If you are looking for a fun transportation vehicle, you may be considering a hoverboard vs a snowboard. How do they compare? The best hoverboards offer plenty of features and benefits, but so do snowboards. Keep reading to find out more.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Hoverboards and snowboards are entirely different, with hoverboards featuring a motor and snowboards using gravity and snow for travel.
- Hoverboards are cheaper than snowboards, especially when considering all of the additional costs associated with snowboarding, such as renting access to ski slopes.
- Both of these vehicle types are incredibly fun and can be used to pull off amazing feats and tricks.
Differences Between Hoverboards and Snowboards
Besides having “board” in the name and being a transportation device of some kind, hoverboards and snowboards are incredibly different, as hoverboard technologies are advanced. The same cannot be said of similar vehicle types, such as when considering a hoverboard vs an electric scooter. Hoverboards feature a motor, while the snowboards slide downhill via gravity. That’s just the beginning of the differences between the two.
Insider Tip
If you are looking to get into snowboarding, you can actually help prepare your body by learning how to hoverboard. The balance-based mechanics will help you learn snowboarding.
Transportation Method
This is the key difference between the two. Hoverboards, otherwise known as self-balancing scooters, use a built-in motor, a sensitive gyroscope for balance-based controls, and an integrated lithium battery. In other words, self-balancing scooters are electric. Snowboards, on the other hand, are completely analog, similar to a regular skateboard or skis. Snowboarders set up at the top of a snowy hill and let loose, allowing gravity and physical momentum to carry them down steeper and steeper slopes.
Which is Safer?
Generally speaking, hoverboards are safer than snowboards, as snowboarding is considered to be a relatively risky leisure activity. The self-balancing nature of hoverboards allows riders to easily avoid potential accidents and skirt around obstacles. Snowboards, on the other hand, careen down mountains throughout North America and beyond and only seasoned veterans can easily avoid rocks, embankments, and other dangerous perils.
Learning Curve
Hoverboards are easier to learn than a snowboard, simply for the fact that they are readily available and can be practiced right in your own front yard. You need snow and a steep incline in order to practice snowboarding, and the risks of injury are higher. However, the reverse could be true for seasoned skiers, as they may find snowboards easier to ride than hoverboards. Though, balance does play a factor with both vehicles. You can find more comparisons with hoverboards in our guide Ripstik vs a hoverboard.
Pricepoint
Hoverboards are cheaper to purchase than a snowboard, on average. You must also consider the additional costs affiliated with using a snowboard. There is clothing to purchase, mountain time to rent, and more.
Fun Factor
Both of these vehicles can be extraordinarily fun and used to pull off amazing tricks, so it is essentially a draw here. It depends on personal preference.
Warning
Be sure to always gear up whether you are using a snowboard or a hoverboard. This includes safety gear such as a helmet and kneepads.
F.A.Q.
Can skiers and snowboarders ride together?
Sure, in most cases they can ride together, though some mountains may have varying rules and regulations regarding the practice.
Who are self-balancing scooters for?
Self-balancing scooters are for just about everyone, as are electric skateboards. Hoverboards are great for errands, commutes, and more.
Is it easier to use ski lifts with skis or a snowboard?
Skis, definitely. Most ski lifts were built with skis in mind, after all. Snowboards may be too cumbersome and heavy to even get on some lifts.
STAT: In 1917, Vern Wicklund, at the age of 13, fashioned a shred deck in Cloquet, Minnesota. This modified sled was dubbed a “bunker” by Vern and his friends. He, along with relatives Harvey and Gunnar Burgeson, patented the very first snowboard twenty-two years later in 1939. (source)
