# skinny stances



## chad23 (Oct 13, 2011)

Im just looking for clarification on the skinny stance craze right now. I understand you can spin faster, but you lose a lot of stability with a skinny stance correct? Is this just a park rat type of thing or are there other benefits across the mountain? FWIW I've never tried it


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## mrjimyjohn (Dec 18, 2010)

It's fucking retarded. Never try it.


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## bseracka (Nov 14, 2011)

Its's for people that aren't interested in turning, balance, or landing


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## futurefunk (Jan 3, 2009)

Just wear some skinny pants to correct the lower body proportions and you won't look so stupid.


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## j.gnar (Sep 4, 2009)

bseracka said:


> Its's for people that aren't interested in turning, balance, or landing



haaa, tell that to jed anderson ya 'tard


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## chad23 (Oct 13, 2011)

I agree it looks whack. I don't think i would want to trade some style for an extra 180 off. It's strictly a jibber thing then?


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## j.gnar (Sep 4, 2009)

kid has style for days

Jed Anderson Full Part: B Footy | Snowboarder Magazine

if your stance feels good and it allows you to ride well, fuck what it looks like


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## lonerider (Apr 10, 2009)

chad23 said:


> Im just looking for clarification on the skinny stance craze right now. I understand you can spin faster, but you lose a lot of stability with a skinny stance correct? Is this just a park rat type of thing or are there other benefits across the mountain? FWIW I've never tried it


There is a skinny stance craze going on now? Sweet I'm back in style 

I've been riding 20.5"-21" stances as that the widest I can go without serious ankle/knee/hip pain (tried mutiple canted bindings). I'm guessing it is because I have narrow hips (30" waist) and short legs (30" inseam even though I'm 5'9") and because my ankles are messed up from too many ankle sprains... .

Narrow stances are noticeably little less stable, but it's not a make or break difference. I have landed (and rode away) 10 ft drops to flat and 65+ ft kickers with my skinny 20.5" stance Although I haven't done a kicker more than 45-50 ft in years (I pretty much always skip the last jump or two in the Northstar Pro Jump Line) as the penalty for failure is too much for my aging body.










It is a bit harder to press a board though (hence why I was trying to go with 22" stance, but my joint won't let me do that for long).

There is some benefit in free-riding/boardercross/racing as you can turn power the board more. When you see the guys in boardcross, they have slightly narrowed, forward angle stances... but you can see they looking a little less stable, but they are still hitting some decently large jumps.






I've not heard it being done by park rats though... last I checked they were still doing ridiculously wide 24-25" stances which is fan for a giant like Andreas Wiig, less so if you are like a 5'6" kid.


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## bseracka (Nov 14, 2011)

lonerider said:


> There is a skinny stance craze going on now? Sweet I'm back in style
> 
> I've been riding 20.5"-21" stances as that the widest I can go without serious ankle/knee/hip pain (tried mutiple canted bindings). I'm guessing it is because I have narrow hips (30" waist) and short legs (30" inseam even though I'm 5'9") and because my ankles are messed up from too many ankle sprains... .
> 
> ...


Lone- your stance for your height really isn't skinny. I'm one inch taller and and 1.5" wider. Skinny is when your 6' and rocking a 20" stance.

J.Gnar- yep he's got a skinny stance and looks way less fluid than someone like JJ and Trice so... Since he's a pro I would expect him to have a lot of style when he rides, doesn't mean I'm going to try and emulate his stance, binding angles, or gear thinking I can ride the same way. Likely he rides what's comfortable for him, which is different than the jib kids forcing a uber narrow stance for an extra rotation.


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## idshred (Jun 20, 2010)

j.gnar said:


> if your stance feels good and it allows you to ride well, fuck what it looks like



this. I'm 6'3" with a 36" inseam and I ride 21.5-22" I rode 24" for years, narrower just feels better to me all around.


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## idshred (Jun 20, 2010)

bseracka said:


> J.Gnar- yep he's got a skinny stance and looks way less fluid than someone like JJ and Trice so...



/your opinion


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## chad23 (Oct 13, 2011)

Thanks for some input guys. Lately when i watch a park edit i see the skinny stance everywhere. Not many people make it look fluid so its ruining park edits for me.


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## j.gnar (Sep 4, 2009)

bseracka said:


> J.Gnar- yep he's got a skinny stance and looks way less fluid than someone like JJ and Trice so... Since he's a pro I would expect him to have a lot of style when he rides, doesn't mean I'm going to try and emulate his stance, binding angles, or gear thinking I can ride the same way.



youre missing my point entirely. i am talking about functionality and you are talking about aesthetics/comparing back country riders to street riders. what point are you trying to make? :dunno:


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

if your stance isn't boned out to the widest inserts, you're doing it wrong or your board is too big.


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## Donutz (May 12, 2010)

But there's some practical consequences of a given stance, right? If my stance is too narrow I have a lot of trouble bending my knees and getting into a good balanced squat. If I stand up too straight it's just all-around bad. If I have my stance too wide it starts to hurt, although canting might help that.


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## DirtyD27 (Dec 31, 2011)

I played around with this a little last year. I'm 6'2 and 230 lbs. I normally ride +13, -13 @ 22.5" stance. I tried +13, -9 @ 21" stance and the out come was a tron meniscus to me knee, not bad enough to require surgery but a rather serious injury none the less. needless to say i'm back to what feels comfortable for me. You can't base your settings off of what others are doing. Everyone's skeleton is made slightly different. For instance if you a person that walks with toe out you hip joint is more likely than not a little rotated backward and if you walk slightly pigeon toed than it could be because your hip joint is slightly more forward and if you walk toes straight forward then you hip are dead center. Now this is not the only causes for said foot types just going on skeletal make up. With that said your setting are individual to you and what works best for you and how your body is made.


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## gjsnowboarder (Sep 1, 2009)

I haven't heard of this fad yet.
Stance width for each person is going to vary for each person's dimensions, board, and ride style. There are considerations to the width of stance. Typically a narrower stance is used by riders that race, and is coupled with a forward stance. A wider stance is typically used by jibbers with a duck stance because it lowers the center of mass and provides for better stability. There is some truth that narrowing the stance can allow for faster rotations much like when a figure skater balls up or draws their body in close. It does come with the penalty of a higher center of balance. Like anything to much or to little of something will have different pros and cons.


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## MistahTaki (Apr 24, 2010)

I like to ride a little wide because when I bend my knees and get in to a lower body stance it just feels more natural than having a narrow stance. It also adds a lot more stability. Though I do notice that the side of my boot does add more pressure to the side leg when I ride my bindings wide.


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