because they don’t have as much control over what’s happening with their board. While others argue that longboarding is more difficult because you need to control an object with your feet instead of your hands or arms.
Does Longboarding Help With Snowboarding?
Longboarding is an excellent way to improve your skills for snowboarding. It gives you the ability to learn the mechanics of turning and sliding through corners without the high speeds or steep slopes.
Which Longboard Most Resemble Snowboarding?
This is a difficult question to answer. It all depends on the kind of snowboarding that you are into. If you want to learn how to do snowboard tricks, then downhill longboards are perfect for you. If you are looking for a smoother ride and enjoy cruising down snowy hills, then a cruiser board is what you need.
So Is Snowboarding Like Riding a Longboard?
We’ve done our best to summarize the similarities and differences, but it’s your experience that will help you decide whether they assist each other and if they are similar. The conditions you ride in play a huge part in each sport, and a snowy mountain cannot really be compared to a concrete hill in the sun, where the risks in each sport are a completely different story. It’s no surprise that road rash will cause a lot more damage than gliding the snow in your thick snowboarding outfit.
Whatever you decide, stay safe out there and spend enough time studying and practicing each sport before you hit the road, or the snow, respectively.
If this article was helpful, sign up for our Newsletter for more great content.