Snowboard Flex Explained: How to Choose Soft, Medium or Stiff (Board, Bindings and Boots)
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By Chris O'Shea and Anna Nikstad, Welcome Board Store, Mornington Peninsula
Flex is one of the most confusing specs on a snowboard, and one of the most important. It changes how forgiving a board feels, how stable it is at speed and how much pop you get, and it changes again depending on the bindings and boots you put with it.
This guide is built from our video Choose Your Snowboard Flex, where Chris walks through soft, medium and stiff boards. We've added flex ratings from boards, bindings and boots we stock right now so you can put it into practice.
Quick answer: Most riders are happiest on a medium flex, around 5 or 6 out of 10. Go softer (2 to 4) if you're learning or love slow, playful jibbing and butters. Go stiffer (7 and up) if you ride fast, hit big jumps or carve hard and have the strength to drive it. Then match your bindings and boots to roughly the same range as your board.
What is snowboard flex?
Flex is how easily a board bends, both along its length (longitudinal flex) and across its width (torsional flex). Most brands rate flex on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is the softest and 10 is the stiffest. There's no industry standard, so a 5 from one brand isn't always the same as a 5 from another, but within a brand the scale is a good guide.
Soft, medium and stiff: what each feels like
| Flex | Rating | Feels | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soft | About 1 to 4 | Forgiving, easy to turn and press, absorbs bumps | Beginners, slow speed jibbing, butters, kids |
| Medium | About 5 to 6 | Stable on jumps but still pressable | Most riders, all mountain, park and resort riding |
| Stiff | About 7 to 10 | Stable at speed, powerful pop, harder to loop out on landings | Fast, strong riders, big jumps, hard carving, freeride |
Soft flex
In the video, Chris explains that a softer board absorbs bumps and is more forgiving and easier, so if you're just starting out you probably want a softer feeling board. The trade off: at speed, a soft board can get a bit of wobble and doesn't feel as stable as something stiffer.
Soft boards we stock with published flex ratings include the YES Shifter 3D (4/10) and the CAPiTA Space Metal Fantasy (4/10, currently on sale). Bataleon describes the Feelbetter as having a soft, approachable flex. For kids, the CAPiTA Children of the Gnar is rated 3.5 (currently on sale).
Medium flex
Chris calls the 5 to 6 out of 10 range the sweet spot: not a super stiff board, not a soft board, it feels stable on jumps but you can still press it. It's what most people are really going for, and it's where he sits personally.
Medium boards we stock include the Bataleon Evil Twin (5/10, the board Chris uses as the medium example in the video), Bataleon Whatever (5/10), CAPiTA Birds of a Feather (5/10), CAPiTA Paradise (5/10), CAPiTA Defenders of Awesome (5.5/10), CAPiTA Sidewinder (5.5/10), YES Basic (6/10), CAPiTA Aeronaut (6/10), Bataleon Goliath (6/10) and CAPiTA Super D.O.A. (6/10).
Stiff flex
Stiffer boards don't flex as much, so they're harder to loop out on a big landing, they wobble less at speed and they spring back harder when you load them up to pop. That's why you see a lot of high level riders on stiff boards.
But Chris's warning in the video is worth repeating: those riders are on a board all the time and have the strength and balance to manipulate it. Most people can end up on a board that's too stiff, feeling every bump without the strength to work it. Stiff boards take a lot more work in the legs. If you've got that strength, they'll send you harder than a softer board.
Stiffer boards we stock include the CAPiTA Mercury (6.5/10), Bataleon Goliath+ (7/10), CAPiTA Black Snowboard of Death (7/10) and, for women, the YES Hel Yes (7/10).
How to choose your snowboard flex
Ask yourself four questions:
- How experienced are you? Learning or still getting your feet under you: soft to medium. Confident on all terrain: medium. Riding fast and hard every day: medium to stiff.
- How do you like to ride? Butters, jibs and slow, playful riding suit softer boards. All mountain and park suit medium. High speed carving, big jumps and freeride suit stiffer.
- How strong and fresh are you? Chris says that on day one with fresh legs a stiffer board is fun, but by day two he's sorer, and a softer board means he isn't working so hard. If you ride long trips or back to back days, that matters.
- Is it your only board? One board quivers usually land in the medium range. A second board can be the noodly butter stick or the stiff charger.
Remember length and width matter too. If you're not sure about size, see our snowboard size guide.
Why your bindings and boots change your board's flex
This is the part most people miss, and it comes up in both our flex video and our binding setup guide. Chris has learned through riding lots of boards and demos that the flex of a board changes dramatically depending on the bindings and boots you put on it.
A common one we see in the shop: someone brings in a stiff, powerful board with a soft, entry level binding. With a binding that soft, you can't load the board properly, so it feels even stiffer and harder to control than it is. The stiffer and more responsive your bindings and boots, the easier it is to manipulate your board.
Our rule of thumb: keep your board, bindings and boots within a point or two of each other. A 5 or 6 board suits a 5 or 6 binding. Don't put a 3 out of 10 binding on a 7 or 8 board. If you're buying a high end board, get medium to high end flexing bindings to go with it.
Binding flex examples (published ratings)
| Binding | Flex |
|---|---|
| Union Rosa (women's) | 4/10 |
| Union Ultra | 5/10 |
| YES IPO | 5/10 |
| Union STR | 6/10 |
| Union Juliet (women's) | 6/10 |
| Union Falcor | 7/10 |
| Union Force Classic | 7/10 |
| Union Trilogy Classic (women's) | 7/10 |
| Union Atlas Pro | 8/10 |
Many of our bindings are currently on sale; see all snowboard bindings and the snow sale.
Boot flex
Boots follow the same idea. Chris's advice for beginners is not to ride a super stiff boot: when you're learning, your body is already tense, so you want a setup that lets you relax. Experienced riders on stiff boards often go medium to stiff in the boot.
Examples with published flex: Ride Harper (women's) 3/10, Ride Orion 4/10, Ride Synth 5/10, Ride Octive 6/10, Nitro Venture BOA 7/10 and Nitro Venture Pro TLS 8/10. Many of these boots are currently on sale. Fit comes first with boots, so try them on or ask us about a boot fitting. Shop snowboard boots.
Example setups
These are starting points, not rules:
- First board, learning to link turns: soft to medium board like the YES Shifter 3D, with a 4 to 5 binding like the Union Ultra and a soft to medium boot like the Ride Orion.
- One board for the whole resort: a 5 to 6 board like the Bataleon Evil Twin or CAPiTA Aeronaut, with a 6 to 7 binding like the Union STR or Union Force Classic.
- Fast, powerful rider: a 7 board like the Bataleon Goliath+ or CAPiTA Black Snowboard of Death, with a 7 to 8 binding like the Union Falcor or Atlas Pro.
Snowboard flex FAQ
What flex snowboard should a beginner get?
Soft to medium, around 3 to 5 out of 10. A softer board is more forgiving, absorbs bumps and is easier to turn while you learn.
Is a stiffer snowboard better?
Not for most people. Stiff boards are more stable at speed and pop harder, but they take more strength to ride well. Most riders are happiest around 5 or 6.
What does a 5 out of 10 flex mean?
It's a medium flex: stable enough for jumps and speed, but still easy to press and butter. It's the sweet spot for most riders.
Should my bindings match my snowboard flex?
Roughly, yes. Keep them within a point or two. A soft binding on a stiff board makes the board feel even stiffer and harder to control.
Are flex ratings the same across brands?
No. There's no industry standard, so compare boards within a brand and use the rating as a guide, not an exact measurement.
Do soft snowboards work at speed?
They can, but a soft board can feel wobbly and less stable at high speed than a stiffer one.
Ask us
Not sure what flex suits you? Ask us. Come into the shop on the Mornington Peninsula, hit us up on live chat at welcomeboardstore.com.au, or email support@welcomeboardstore.com.au with how you ride, your weight and your current setup, and we'll help you find your flex.
