# So another post about stance width



## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

In the past rode a wide duck +15/-9...22.5-23 with a 30" inseam 5'6"...but its changed some this past year. But ++ angles...narrower vs +/- angles wider. If ur tucking your rear knee like the euro C's do...its difficult to do with a duck stance. So, iirc was compensating with sitting more...that put me more in the backseat...which then led me to be latent with getting back on the nose. Ime, also depends more of your heelside engagement, i.e., your hips and shoulders/torso. Last year went to a +21/0 angles, narrowed my stance from 22.5 to a 21" resulting in better heelside and able to tuck my rear knee and able to attack the nose...more able to get my body to dive into initiating the carve better....take with a grain of salt...have not boarded since April....i' don't remember well.

There's probably something in K's thread that's applicable...where idk...lol

Deep carving, Kijima method | Snowboarding Forum - Snowboard Enthusiast Forums


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## Balthasar Gelt (Oct 25, 2021)

wrathfuldeity said:


> In the past rode a wide duck +15/-9...22.5-23 with a 30" inseam 5'6"...but its changed some this past year. But ++ angles...narrower vs +/- angles wider. If ur tucking your rear knee like the euro C's do...its difficult to do with a duck stance. So, iirc was compensating with sitting more...that put me more in the backseat...which then led me to be latent with getting back on the nose. Ime, also depends more of your heelside engagement, i.e., your hips and shoulders/torso. Last year went to a +21/0 angles, narrowed my stance from 22.5 to a 21" resulting in better heelside and able to tuck my rear knee and able to attack the nose...more able to get my body to dive into initiating the carve better....take with a grain of salt...have not boarded since April....i' don't remember well.
> 
> There's probably something in K's thread that's applicable...where idk...lol
> 
> Deep carving, Kijima method | Snowboarding Forum - Snowboard Enthusiast Forums


That thread is amazing, just skimmed it for now, but looks like a lot of great details in there. Gonna read up on it later.

I was asking cause I also plan to change my +/+ stance to a duck stance for this seasons. So, I plan to also adjust my stance width. And like you mentioned I do like tuck in my rear knees. So going duck, I’d imagine going a wider stance would alleviate that and help with stability.


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## Mike256 (Oct 13, 2013)

Why don't you just take a screwdriver when you go riding and change stances each run to see for yourself? Takes 2 minutes each time.


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## MrDavey2Shoes (Mar 5, 2018)

Balthasar Gelt said:


> Just wondering on how exactly stance width affects carving. Opinions seem to go either direction, so any clarifications would help. Personally, I always thought a wider stance helped with carving, as it seems easier to squat, which allowed for a low and stable center of mass. I see a lot of Japanese carvers going super wide for their height, usually 22-24 inches on average. On the other hand, people say narrower stances are better for carving, as it allows for more maneuverability?
> 
> I’m currently running 22 inch at 5’10” and 28-29 inseam (yes short legs). I wanted to try a wider stance or maybe even narrower for this seasons, but I want to hear other opinions too.


I’m the same dimensions as you and I used to run a 22 inch width. These days i run a ++ stance and brought it down to 19.5 -20.5 cm depending on what’s on tap for the day. With ++ I like a narrower stance, I think it allows me to throw more weight into the camber of my boards, it also lets me tuck that back knee and really drive hard. Stance width within reason is a deeply personal choice, mess around and find what’s comfortable.


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## Not Peter (Oct 31, 2021)

Another factor to consider is the flexibility of your ankles, some people can go low with ease; others like me struggle with squats and low riding position.

When I squat my heels lift up and I been working on extending their range of motion but it's an extremely slow process. Saw an improvement after a few months though and I can definitely squat deeper now before the heel lift.


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

Not Peter said:


> Another factor to consider is the flexibility of your ankles, some people can go low with ease; others like me struggle with squats and low riding position.
> 
> When I squat my heels lift up and I been working on extending their range of motion but it's an extremely slow process. Saw an improvement after a few months though and I can definitely squat deeper now before the heel lift.


I hear ya. Flexibility is definitely a prerequisite for deep carving. I've been working on that for a few years, and I'm glad to say it's gotten much better. I can squat with my butt to the floor and my heels stay planted. You'll get there with time.


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## Manicmouse (Apr 7, 2014)

Watch this:


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## Mike256 (Oct 13, 2013)

Manicmouse said:


> .


I was watching that video thinking something was off and was making my body feel weird and then realized it was goofy


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## Manicmouse (Apr 7, 2014)

Mike256 said:


> I was watching that video thinking something was off and was making my body feel weird and then realized it was goofy


Never noticed!! I just use it for the calculations. The freeride stance formula seems to work for me.


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## Mike256 (Oct 13, 2013)

Manicmouse said:


> Never noticed!! I just use it for the calculations. The freeride stance formula seems to work for me.


I'll give it a try this season


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## tophatmonkey (Dec 12, 2021)

Not Peter said:


> Another factor to consider is the flexibility of your ankles, some people can go low with ease; others like me struggle with squats and low riding position.
> 
> When I squat my heels lift up and I been working on extending their range of motion but it's an extremely slow process. Saw an improvement after a few months though and I can definitely squat deeper now before the heel lift.


so how do you set up your board to help with this?


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## WigMar (Mar 17, 2019)

tophatmonkey said:


> so how do you set up your board to help with this?


Maybe you could try using some heel lifts (wedges) inside of your boots. Especially if you're experiencing any amount of heel lift currently.


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