Modifying Snowboarding Gear for Women

Does gender-specific equipment help?

The other day I talked with Jeannie Thoren, a leading expert on the topic of women-specific ski equipment. Thoren, a former ski racer, is a passionate advocate of women-specific skis and boots. SkiPress World calls her the pioneer of women’s-specific ski gear. She spends much of the year traveling the country for Dynastar, giving clinics on how anatomy should drive ski design.

You can read her ideas at her web site, or do a Google search to find second-person accounts of her work. The essential point of her message is that women, having a lower (and further back in the body) center of gravity than men, are ill-served by most ski equipment, which is designed with men’s bodies in mind. It’s not that a woman can’t become good or even great skier on men’s skis–but she will be working with a handicap if she uses ski equipment that is designed for the physics of a man’s body.

I asked Thoren if the same problem exists with snowboards. Her answer: yes. (She does know how to snowboard, but works with, and rides, skis.) She said that there is still a need for women-specific equipment in snowboarding. I’d like to see that idea developed some more. Some boards are being sold as women’s board, but if I remember our conversation correctly, Thoren thinks that there’s still much work to be done in getting some truly women-friendly boards out there.

As someone who learned how to ski only after the shaped-ski revolution (borrowing from snowboards) took place, I would have to agree that having the proper equipment can make a significant difference.