Changing the 'Width' while keeping the same 'Length'

Regarding the 'Riders Spec Series' I am in charge of at BC STREAM,
it is currently the 'VL', but I am talking about a previous model.

The concept was quite rare at the time.
Enjoying the difference in ride feel through width.
With the same length of 157cm,

we prepared three models: X, XX, and XXX.
It was a series where only the waist width was changed.
I believe they were around 252mm, 256mm, and 260mm. (Though the exact figures are a bit fuzzy.)

And what is interesting is that it is not just the length.
The sidecut is also the same.
The nose length is also the same.
The tail length is also the same.
What we changed was almostonly the width.

This changes the ride feel surprisingly.
That is how significant a factor the waist width is.

When a board becomes narrower, edge transitions become lighter.
It becomes easier to engage the edge with less movement, and you get a quicker response.

On the other hand, depending on the balance with your boot size, the limit of edge engagement comes sooner.
You want to lean it further, but the boots get closer to the snow, making you feel uneasy.
There are such moments.

Conversely, when the width increases, a sense of security is born.
You can lean the edge further.
The margin for edge engagement increases.
Especially in carving, you feel this difference significantly.
In exchange, a slightly larger movement is required for transitions.

It is not a matter of which is superior.
The ride feel changes.
That is the difference in width.

The difference in ride feel between 'length' and 'width' is that,
with length, while keeping your riding style and technique the same,
making it longer provides stability.
Making it shorter provides lightness.
You can feel that difference.

On the other hand, the difference in width creates,
'timing of transitions'
'maximum edge engagement angle of the turn'
This difference is born.
And between these two, there is a big difference in technique.

In snowboarding, how you use the edge, which is the point of contact with the snow, is important.
And how much you can use that edge is deeply related to the waist width.

Ease of turning.
Limit of edge engagement.
Stability.
Lightness of transitions.
Width is involved in all of that.

Nowadays, wide boards are no longer rare.
But more than 10 years ago, creating a series with the theme 'Let's enjoy the width, not the length.'
was quite challenging for that time.
I have always thought that boards should not be chosen based on length alone.

So when you are choosing a board, please pay attention to the waist width as well.
'With this width, what kind of ride feel will it have?'
Just by having that perspective, snowboarding becomes much deeper.

Knowing your gear is knowing your own riding.
I would like to continue such research from now on.

This was Rei Aoki, the demon of verbalization.