If you’ve been snowboarding longer than five minutes, you’ve heard it.
“Stand it up next to you. If it’s somewhere between your chin and your nose, you’re good.”
And just like that, a three or four figure purchase is decided by a glance and a shrug.
I wish I was exaggerating.
I’m not.
Where This Advice Came From
Chin to nose sizing is old. Very old.
It came from a time when:
- Boards were mostly the same shape
- Flex options were limited
- Weight ranges were rarely published
- And nobody pretended we were being precise
Back then, height was a rough proxy for everything else because nobody had better tools. It was never good advice. It was just the only advice.
Fast forward to now where we have detailed weight ranges, specific flex patterns, directional shapes, volume shifted boards… you name it.
And yet somehow, we’re still lining people up against boards like they’re buying school shoes.
Why Shops Still Do It
I’ve worked in shops. I’ve trained staff. I’ve been that person on a busy Saturday.
Here’s why chin to nose refuses to die.
It’s fast. It sounds confident. And most importantly… it lets you move on to the next customer.
Some staff genuinely do not know better. Others absolutely do and still do it anyway because it is easier than asking questions.
Questions like:
- How much do you weigh
- How do you actually ride
- Where do you ride most
- How fast do you like going
That conversation takes time. Eyeballing someone takes five seconds.
Multiply that by a long weekend and suddenly bad advice becomes standard practice.
The Damage Isn’t Obvious Right Away
This is the sneaky part.
Most people don’t immediately know their board is the wrong size.
They just think snowboarding is harder than it should be. Maybe their legs burn faster than their friends. Maybe they’re just bad at carving?
So they blame themselves. Or conditions. Or fitness.
Rarely the board.
I’ve lost count of how many riders I’ve met who struggled for years before hopping on a correctly sized board and going, oh… that’s what this is supposed to feel like!
Height is a Terrible Metric
Two people can be the same height and need boards that are 10 cm apart.
Height tells you almost nothing in isolation.
Weight does. Or at least it does a better job. Sprinkle in your riding style, ability, shoe size, terrain preferences… you’re golden!
Think about this. If chin to nose sizing worked, snowboard manufacturers wouldn’t bother publishing specs and weight ranges.
The Truth
Chin to nose sizing survives because a lot of people selling snowboards are not riders, not instructors and not techs. They are retail staff doing their best with limited training and too many customers.
That’s not a moral failure on their part. It is a system problem. Big companies join the industry with dollar signs in their eyes but zero experience in the sport. They’ll encourage whatever advice leads to the quickest sale.
Some stores are worse than others… you know who you are!
What Actually Works Instead
You do not need a PhD in snowboard geometry.
You need a half decent snowboard size chart and a little guidance on how riding style impacts your given size. If you’re ever in doubt, drop me an email and I’ll help you dial it in.
Final Thoughts
Chin to nose sizing is not charming. It is not classic. It is not “good enough.”
It is lazy advice that stuck around because it sounds simple and nobody likes admitting they’ve been doing something wrong for 20 years.
If someone sizes your board without asking your weight, riding style, or where you actually ride, you are allowed to politely ignore them.
Your snowboarding deserves better than a shrug and a tape measure held at your face.
Hope that helps.
