Snowboard manufacturers are providing excellent options in terms of women’s specific snowboards. When you buy a new snowboard, it is best to choose one based on your height, weight, and ability. Therefore a women’s specific snowboard may not be the right option for you. On the other hand, there is a good chance you will find an incredible women’s snowboard that will suit your needs perfectly.
All the snowboards on this list come highly recommended. But if you want a beginner women’s snowboard that can do everything, you can’t go wrong with the Nitro Lectra. This quality directional twin snowboard will allow you to learn the basics but take you to more exciting terrain when you’re ready.
But to make life easier, we have compiled a list of our favorite women’s beginner snowboards. We have chosen the boards on this list based on their features and how they perform in various situations on the mountain.
The Best Women’s Snowboards for Beginners
- Burton Stylus
- Salomon Lotus
- Nidecker Elle (Budget Buy)
- Arbor Ethos (High End)
- Nitro Lectra (Top Pick)
- K2 First Lite
Compare Best Beginner Snowboards For Women
| Snowboard Name | Overall Score | Bottom Line | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
Burton Stylus | 68 | Excellent starter snowboard | Check Out On Amazon |
Salomon Lotus | 82 | A beginner snowboard that will take you into intermediate territory | Check Out On Amazon |
Nidecker Elle | 80 | 
Ideal for budding powder riders | Check Out On Amazon |
Arbor Ethos | 82 | 
Great snowboard for wannabe freestylers | Check Out On Arbor |
Nitro Lectra | 86 | 
The best all round beginner snowboard | Check Out On Amazon |
K2 First Lite | 80 | Ideal for developing and improving park skills | Check Out On Amazon |
Detailed Breakdown of Different Beginners Boards For Women
1. Burton Stylus
Overall Score: 68
Advantages
- Fantastic on piste
- Super easy to ride
- Catch-free edges
- Great for learning how to jib
Disadvantages
- Less stable at high speeds
- You will grow out of it quickly
Features
The Burton stylus is one of the easiest beginner women’s snowboards you will find.
It has a mellow flex and a convex base, making it very difficult to catch an edge, which is a massive bonus when you’re a beginner as it instills confidence and allows you to progress quickly.
This snowboard is a true twin shape; therefore, it gives you a perfectly balanced ride whether you are riding forwards or switch.
Burton has also given the stylus and extruded base, which is super slippery to help you keep momentum and speed while being tough, reducing maintenance.
The stylus is an all-mountain snowboard, which means it’s very versatile. Still, its low flex rating makes it soft and playful while being extremely forgiving.
Piste
The Burton stylus is designed to perform at its best on groomed slopes. Its playful nature and flexibility make it very easy to ride in most conditions.
Although when your speed starts to increase as you become a better snowboarder, you will probably want to upgrade to a stiffer snowboard.
Powder
When you get past the beginner stage and experiment with the different terrain available, you’ll be happy with the Burton Stylus when riding powder.
This is not the type of board you would take to Alaska or Japan, where the snow is always chest-deep.
However, for those days when you get an overnight dump, you will still be able to enjoy slashing the white fluffy stuff.
Park
Burton stylus isn’t the type of board a seasoned park rat would use. But given what it was designed for, it is actually versatile enough for beginner snowboarders to get some snow park experience.
The incredibly soft flex and true twin shape make the Burton Stylus an excellent snowboard for learning how to butter and jib.
Price
The Burton stylus is a relatively inexpensive snowboard.
Therefore, if you want to skip the hire shop, this snowboard is priced at a level where you could use it for a couple of years and then sell it on when it’s time to upgrade.
2. Salomon Lotus
Overall Score: 82
Advantages
- Forgiving
- Great for budding freestylers
- Good intro to powder riding
- It will keep you entertained longer than most beginner snowboards
Disadvantages
- Riding switch takes a little getting used to
- Slower base
Features
The Salomon Lotus is a very flexible snowboard. It also has a forgiving nature thanks to its camber and slightly turned-up edges, which produces a virtually bite-free ride.
This snowboard has a directional, twin shape making it a versatile snowboard. It is ideal for novice snowboarders who want to progress towards freestyle riding all over the mountain.
Do read our article on: Pros and Cons of a Directional Snowboard.
Piste
This is an incredibly rewarding snowboard for a beginner to ride on the piste. Its directional twin shape and slightly setback binding stance mean that riding on the piste is a lot more involving than on a regular twin.
However, you will notice that setback dance when riding switch, so this is something you will have to overcome, especially at this early stage in your snowboard career.
But it’s good to have a challenge from time to time.
Powder
The Salomon Lotus is a great all-mountain snowboard. Still, the setback stance makes riding powder much more manageable and lots of fun.
This is because your weight is slightly shifted towards the tail, which makes the tail sink in powder, keeping the nose up and improving float.
Park
Salomon has made the Lotus an excellent snowboard for beginner riders who want to progress their riding in the snow park. Its soft flex makes it very forgiving and ideal for hitting rails and other features.
Price
Salomon has managed to keep the price of the Lotus reasonably low. It is actually very good value for money, even though it has a lower-tech extruded base.
But as this snowboard is aimed at beginner to intermediate riders, it will last you a lot longer than a pure beginner snowboard.
3. Nidecker Elle
Overall Score: 80
Advantages
- Durable base
- Great all-mountain snowboard
- Great on piste
- Ideal for getting into powder riding
Disadvantages
- Not the best choice for wannabe park rats
Features
The Nidecker Elle is a super flexible snowboard with high-end construction. It features Nidecker’s FlatRock profile which gives it a flat base between the feet and some rocker at the nose and tail.
The base is an N-5000 base that is highly robust to allow you to ride without worrying about damaging your base, whether in the park or smashing tree runs.
Piste
Riding this snowboard on the groomed piste is super easy due to the profile. It makes it very forgiving if you haven’t quite dialed in your technique from going from one edge to the other.
Another bonus of how forgiving this snowboard is is that it is one of the best boards to learn how to ride switch.
This snowboard also has quite a sharp sidecut radius, giving it a very agile personality, even when riding at low speeds.
Powder
The Nidecker Elle is an excellent snowboard for those who want to make the most of those powder days when they get them.
The slight setback stance and the rocker in the nose enhance float, so you can have lots of fun without burning out your back leg.
Park
The forgiving nature and how easy this snowboard is to ride makes it a great companion in the snow park. If you want a more park-oriented snowboard, you may prefer to go for the Salomon Lotus.
But if you want to dip in and out of the park occasionally, this is an excellent board that doesn’t compromise the all-mountain style in the pursuit of big air.
Price
The Nidecker Elle is a quality snowboard made by a well-renowned brand.
You actually get quite a lot for your money with this snowboard, and it will take you from beginner to intermediate exceptionally well while allowing you to have fun all over the mountain.
It also comes with a two-year warranty which you can upgrade to 3 years when you register online. This gives you peace of mind that you have bought a quality snowboard.
4. Arbor Ethos
Overall Score: 82
Advantages
- Great for progressing your skills
- Performs well in powder
- Chilled-out ride quality
Disadvantages
- Not a good carver on the piste
Features
The Arbor Ethos is an all-mountain freestyle snowboard. It has a directional, twin shape with a slight setback stance and a continuous rocker profile.
It is designed for female riders who want to progress their riding quickly with a forgiving snowboard that is easy to control while enhancing confidence.
It has an extruded base and edges shaped to prevent you from catching an edge, which is essential when you’re getting to grips with snowboarding.
Piste
This snowboard is primarily designed for riding in the resort. It has a very soft flex rating which makes it very forgiving.
This gives it a pretty loose feel when riding on groomed slopes, which means it isn’t great for carving; however, it does have a very playful attitude.
You’ll find it much easier to carve when riding soft snow, but when the snow is hard-packed, you may find it hard to hold on edge, but skid turns are effortless.
Powder
The rocker profile, combined with the slight setback stance and directional shape, make this snowboard very easy to ride in powder.
If you are not experienced at riding powder but want to get into it, this snowboard is a great way to hone your powder riding skills.
But don’t expect it to be an aggressive freeride snowboard, as it has a more mellow ride quality in powder.
Park
The Arbor Ethos is a good snowboard for learning jumps, and it is better suited to small to medium jumps when learning new tricks.
You may notice a lack of stability when hitting bigger jumps due to the rocker profile and soft flex rating. But by this time, you will probably be looking for your next snowboard.
Price
The Arbor Ethos is another well-priced snowboard. Like many other snowboards in this price bracket, the manufacturer has used an extruded base to make it more affordable.
But you do get a three-year warranty included.
If you’re looking for a quality snowboard that is lightweight and will quickly progress your part and powder riding, the Arbor Ethos Will be a good start.
It will last you a while until you feel you need to move to a more aggressive and stiffer snowboard.
5. Nitro Lectra
Overall Score: 86
Advantages
- Performs well all over the mountain
- Agile edge-to-edge performance
- Ideal for those who want to head into the backcountry
- Great value for money
Disadvantages
- None, you’ll love it!
Features
The Nitro Lectra is designed to give you a very relaxed ride quality while allowing you to progress from a beginner to an intermediate snowboarder.
Also, check out our article on: Beginner vs Intermediate Snowboards.
It is a genuinely all-mountain snowboard that will take you anywhere and give you a taste of everything the mountain has to offer.
It does this with the Nitro FlatOut rocker profile, directional shape, and flexible construction.
It is an excellent snowboard for building your skills and helping you to decide which aspects of snowboarding are your favorite, from park to powder.
Piste
The FlatOut rocker profile sees the base flat between your feet and rockered at each end. This makes it user-friendly but easy to ride on the piste.
The sidecut radius is progressive, allowing you to quickly go from one edge to the other when carving the groomers.
The edge design also makes it difficult to catch an edge, even when the snow conditions are tricky.
Even though it has an extruded base over a sintered base, it is a high-end version. Therefore, it gives you enough glide to keep your speed up and smiling from ear to ear.
Powder
The directional shape of this snowboard, combined with a setback stance, makes riding powder a dream. Even though this is an all-mountain snowboard, it leans more towards riding in the backcountry.
So if you want to progress away from the resort, this is a great snowboard to help you do it.
Park
Even with its bias towards powder, the Nitro Lectra can still cut it in the park. Its flex makes it easy to land small to medium jumps, and its forgiveness makes landing switch more manageable.
This snowboard is a great confidence booster when experimenting with tricks in the park.
Price
The Nitro Lectra undercuts some of the boards on this list, but it is one of the best value-for-money snowboards.
This is because you can perfect your turns on the greens and then go all the way up to the most demanding black runs and even take it into the backcountry when you are ready.
6. K2 First Lite
Overall Score: 80
Advantages
- Easy to turn
- Forgiving
- Increases confidence
Disadvantages
- Becomes unstable at high speeds
- There are better snowboards for experiencing powder at this level
Features
The K2 First Lite follows the trend of the other women’s beginner snowboards on this list with the flat-to-rocker camber profile.
This gives you the advantage of easy turn initiation, and it is less likely for you to catch an edge.
K2 has given this snowboard a medium to soft flex rating, which is ideal for beginners as it makes the board easier to maneuver and more forgiving.
Piste
The K2 First Lite it’s effortless to ride on the piste, and this is due to its forgiving nature and easy turn initiation. It has a good edge hold in medium to soft snow.
It’s not the kind of board an advanced rider will be charging around on, but that’s not the point. The whole idea of this snowboard is to make riding as easy as possible for a beginner.
Powder
Although this snowboard isn’t designed to be a freeride board, you can still enjoy the odd powder day from time to time.
It is not the best-performing board for powder on this list, but you can still have lots of fun going off the sides of the slopes and taking on tree runs.
Park
The K2 First Lite is one of those snowboards you can feel confident on, pushing you to try new things. Therefore this is an excellent snowboard for progressing your freestyle riding in the snow park.
Price
With a similar price to the other boards on this list, the K2 First Light is a well-priced snowboard that will ensure lots of fun until it’s time to upgrade.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, you are spoilt for choice when it comes to fantastic beginner women’s snowboards. All these boards are from reputable brands, have excellent constructions, and perform well.
It’s just up to you to decide which one suits you best.