Are you a snowboarder and you’re looking for a backpack to use while you ride? Sure while you can use any Jansport, Hershel, or Fjällräven, there are actually some good features that make it useful for snowboarders. Let’s go through them one by one:
Basic foundations
All pockets are zipped
You want all pockets fully closed by zippers; not magnets, hooks, velcros, etc. This is because in the event that you do a rough fall, you don’t want your contents to be spilling out and getting thrown all over the place (and it’ll def happen at least once in your career).
The next best thing I guess are those sack bags where you can tighten a string and it has a stopper to lock everything in. I think that does the job in the same manner although that just presents its own difficulty in using the bag in general.
You can use those bags with flaps that snaps and clips together, but I think it’s risky already. It’s technically still open, it’s just covered by the flap. It’s more then enough assuming the bag is always upright. All that it needs to happen though is you tumble sideways or upside down and then your bag contents will spill out to the side.
Sternum straps
Aka the horizontal-across-your-chest straps. You want this because as you move around while riding (e.g.: up, down, side-to-side), if you didn’t have this, your backpack will just slide and fall off on side. Think of when you were a kid with a packed backpack and you were running for the bus and as you were running the bag was just jostling all directions and when you get to the bus, it’s just falling off your shoulders. You had to hold and secure your two main straps as you ran right? That’s exactly what the sternum straps do.
Waist straps
It’s almost the same logic as the sternum straps: you just want your bag to hug and remain on your body. For the waist straps specifically, it’s useful because it prevents motion if you jump, have to duck down real quick, and/or you do a rough tumble as well. If any of these happen, the bag won’t be independently flying out in the air dragging you to directions and making you off-balance.
In the same school example, remember when you were a kid and you had a packed backpack and you spun or whirled your loaded bag around? When you stopped spinning, the bag’s momentum was still ongoing it was hard to stop it right? Same thing for snowboarding.
While riding, you’ll be doing so much motion and some may require you to do specific motions at specific timings or else you either botch a line at the terrain park or get yourself off-balance while freeriding. It becomes extra difficult when you’re rotating your torso, doing quick turns, and then your bag is just swinging on your back getting you off-balance because of its momentum.
Snowboard straps
I’m actually not sure which is the “front” of a backpack, but let’s just say that the front of the backpack is the side that is farthest from your back when you’re wearing it. If it makes it easier, when you’re shopping for backpacks online, the colourful, presentable side is the front.
That said, snowboard backpacks have these two parallel, horizontal straps on the front of your backpack. This is so that if you had to, you can actually strap and secure your snowboard vertically and carry them with/on your backpack!
This is useful if you’re at those big mountains where you have to hike, walk at the base to go home or something. It’s like when you have to walk long enough that it’ll be uncomfortable to keep holding your snowboard on your side, having that edge rubbing against your hand/glove.
Optional: Useful features for backcountry
This may be too much for this basic question but later on as you advance in snowboarding and you do backcountry, backpacks become even more specialized.
For example, there are meshes so you can actually carry your helmet outside of the bag. Instead of just clip your helmet and letting it dangle and hit things, that mesh is actually very useful.
There are ice axe hooks too, and specialized pockets too so you can secure your portable shovel, beacons, etc.
Optional: “Nice-to-have” features
Goggle pocket
Most snowboard backpacks have this dedicated pocket that’s found usually at the top of your backpack with enough space for a goggle. That’s your goggle pocket. Another tell is that this pocket has a softer (usually fleece) texture inside so that if you chucked your goggle in there, it wouldn’t scrape and damage the lens.
Big handle for zippers
Since it’s winter out there, most people will be wearing gloves. If you had to quickly retrieve something while out in the snow, sometimes you don’t have time (or just don’t want) to take off your gloves, just so you can open your bags with your hands (because the zippers are small).
That said, some brands have either very large zippers or they have flaps or loops to extend the surface of zippers so you can easily pull and operate them even if you’re wearing snow gloves.
Recap
That’s it. Again, if you’re being practical, any backpack can be a snowboard backpack. But if you’re gonna be riding on the regular, you might as well consider proper snowboard backpacks since you’ll want or need those features anyway eventually.
Happy shopping!
