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Snowboarding is fun. At least, it should be. When you’re on the wrong board—one that doesn’t jive with your size, skill level, riding style, conditions, or terrain—fun can devolve into frustration. Luckily for you, our selfless test crew of 12 riders sifted through a stellar crop of 20 women’s snowboards at Tahoe’s stunning Diamond Peak Ski Resort this past spring to bring you the best snowboards of 2025.

Even when testers were analyzing snowboards that didn’t blow them away, risking numb fingers, frozen toes, and, worst of all, high-speed scorpions under the chairlift for the sake of data collection, good times were had. These riders inspected every board to bring you the most ribbon-worthy snowboards on the market. So whether you’re new to the game or three decades deep in the culture, chances are you’ll find the right board for you below.

At A Glance

• Editors’ Choice:
• Best All-Mountain Freestyle:
• Best Powder Board:
• How to Choose a Women’s Snowboard
• How We Test
• Meet Our Lead Testers

Want more options? Take a look at our favorite unisex and men’s snowboards of the season.

If you buy through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission. This supports our mission to get more people active and outside. Learn more.

Editors’ Choice

Gnu Barrett

Sizing: 146, 149, 152, 155 cm
Genre: All-mountain
Profile: C3 Camber (camber-dominant hybrid with mild rocker between the feet)
Shape: Directional
Flex: 6/10
Waist Width: 24.5 cm (152 cm)
Sidecut: 8.1 m (152 cm) with progressive Magne-traction

Pros and Cons
⊕ Balanced, reliable yet fun quiver-killer
⊕ Energetic pop
⊕ Excellent edge hold
⊗ Too much board for beginners
⊗ Better suited to jumps than jibs

Gnu first submitted the Barrett—the long-running pro model of G.O.A.T. frontrunner and snowboard legend —to our annual snowboard test a few years ago, and it arrived like a meteor. Christy’s pro model has been a staple in the Mervin lineup since the mid-90s, but the board has evolved over the years, and the iteration that wowed our team was a mid-stiff, moon-tailed, all-mountain-assaulting, line-lacing, directional deck. It turned out to be the highest scoring board of the test, men’s or women’s, and we awarded it Editors’ Choice honors. This year, Christy’s unchanged pro model returned—both to our test at Tahoe’s Diamond Peak and the top of the heap (read our full review).

“Gnu nailed it with the Barrett,” applauded Jenna Shlachter, a Tahoe banked slalom trophy collector, Euro-carving connoisseur, and all-around ripper. “It’s equally fun in pow, groomers, chunder, and park. I couldn’t find its weak point—a true quiver killer!” She dug the progressive Magne-traction, a design update that features a smooth sidecut in the front half of the board, transitioning to Gnu’s characteristic serrated sidecut in the back half of the board. “The Magne-traction delivers a precise ride with superb edge-hold fit for a queen, and the Barrett performs well wiggling through the trees and arching long turns alike,” reported Shlachter.

Shlachter also loved the energetic flex pattern—supplied by the Forest Stewardship Council-certified aspen and paulownia core, and reinforcing carbon bands—which she found balanced enough for all types of terrain. Mammoth snowboard coach Gela Malek Pour agreed after ripping the Barrett on Diamond Peak’s fast and steep groomers, wind-loaded tree stashes, and even the park. “I had a blast everywhere. I found this board to be the perfect stiffness that manages chatter really well, but at the same time soft enough to flex and pop effortlessly,” she said. Malek Pour also gave kudos to the Barrett’s versatile 8.1-meter radius sidecut and poppy, hardpack-gripping C3 camber profile (a camber-dominant hybrid with mellow rocker between the feet).

The only ones who wouldn’t have fun on this whip, said another Sierra tester, are “Pure park rats and beginner riders.”

Best All-Mountain Freestyle

Jones �´dz����’s Rally Cat Snowboard

Sizing: 142, 145, 148, 151, 154 cm
Genre: All-mountain freestyle
Profile: True camber
Shape: Directional twin
Flex: 2/5
Waist Width: 24.2 cm (148 cm)
Sidecut: 6.6 m (148 cm)

Pros and Cons
⊕ Approachable flex
⊕ Fun and easy to ride
⊕ Decent float in powder yet still solid riding switch
⊕ More butter than Land O’Lakes
⊗ Overwhelmed at high speeds in variable conditions
⊗ Not the most reliable for bigger drops

New for 2025, testers consistently rated Jones’ Rally Cat as one of the most approachable and fun snowboards of our Diamond Peak test field. “Way fun to ride—its life purpose is to bring joy,” reported longtime board tester and Sierra rider Coral Rose Taylor after scoring the Rally Cat high in the pop and butter departments.

Jones combined a capable, all-mountain directional twin shape (a touch of setback, zero taper, full camber, and spooned-out nose and tail) with a softer, forgiving flex pattern. That flex comes from a poplar wood core and a dual-direction, dual-layer, stitched fiberglass laminate. The resulting ride speaks to intermediates or even improving beginners who want to take their riding to new heights. A progressing, all-mountain, Tahoe tester judged the flex “loose enough to be playful but stiff enough to hold an edge.” She reported that the shape inspired confidence and elevated her riding to a “more fun level,” recommending the board for “new riders, park riders, and playful freeriders.”

A harder-charging Tahoe freerider and snowboard instructor opined: “The Rally Cat loves to spring into the air with minimal effort, and it has a flexy softness that lends itself to ground tricks like butter on toast. However, don’t ask it to charge through crud or stomp a big drop into a variable landing.” The same buttery flex in the tail that makes the Rally Cat a blast on side hits and park laps can be overwhelmed by overhead drops and chop.

That said, this board certainly isn’t reserved for intermediate shredders. It just depends on your priorities. Playful advanced riders who prefer wiggling, popping, jibbing, and buttering over pedal-to-the-metal mashing will have a riot on this board. One such rider, freestyle-focused tester and Mammoth snowboard coach Gela Malek Pour, fell in love with the Rally Cat at our Diamond Peak test, and rode the new shape all spring long at her home hill, too. She reported: “The slight directional shape and added volume in the nose help this board go through deep, fresh snow effortlessly—even if the ‘fresh snow’ is really some good, ole, heavy Sierra cement.”

Even with the setback stance, Malek Pour felt the lack of taper allowed the Rally Cat to jib through the park and also rip switch extremely well. She also dug the tight, 6.6-meter sidecut for the 148-centimeter length we tested. Combined with the spoon-shaped nose and tail, she said the Rally Cat facilitates, “Effortless turn initiation and quick and efficient edge-to-edge transitions.” In sum, Malek Pour praised the Rally Cat as a quiver-killer she’d happily ride on sunny spring park days, deep mid-winter powder days, and everything in between.

The new Rally Cat is also available in a men’s version. Jones only sent the women’s version to this year’s test.

Best Powder Board

Capita Navigator WMNS

Sizing: 143, 147, 151 cm
Genre: Powder/All-mountain resort
Profile: Hybrid camber
Shape: Directional
Flex: 5.5/10
Waist Width: 24.5 cm (151 cm)
Sidecut: 7.5 m / 6.4 m / 7.5 m (151 cm)

Pros and Cons
⊕ Lightweight construction
⊕ Workable flex
⊕ Floaty nose
⊕ Agile turning
⊗ Bucked by variable conditions

Capita’s Navigator WMNS has flex appeal. The featherlight, lightly tapered directional powder craft sports a medium-soft poplar and paulownia core, bolstered by two parallel strips of shock-absorbing, ollie-enhancing interwoven flax and aramid fibers. The resulting ride? “Super fun! Light and easy to get off the ground. It’s soft and buttery—not soft and floppy,” said distinguished first-year Tahoe tester and absolute ripper Kay Okamoto.

An aggressive Tahoe freerider and test veteran agreed, calling the Navigator a “flexy stick with personality that navigates the whole mountain with style and ease.” She appreciated the pop powered by the dual-wood core and the flax-and-aramid strips, describing the Navigator as a “launcher with plenty of spring.” However, she did voice a critique common with lighter, softer boards: while the Navigator handles pow and fresh corduroy like a dream, she found it was bucked by frozen ruts, high-speed hardpack, and choppy snow.

A lighter-on-her-feet, less aggressive, and more freestyle-oriented rider, Gela Malek Pour, felt otherwise. “This board would be my weapon of choice on a powder day, even if you live in a resort town like Mammoth, where everything gets completely tracked out about 45 seconds after the chair opens—because not only does it float through powder, but it also manages chatter well and allows you to power through any choppy technical terrain,” she explained.

There was no debate, however, whether the Navigator was agile. The directional deck sports traditional camber underfoot for edge hold and pop, which transitions to floaty, catch-free rocker just outside the inserts before kicking up into the steeper nose and tail. Combined with a parabolic sidecut that’s tighter at the waist and longer toward the nose and tail, the Navigator’s contact points are naturally raised off the snow. Snowboard nerd talk aside, this combination provides fun float in powder and the maneuverability necessary to confidently glide through glades. “Nimble turner,” voiced snowboard instructor Anne Douccette.

After our test week at Diamond Peak, South Lake Tahoe tester Anna Lewandowski spent March and April putting the Navigator through the paces in the Sierra, including a few classic spring powder days that let the lightweight build and wide, rockered nose shine. “While it’s a great all-mountain directional board for intermediate to expert riders, it stands out in powder conditions,” she claimed. “It gives you the ultimate surfy feeling without you having to put all the weight into your back leg.”

Yes. Rival

Sizing: 140, 144, 149, 152 cm
Genre: Freestyle/All-Mountain
Profile: Camber
Shape: True Twin
Flex: 6/10
Waist Width: 23.6cm (149)
Sidecut: 7.6/6.2 (149)

Pros and Cons
⊕ Poppy on jumps
⊕ Pressable on rails
⊕ Capable in most all-mountain situations
⊗ Washed out on larger-radius turns
⊗ Mid-Bite can throw off riders accustomed to smoother sidecuts

Between learning tricks, stacking clips, competing, and cutting through the noise, up-and-coming pros have their work cut out for them. Luckily, young Canadian style savant partnered with Yes. in 2021 to design her dream park workhorse from the ground up. The true twin resonated with our testers from the jump during our 2023 snowboard test at Sugar Bowl.

Yes.’s “MidBite” sidecut tech, pronounced indents along the edges between the bindings, produces the agility of a narrow-waisted deck while retaining the reliability of a wider board. Factor in a spring-loaded poplar core, and you get a freestyle weapon that’s nimble and poppy enough for quick spins and trustworthy enough for high-speed takeoffs and heavy landings.

“It’s fun for both the park and for jibbing the mountain like it’s your playground,” claimed snowboard coach Claire Lawrenson. , another park regular, was similarly blown away. “The Rival is insanely light,” she said. “It must have secret rockets hiding somewhere because it blasts off anything with minimal effort.” She said she would swipe plastic on Pelchat’s brainchild, stoked to find a camber twin rip stick for women that’s flexible enough to press and butter but still has excellent snap and response.

Testers were largely impressed by the Rival’s ability to navigate chop and mix during top-to-bottom resort riding. “It turns on a dime, spins like a dream, floats in pow, and can rail an edge with the best of ‘em—switch and regular,” said Whistler ripper . That said, we should mention that a few all-mountain rippers found it washed out on larger-radius, high-speed turns.

Rossignol Diva

Sizing: 140, 144, 148, 152 cm
Genre: All-Mountain/All-Mountain Freestyle
Profile: Amptek Elite rocker-camber-rocker
Shape: Twin
Flex: 7/10
Waist Width: 24.2 cm (148 cm)
Sidecut: 4.6 – 6.4 – 7.3m (148 cm)

Pros and Cons
⊕ Excellent maneuverability and switch riding with true twin shape
⊕ Decent float in powder for all-mountain freestyle twin
⊕ Both reliable at speed and lively
⊗ Flex isn’t super butter-friendly and jibby
⊗ Not as floaty as more directional shapes

“Don’t let the name fool you—the Diva is an all-mountain weapon,” advised Anna Weber, a snowboard instructor examiner and Sugar Bowl passholder (where we held our 2023 test). She found the true twin to be an all-mountain asset that’s reliable on edge and stable at speed, traits that can be traced to the board’s construction. Inside, you’ll find a semi-stiff core reinforced with parallel basalt and kevlar strips and dampened by a urethane ribbon just inside the edges. Add to that a trustworthy camber shape underfoot and a hardpack-hammering serrated sidecut, and you’ve got yourself a board that likes to charge no matter the conditions.

While the stiffness may be overkill for lightfooted intermediates, Weber did find enough edge-to-edge play for quick and effortless turn initiation. “Torsionally maneuverable through moguls,” agreed Tahoe fitness guru and snowboard coach, Nancy Brest, who also dug the Diva’s speedy sintered base, top-notch pop, and lightly rockered nose and tail for added float on deeper days.

Testers agreed that the Diva was a solid do-it-all deck.“It handled high-speed groomers, post-pow-day chop, and sidehits, too,” summed up local rider Gretchen Stone. She recommended the board for “experienced riders who love all terrain and want a responsive, fun, stable board.”

Weber did add one word of caution for all-mountain freestylers looking for a buttery jib stick: “The Diva can hang with the best of them on big jumps and cliff drops, but jibbing is not its strong suit.”

How to Choose a �´dz����’s Snowboard

Shopping for snowboards is like dropping a cliff: It’s equal parts exciting and nerve-wracking. But if you do your homework before you send, chances are you’ll ride out just fine. Here are a few tips to help you stick your landing:

Ride as Many Boards as Possible

Demo boards, swap with your friends, and do whatever it takes to ride as many boards as you can. Testing a diverse range of boards will expand your snowboard lexicon. You can read reviews all day long, but nothing informs your decision-making like time on snow.

If you’re relatively new to the game, experimenting is especially important: you’re still developing your preferences, and riding more boards will speed up that process. If you’re an old head who’s been riding the same style of board for decades, don’t be afraid to break out of your shell and try something new. The exception is complete newbies, as switching boards before you know how to turn properly may only frustrate you. Get a board that works, stick with it, and postpone demo sprees until you can comfortably tackle intermediate and advanced terrain.

Shop By Riding Style

Here are the three most common board styles:

Freestyle Boards: Freestyle or park boards are on the shorter side, which makes them easier to spin. They’re often true twins, meaning they’re symmetrical from nose to tail, facilitating landing and riding switch. Directional twins are also common: These boards are symmetrical in shape but not in flex pattern or profile, or vice versa. Some park boards are softer, allowing riders to flex, press, and butter, while others are stiffer to handle heavy landings and hold an edge in halfpipes.

Freeride Boards: Freeride boards are designed for speed and stability when charging groomers, riding off-piste, and ripping backcountry conditions. They’re usually directional (the nose and tail are defined) and tapered (the nose is wider than the tail). Directional shapes float and carve well, but riding switch isn’t a cakewalk. Many freeride boards are also stiffer, supplying stability for big mountain charging, while others are soft for cruising mellow powder.

All-Mountain Boards: All-mountain shapes blend the freestyle elements of park boards and the big-mountain chops of freeride decks. They’re meant to be ridden, as the name suggests, all over the mountain—they can ride switch through the park one lap and bomb a hike-to chute the next. If you’re unsure of where to start or you only have a budget for one board, go with a versatile all-mountain board. These shapes are usually directional or directional twins.

Consider Profile

Profile refers to the curvature that’s visible when you lay a board flat on the ground and look at it from the side. It is a critical element of board design, as it dictates how and where a board interacts with snow. There are two primary profiles to be familiar with: camber and rocker.

Camber: Camber is the time-honored, traditional profile. Lay a cambered board flat, and it looks like an upside-down U. The board will touch the ground near the nose and tail, but the center will be raised. This curvature supplies drive, stability, and edge hold–it allows riders to flex into the deck and dig into the snow. It’s also a principle ingredient in pop production—if you like to send ollies to the moon or carve aggressively on groomers, camber is your launch pad.

Rocker: Rocker is reversed camber. Lay a rockered board flat, and it’s shaped like a U. You’ll find a single low point in the center of the board while the nose and tail float off the ground. Rocker provides a fun, skatey ride. It’s easy to turn, and enables you to weight your back foot and float through deep powder. However, it’s not as reliable in technical steeps, on icy hardpack, or on high-speed straight lines.

Hybrid Camber: Hybrid profiles mix rocker and camber. These combos usually attempt to blend the skatey, buoyant, easy-turning aspects of rocker with the pop, stability, and edge-hold of camber.

Sizing Tips

Sizing a board can be just as tricky as picking one in the first place. Sizing depends on a number of factors, both in terms of the board itself and the rider who’s rocking it. Here are a few to keep in mind.

Board Length and Rider Height: Back in the day, length was the primary measurement taken into account when sizing a board. You’d walk into a shop, a stoned teenager would hold a board up to see if it reached between your chin and nose, and bingo: you were on your way. But this outdated method doesn’t account for weight, which is arguably a more important data point. Nor does it touch on board width, as wider shapes are more common these days.

Rider Weight: Weight, more so than height, is what enables a rider to flex a board and engage its camber profile. Many brands’ size charts don’t mention height but do include rider weight ranges. This is a solid place to start.

Skill Level: If you’re a beginner, look at softer, forgiving shapes—and if you’re between sizes, err shorter. For example, if you weigh 170 pounds and you’re deciding between a 157-centimeter option that’s recommended for 120-180 pounds and a 159 that’s recommended for 140-200 pounds, go with the 157. A smaller board is going to be much easier to turn and better suited for learning. If you’re an intermediate, size in the middle of your weight range and consider slightly stiffer all-mountain shapes—these boards will allow you to progress and build upon the skills you developed on a softer, shorter shape. If you’re an advanced rider, your board sizing depends more on riding style.

Riding Style: As we mentioned earlier, different boards are meant for different objectives. Rail riders like small, easy-to-spin boards, while freeriders appreciate the stability of a longer effective edge when speeding down big mountain lines. If you ride everything, a complete dream quiver might look like this: 152 rail board, 155 park board, 158 all-mountain board, 160 freeride board, 161 powder board. That said, we recognize most people can’t afford a full quiver. So, when in doubt, go with an all-mountain shape and size to get the most versatility for your buck. That 158 can still hit jumps and rails, and on powder days, you can set back your bindings for more float.

Snow Conditions: Powder-specific boards are usually longer, wider, or both, providing more surface area and float in deep snow. If you frequent a powder-blessed location like Japan, you’ll want to size up. If you live on the east coast, that might not be necessary.

Boots: If you have large boots, particularly in relation to your height and weight, you may need to consider a mid-wide or wide board. The last thing you want is toe or heel drag, which will happen on a board that’s too narrow for your boot length.

Volume-Shifted Shapes: Some boards, referred to as volume-shifted shapes, are meant to be ridden shorter than traditional snowboards. Volume-shifted shapes condense the surface area and float of a longer shape into a more maneuverable package. Usually, a brand will supply sizing recommendations for volume-shifted shapes. Once you figure out your standard board sizing—like the 158 all-mountain shape we discussed above—you’ll be able to size volume-shifted shapes accordingly.

Demo Multiple Sizes: Again, the best way to develop your understanding of snowboard sizes is to keep demoing boards. Don’t just demo different boards from different brands, either—if possible, demo the same board, from the same brand, in slightly different sizes, and test them in varied conditions.

A Note On Picking Between Unisex, �´dz����’s, and Men’s Boards

Many snowboarders use gender to narrow down their search for the right board, which is totally fine, and in many instances a helpful tool to sift through the myriad of options on the market. However, gender doesn’t dictate what boards you can and can’t ride. Far from it. In fact, many of our male and female snowboard testers ride unisex boards, which are becoming increasingly popular as brands turn away from largely unhelpful gender constraints. Some of our female testers even ride men’s boards (and vice versa), especially if they have bigger boots or prefer a stiffer flex pattern.

�´dz����’s boards, in general, are sized smaller and more flexible compared to men’s boards. Other than those key attributes, the biggest difference between men’s boards and women’s boards often comes down to graphics, which might impact the aesthetic of your kit, but not the way a board performs on the hill.

As you shop, pay attention to gender if that’s important to you. However, always remember that it’s more critical to consider factors like flex, board length, recommended rider weights, board width (your boot size is a critical factor in determining what board widths you should gravitate towards), and other riding features.

How We Test

• Number of testers: 12
• Women’s Snowboards tested: 20
• Furthest a tester traveled to join the fray: Tokyo to Reno, 5,198 miles
• Most money a tester won hitting the casinos in Reno: Approx. $420
• Cases of Fat Tire remaining at the end of the test: 0

This year’s snowboard test was well-timed. We scheduled our annual board test in late February, which, by chance, turned out to be a couple of days after a massive storm deposited over 10 feet of snow in the highest and harshest reaches of the Sierra—an awe-inspiring, shred-rich range that traces the border of California and Nevada. Once the roads opened and local testers shoveled their way out of neck-deep driveways, our crew assembled in the Biggest Little City in the World: Reno, Nevada, our basecamp for this year’s board test.

Each morning, we made the quick trip from Reno up to the slopes of Diamond Peak Ski Resort. There are certainly more famous resorts in Lake Tahoe, and the Diamond Peak locals wouldn’t have it any other way. The resort is on the small side, but it boasts an impressive 1,840 feet of vertical, the fourth highest in Lake Tahoe—not to mention ripping groomers, excellent tree-skiing, and non-existent crowds. While droves of Tahoe tourists flock to bigger resorts on mega passes, Diamond Peak is hidden in plain sight along the northeast shore of the lake, and is publicly owned by the community of Incline Village. The lift tickets are relatively cheap, the vibe is a throwback to mom-and-pop resorts of yore, and the secret stashes stay secret a little longer than you might expect on a powder day.

The storm gave way to sunny days, and we spent the test week exploring Diamond Peak, enjoying wind-loaded powder, manicured groomers, wind-scoured crud, and warming slush. We also checked out the surrounding sidecountry, accessed from a gate at the top of the Crystal Express chair. We had 12 women testers in the mix, enough to handle 20 women’s decks submitted by brands big and boutique alike. The vast majority of our test team consisted of local Tahoe and Reno riders. Skill sets ranged from intermediate to expert—a critical mix to assess which boards are best for each specific skill level.

After hammering two or three laps on a board—occasionally more if the deck deserved it—testers returned to shredquarters to fill out comprehensive review forms. We scored boards on overall performance, responsiveness, turning ability, pop, and performance at speed. We had testers dive deep on flex, carving chops, and asked them if they’d spend their hard-earned cash on each board. Then, we grabbed a drill or screwdriver, found a new steed, swapped bindings, and hit the slopes. Rip, review, wrench, repeat.

We also ran extended testing throughout the rest of the season, seeking to put higher-scoring gear through as many conditions and scenarios as possible. Testers took select splits, solids, boots, bindings, and accessories on trips to Japan, Norway, Utah, Montana, Washington, and beyond. They almost tested through summer, riding at their home mountains of Palisades and Mammoth until the end of May. Finally, I sorted through over 350 feedback forms before identifying the top picks and writing these reviews.

Meet Our Lead Testers

Jenna Shlachter

Truckee’s own Jenna Shlachter is as brilliant on the hill as she is off it—which is saying something, she’s a Doctor of Psychology, after all. When she’s not on the clock, she’s usually on her snowboard, ripping everything from park to powder. Her trophy shelf needs regular reinforcement, as every year she seems to add banked slalom trophies to her already impressive collection. Lucky for us, Shlachter is also an unabashed snowboard nerd, and she’s been a key contributor to our snowboard test for the last few seasons.

Anna Doucette

is a lifelong snowboarder who’s been a member of the American Association of Snowboard Instructors for two decades. She’s spent so many years articulating difficult-to-grasp movements to aspiring riders and fellow instructors that she’s a natural and extremely articulate gear reviewer, and she’s been a key contributor to our Tahoe testing.