Surfing came first, with ancient Polynesians riding the waves way back on giant wooden logs. It wasn’t until the late 1960s and early ‘70s that snowboarding was invented and gained traction in the world of sports. In a way, surfing was the grandfather of snowboarding.
Similarities
These two sports have a few in common, being that they both are board sports. Here is a list showing some of their similarities.
Both sports require the riders to stand sideways atop the boards.
Both sports are fun but also dangerous.
Because of the danger associated with both sports, they are both dubbed extreme sports.
Waxing on the boards. Both sports require wax to be applied to their boards. Snowboards need them on the bottom to improve glide, while surfboards on top to help surfers gain traction.
Nature sports. Both sports allow you to bond with nature a little bit more.
Fitness level. Both sports are physically and mentally demanding, which makes them incredible exercise activities.
Lastly, both use boards. And boards from both sports can easily be bought from nearby a nearby surf shop or snowboard shop.
Differences
Both sports have plenty of differences too. Here are some of them.
Foot freedom. Snowboarding straps your feet to the board, while surfing completely frees the feet.
Starting stance. In surfing, one starts lying down and paddling and eventually moving to stand up. In snowboarding, you start standing up.
The most obvious contrast between the two sports is the terrain. Snowboarding is done on mountain slopes while surfing is performed in the ocean.
This is usually what makes surfers transition to snowboarding. Snowboarders tend to put their weight on the front foot. Surfers are generally more back footed.
There are a lot of people that would say that surfing is a lifestyle. It’s hard to find people that say that to snowboarding. In the surfing lifestyle, chill is the name of the game. You could show up to the beach wearing only your Billabong swim wear and everybody is cool with it.
Which is more FUN between the two?
Comparing snowboarding and surfing is comparing apples to oranges. It really just depends on what the person’s preferences are. They could like the cold mountains better than the hot beach atmosphere. Or maybe they like the wearing Billabong swim wear more than they like thick gloves and jackets. This debate could be incredibly biased is really delved deeply into. For example, a person can get really attached to snowboarding simply because he likes the board designs available in the local snowboard shop.
Both are extremely fun activities on their own. But since both sports rely on a number of natural factors to be enjoyable, they are subject to occasional more “FUN” days than others.