# Women's board or Kid's board?



## Erixx (Mar 16, 2018)

I have problem on choosing the version of NS Proto Type for my girl friend. Since she has been using her Burton Social 136cm for years, I am thinking to get her a new board as gift. 

She is 24yo, 5'1, and 105 lb, living in the east and riding hard snow most of the time. She is good at riding on the trail and just begin learning freestyle, like butter tricks and small jump. 

I guess an all mountain freestyle board would be a good choice. It was kind of hard to find an adult board in her weight range. After doing tons of researches, I have my eyes on the NS Proto Type. It has both women version and kids version (the Mini Proto). I am really struggling between these two. Wondering would they really make great differences on the mountain? 

Really appreciate for any suggestion. I am also opening to other options of board if anyone has a recommendation.


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## f00bar (Mar 6, 2014)

The kids version is not just a scaled down version of the adult. It's a lesser board and isn't asym. It's also likely half the price. Not knocking the kids board for what it is, but just want to make sure you know they aren't the same.

5'1/105lb for a woman I would think there is tons of womens boards available. She's small, but not super abnormally small. I mean every woman who is more had to go through 105 to get there and needed a board.


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## johnsnowboards (Feb 6, 2015)

My wife's the same size. She used to ride a kids board (K2 something), but this year switched to a 144 Rossi Frenemy. Weight range for that is 65 lbs to 120 lbs I believe.

Only problem was the innermost/narrowest binding holes were 1 inch more wider than the stance she's used to back on the kids board. It didn't affect her she said. And she said she loves this board more than the kids one.


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## CalSnowGirl (Mar 16, 2018)

I am 5-4 and 115 lbs. A couple of seasons ago I demo'd boards since it'd been forever since I bought a new board. What I discovered was the board I'd been riding for years was actually too big for me. For good fit on a snowboard you want to pay way more attention to weight than rider height. Otherwise you'll find yourself throwing your whole body weight into trying to turn the board and it'll turn a whole lot slower which is scary if you're riding fast on something steep. As you've already figured out- she's on the low end of the scale of rider weights. What I found when I was demoing boards was the stiffer the board was the shorter the board needed to be in order for me to feel comfortable turning it. So you think- great just get a soft board- no actually not. The roxy bannana smoothy (149) I demod was too soft and felt like it wouldn't hold an edge in the steeps. Where I wound up was a never summer infinity (147)-- I might have been better off one size down from there (more like a 145) and I think the Jones (twin sister) that I nearly bought before I demod the NS was a 143. And I have a K2 fling (145) that I bought for my daughter who weighed 95 lbs-- but turned out to be too much board for her. The fling is a really stiff flat profile board good for bombing the mtn at speed and I actually have a lot of fun on it. What you might realize looking over that list is that collection does a decent job of representing the major offerings in profiles and is a range of stiffness (and for that matter size). I can tell you from first hand experience that they do all feel different- that profile thing isn't marketing BS. A kids board is going to be a lot less stiff and if she's taking it up a notch- riding faster- she's not going to be happy on it even though there are plenty of kids that out mass her. Getting her a new board is super sweet- I'd love such a thoughtful present- but I'd also be secretly miffed at not getting to pick out what I'm going to depend on for years. Support demoing boards.... If you're set on going this route- and pick out a stiffer board (one that's listed for intermediate to advanced riders and has a medium to stiff rating - you almost never see stiff as a rating on a women's board) you probably want something in the 138-142 size range--which might be sold out for the season.

my two cents


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