You’re buying a new snowboard. You’ve had a look at the different kinds of boards available, and worked out what type will suit your riding style. Now you need to work out what length to ride.

Strictly speaking, there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ here – the exact length of the stick you feel most comfortable on will vary depending on personal taste. It’s also always a good idea to take advice from the shop monkeys in your local board store.

However, there are definitely general guidelines you can follow – if you’re built like an anorexic whippet you’re going to struggle riding a 162 for example.

With this in mind, we’ve compiled some helpful length calculators to give you a ball park figure to bear in mind when choosing the right length for you.

For those of you who struggle with the metric system: 1 stone = 6.35 kilograms

Big mountain

Because of their often crazy shapes and super-specialised function, big mountain board lengths vary too much to be decided strictly on the basis of height and weight. If you’re buying one of these beasts it’s best to follow your board shop’s advice.