Whats the difference in types of snowboards?

he needs a long board 159cm-167cm. and im guessing he has a shoe size bigger than 10.5 so a 26cm+ wide board

Jakes answer has the board styles dead on now in relation to board height: it really all depends on the riding he'll be doing, and since you know what it is, this will be failry easy...BUT IM GOING TO GIVE YOU ALL OF THESE FO FUTURE REFRENCE... Note: that classic "mouth height is right" is a total lie. well not really, but its not helpful if you want to ride specifically well. For a freestyle board size, ride something below your chin, preferrably at the base of the neck. this provides you with EXCELLENT control and flex. for an all mountain ride, this is where the mouth comes into play. Any board size between your chin and nose works. this gives you solid pop, and a good amount of flex, but doesnt sacrifice anything in terms of speed and power. this is the size of board you would want if youre a beginner, to get a ride thats moderately good on any sort of terrain for a freeride board, youre goin to want something above the nose. this gives you supreme power when bombing down the hill. it also gives you more stability at high speeds Board shapes make an extreme impact on the type of riding he will be doing Camber is the lift of the centre of the board. if you lie it down flat, you'll notice that it arcs toward the ceiling. its that little bend. its the main type of snowboard out there. the bend is there so you dont catch an edge by sinking too much (at least thats what i've been told, im not a snowboard maker. I know im right when it comes to the definitions =/) REVERSE camber is the opposite. its when the middle of your board is flat, and the ends of your board curve up. That's what lib tech's skate banana is. this gives you supreme flexibility. Rockers, used by K2 for example, are a mix of both, so you get the stability of a cambered board, coupled with the flexibility of a reverse camber board now there are a ton of alternative-camber boards out there as well the one i ride, bataleon, is a fine example of these. They use a camber called triple base tech. Its a special build of board that has contact points where you need them, and lift points where you need them. Which means their boards dont just curve straight up, like a skate banana. They curve almost like a bowl near the tail with camber in the middle. its hard to paint a picture of this so just go to www.bataleon.com as you can see, snowboarding is an incredibly diverse sport with many different areas of interest. this question could easily go on for quite a little while. im just going to say, if youre serious, go out, get learned.

since he's a big guy you may also need to check into a "wide" board depending on the size of his feet. I'm assuming he's got some big dogs.

street: made super soft for rails boxes and jibs Park: mid flex directional (tip softer than tail) and often symmetrical (tip and tail same shape) all mountain: stiff flex directional flex and directional shape (tip longer and less wide than tail) and the stance is set back (not in the center of board) all mountain is your more basic board for the guy who is mostly riding trails and slopes but can still do some park riding and jumps. but is designed for riding trails and slopes. as well as it is stiffer and given the description of the rider i would suggest ride a longer all mountain board.

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