Hi! My name is Gaelen, and I’ve devoted more than half of my life to snowboarding! Over the past 11 years, I’ve had the privilege of snowboarding 50+ days every year in locations such as Vermont, Colorado, Oregon, and Alaska. In addition, I’ve worked as a snowboard rental technician at multiple mountain resorts and in a snowboard shop. I’ve also worked with thousands of customers at Curated to help them find the right gear for their specific needs and wants!

Today I want to discuss Arbor Snowboards, one of the most popular brands on the market today and one of my personal favorites! We’ll take a look at who they are, what makes them special, and some of their most iconic snowboards for both men and women! If you’re an Arbor fan, read on to find which of their boards would be best for you!

Arbor Snowboards: A Brief Summary

Arbor Snowboards is a well-known company (formally known as the Arbor Collective) within the snowboarding industry that designs and manufactures snowboards and snowboard bindings (they also manufacture skateboards, but that’s a topic for a different article).

They were founded in 1995 in Venice, California, and have expanded to a global brand thanks to their iconic wood-grain patterns, simple graphics on their boards, and commitment to sustainability and environmental responsibility.

In fact, one of Arbor's distinctive features is its focus on using eco-friendly resources and production methods. The company uses sustainably sourced wood cores in their snowboards to produce the highest quality product possible while also looking out for the planet.

Arbor also incorporates recycled materials in their bindings and outerwear, further reducing their environmental impact. Arbor’s environmental commitment makes them quite popular among riders who aim to live a more eco-friendly lifestyle!

Recommended Arbor Snowboards

Below I’ll cover some of the most popular Arbor snowboards for men and women! Don’t worry, this won’t be some generic top 10 list you can find anywhere.

For each board, I’ll provide a brief overview, highlighting its tech and who it’s meant for, as well as a summarized list of its strengths and weaknesses. To wrap things up, I’ll include which Arbor bindings it would pair best with

Let’s begin!

Top 5 Men’s Arbor Snowboards

1. Arbor Foundation

Overview & Tech: The Arbor Foundation is the brand’s entry-level board for men. It’s one of their cheaper options, and as the name implies, is a great foundation to start your snowboarding journey. This is a beginner to low intermediate board. It’s going to be great for those who have never touched snow, are still working on their turns down the bunny hill, or are building confidence on all the green circle trails their local resort has to offer. While this board could handle occasional blue square trails, it’s not meant to be pushed beyond that and will start handling poorly if taken on more extreme terrain.

This board doesn’t feature anything you won’t find in other entry-level boards, but it’s a great choice if you’re looking for a beginner-friendly board and are set on Arbor. It’s got a full rocker profile which gives riders an easy catch-free ride and super easy turns, as well as a medium flex throughout the whole board, making it nice and versatile!

Strengths

• An affordable option (from Arbor at least) for beginners
• Easy to learn the basics on and progress through green circle trails
• Easy for regular and switch riding

Weaknesses

• Not accommodating for high speeds
• Not accommodating for deeper powder (8in+)
• Not accommodating for larger terrain park features

Binding Recommendation: Arbor Spruce

2. Arbor Element Camber

Overview & Tech: This Arbor board is one of their best options for the casual rider who enjoys a bit of everything the mountains have to offer but isn’t looking to get too extreme. It’s not going to be the first board you ever get on, as it’s more targeted towards the intermediate-advanced rider, however, if you’re anywhere between getting comfortable on blues all the way up to confident on black diamonds, this should be a consideration!

It features a full camber profile which is a timeless and classic profile you see from many other popular brands like Burton. This camber is going to give you stability at speed, good edge hold when turning, and lots of energy in and out of carves! It also has a medium flex so it’s going to be versatile and manageable for any sort of terrain!

Strengths

• Great for progressing riders who have surpassed the limits of a beginner board
• Incredibly versatile and more than enough to handle 80% of most ski resorts
• Will work decently for moderate powder and terrain park features

Weaknesses

• A steeper learning curve for beginner to low-intermediate riders
• Not accommodating for deep powder (10in+)

Binding Recommendation: Arbor Hemlock

3 & 4. Arbor Westmark (Camber & Rocker)

Overview & Tech: This is one of few men’s boards by Arbor that’s built with the park rat in mind. It’s certainly more than just a park board and can ride the rest of the mountain too, but it’s more freestyle inclined than the rest of their line-up. In my opinion, it also has one of their best graphics! You can ride in the park with any board and I’d encourage you to try to simply get a feel for park on your current board before going out and buying a freestyle board. But if you’ve tried and have decided you’re in love with park and want to get way more into it while also still being able to ride the rest of the mountain, consider this board!

The Westmark comes in both a full rocker and a full camber version. The full rocker will be more focused on technical freestyle and better for less aggressive park riding, whereas the camber version will have more pop and is better suited for bigger features.

Both versions come with a medium flex (slightly softer flexing than many of their all-mountain boards like the Element Camber for example) but it’s still middle-of-the-road enough that this board favors neither rails nor jumps and instead lets you explore both!

Strengths

• Will excel at freestyle riding with either profile
• Will accommodate casual riding outside the park
• Amazing graphic

Weaknesses

• Not accommodating to extreme terrain outside the park (steep trails or deep powder)
• Not ideal for new park riders, aimed more at intermediate and advanced park rats

Binding Recommendation: Arbor Hemlock

5. Arbor Bryan Iguchi Pro

Overview & Tech: This board is one of Arbor’s crown jewels; after all, it was developed by Bryan Iguchi (one of the best snowboarders ever). This board is for the rider who is truly dedicated to snowboarding, rides the gnarliest terrain, and needs a board that can keep up. It’s one of Arbor's best options if you enjoy riding at high speeds, making hard carves, and shredding deep (12in+) powder! Overall, it’s a board to consider if you’re spending most of your time riding blacks and double blacks and charging through off-piste terrain.

This board features aggressive full camber which makes it ideal for speed and carving as it’ll hold an edge better than most other boards out there. It also features a stiff flex which requires more energy and attention but will reward riders with stability at any speed and/or in any sort of variable terrain that isn’t groomed. It also has a directional shape, meaning the inserts are a setback in the board creating a longer (and wider) nose, which allows it to float better through deeper powder!

Strengths

• Accommodating for extreme terrain and demanding riders
• Exceptional stability at speed and carving abilities
• Above-average powder float even in deep snow

Weaknesses

• Will ruin a beginner’s life…only advanced riders should consider this snowboard!
• A stiff flex requires more attention to riding and more energy
• Not suitable for park riding, especially for butters or rails/boxes

Binding Recommendation: Arbor Cypress

Top 5 Women’s Arbor Snowboards

Many of Arbor’s women’s boards are directly comparable to specific men’s boards—so if you read over the men’s boards section and see similarities in some of these boards, that’s why!

1. Arbor Ethos

Overview & Tech: The Arbor Ethos is the brand’s entry-level board for women. The reason it’s a women’s-specific board is that it’s narrower, which is more accommodating to women who typically have smaller feet than men (a board that’s too wide can be difficult to turn). This is Arbor’s cheapest women’s-specific board, intended for the beginner to low intermediate board. It’s going to be great for those who have never touched snow, are still working on their turns down the bunny hill, or are building confidence on all the green circle trails their local resort has to offer. While this board could handle occasional blue square trails, it won’t perform well on anything more advanced and will need to be upgraded once you’re consistently focusing on riding blues.

Like the Arbor Foundation, this board doesn’t feature anything you won’t find in other entry-level boards, but it’s a great choice if you’re looking for a beginner-friendly board specifically from Arbor.

It’s got a full rocker profile which is known to make turns much easier and be less likely to accidentally catch an edge in the snow. Additionally, a soft flex throughout the whole board makes it very forgiving for those low-speed turns that’ll take place on green circles!

Strengths

• A budget-friendly for beginners
• A solid option for total newbies to those confidently-riding green circle trails
• Well-suited for both regular and switch riding

Weaknesses

• Not stable for high speeds
• Will not float well in deeper powder (8in+)
• Not suitable for larger terrain park features

Binding Recommendation: Arbor Acacia

2. Arbor Poparazzi Camber

Overview & Tech: This Arbor board is one of their best options for the casual female rider who rides a decent amount each year and wants to enjoy themselves, but avoids extreme terrain. It’s not a suitable board for total beginners as it’s targeted more towards intermediate-advanced riders. But if you’re sick of using rentals and are anywhere between confident on green circles all the way up to getting comfortable black diamonds, this board will be great for you!

This board is the no-frills type and features a simple-but-effective full camber profile, which is going to give you stability at speed, good edge hold when turning, and lots of energy in and out of carves! It also has a flex that’s just below the middle of the road (so it’s going to be versatile but also pretty forgiving for a board that’s intended for a more advanced audience.

Strengths

• A large step up in board capabilities from a beginner-focused snowboard.
• Satisfactory for handling most terrain at many ski resorts
• Will allow riders to comfortably ride moderate powder and terrain park features

Weaknesses

• Camber will take some adjusting to
• Will not float well in deeper fresh snow (8in+)

Binding Recommendation: Arbor Sequoia

3 & 4. Arbor Cadence (Camber & Rocker)

Overview & Tech: This is one of few women’s boards by Arbor that’s built with the park rat in mind. It’s certainly more than just a park board and can ride the rest of the mountain too, but it’s more freestyle-inclined than the rest of their lineup! You can ride in the park with any board but if you’ve decided freestyle riding is your thing, consider this board! It'll work for any female freestyle shredder, from the rider sliding her first box, to the rider hitting the biggest rails! The best part is that this isn’t a park-only kind of board; it can also handle itself decently on the rest of the mountain!

The Cadence comes in both a full rocker and a full camber version. The full rocker will be more focused on technical freestyle and is better for less aggressive park riding, it’s the better option for newer park riders. The camber version will have more pop and is better suited for bigger features, making it the better choice for more advanced park riders. Both versions come with a soft-medium flex (slightly flexing than many of their all-mountain boards like the Paparazzi Camber for example), so it’s best suited for rails/boxes and small/medium jumps but can step it up to larger jumps, especially with the full camber version!

Strengths

• Suited for any level of freestyle riding
• Will accommodate casual riding outside the park

Weaknesses

• Average performance outside of park—better all-mountain options exist
• Not the best option for the most advanced female park riders out there

Binding Recommendation: Arbor Sequoia

5. Arbor Satori Camber

Overview & Tech: While technically a unisex snowboard, this is one of Arbor’s only expert snowboards that’s made in a women’s size, so I’m including it here! This board is going to be for my female shredders who want to challenge themselves and take the trail less taken (pun intended), meaning it’s going to excel at steep lines, deep powder, bumpy terrain, and all other sketchy scenarios you might find yourself in. It’s an amazing option for female riders who are consistently riding blues, blacks, and double blacks and really aspire to push their limits.

This board is full camber like other boards on the list, but the camber in it is more aggressive than other boards, making it very stable at speeds and great for hard carves. It has a medium flex (slightly stiffer than any of the other women’s boards on this list), that will feel stiffer to lighter women, but not to the point where it’s too stiff to control. It also features a directional shape with a larger nose and a shorter tail with a slight swallowtail. This shape will help the tail sink and nose stay afloat in fresh snow, making it amazing for powder days!

Strengths

• Accommodating even the most extreme terrain at most ski resorts
• Well-suited for riders who prioritize speed and hard carves
• Excels in powder (the deeper the better!)
• Versatile despite its powder board appearance

Weaknesses

• Not beginner-friendly at all; this snowboard is built for advanced riders
• Awkward to ride switch due to the shape of board
• Will perform poorly for freestyle maneuvers such as boxes, rails, and butters

Binding Recommendation: Arbor Sequoia

Picking the Arbor Snowboard For You!

Whether you admire the snowboarders who ride Arbor, love the company’s use of sustainable woods, or simply like their designs, Arbor is a great brand to go with for your next snowboard!

However, even though they’re a great brand, this doesn’t mean that every single one of their boards is going to be great for you. As I hope you’ve gathered from above, each board has its own specific use case, and if you end up with a great board that’s not suited for your skill level and/or riding style…well, it’s not going to be so great.

Fret not though! If you’re still undecided on which Arbor board is best for you—perhaps you’re torn between two—a Curated Snowboarding Expert is here to help! Here at Curated, you can message an Expert in real-time (totally for free, I might add) and get unbiased and experience-based advice on whatever sort of snowboard gear you’re looking for.

Whether you’re wondering where to start or just trying to understand how much a certain piece of board tech will actually affect you, Curated Experts like myself can answer it all! The process takes only a few minutes and is the easiest way to avoid analysis paralysis and buyer’s remorse when choosing a snowboard for your next adventure!