This is interesting, and not something I had really thought about. Is it because the lack of taper increases the tail pressure earlier and wants to release?
My bad, I meant a flatter tail. Though it’s true that many Japanese boards also have a less tapered tail. A flatter tail effectively extends the running edge farther back, giving the board more effective edge contact with the snow and keeping the tail more engaged through the end of the turn. Because of that longer engaged section, the board naturally builds tail pressure earlier, which is why it feels like it “wants to release” once that stored energy unloads.
Also, what’s drift-style carving?
Watch any GS or SL race and you’ll see how racers let the boards drift through the upper half of the turn, connecting apex to apex rather than carving the full arc. It’s a deliberate move to manage line and timing, and keeping the speed.
Pay close attention to how Ester Ledecka's edge transition
@pigbrogg Thanks for the clarification, that makes a lot more sense!
And I do like that drifting, which some call a stivot turn (steering pivot). I’ll do that if I don’t have enough trail width to turn, or if I just don’t want to be pointed down the fall line for as long (if it’s really steep and/or icy). Yeah I should work on pencil carving more extreme stuff, but it is a satisfying to lock-in from a controlled drift, and then transition to another one.
Big White, BC, Canada
Amazing explanation!!! Thank you very much!
Let me be crystal clear right from the start — feeling is subjective. I’ll try to be as objective as I can, but there’s no absolute truth here. What I’m sharing is my experience, not yours. We all ride differently, at different levels, and with our own styles — and that’s what makes snowboarding so personal and fun.
For a bit of background, I grew up on soft boots, though I’ve spent plenty of time on hard boots and even Skwal setups. Over the years, I’d call myself an expert rider, and that’s the lens through which I see and feel different boards. Every snowboard brand seems to have its own design philosophy, and when you start comparing Japanese, North American, and European boards, the differences become obvious — sometimes shockingly so.
Let’s start with Japan. Most Japanese boards are built around agility and sensitivity. Even the smallest shift in your body can change how the board reacts. Most of them run narrow waists, usually under 260 mm, and some even dip below 250. That narrow waist gives you fast edge transitions — they just dance from edge to edge. Material-wise, Japanese boards tend to keep it simple: wood core and fiber laminates. You won’t often find Titanal or rubber dampening like on North American or European boards. And that’s by design. A super damp board might absorb chatter, but it also kills board feel. Japanese designers want you to feel every movement — to know what’s happening under your feet. If the board does all the work for you, you can’t make those micro-adjustments that separate good riding from great riding. Now, when you look deeper, JSBA and SAJ styles. Brands like Ogasaka and Gray are heavily influenced by JSBA. In JSBA, riders bend their knees at the apex of the turn — it’s all about completing the carve smoothly and carrying speed. These boards are built to guide you out of the turn naturally, instead of forcing you to muscle the board through it. On the other hand, BC Stream designs boards more for the SAJ style. Here, you extend your knees at the apex to exit the turn earlier — kind of like modern GS technique. Their boards have very little tail taper, so as soon as you push through the apex, the board wants to start the exit sequence immediately. These are made for riders who like to exit turns fast, not stay in them forever. A few Japanese boards do use Titanal or rubber, like the Gray Type R, Type X, Moss Legit, and BC Stream RXti, but to me, those lose a bit of what makes Japanese boards special. They gain weight, lose some rebound, and just feel less lively overall.
I think North American builders approach carving more like the JSBA philosophy — chasing that complete, pencil-line carve that flows naturally from one turn to the next. The goal is to let the board guide you, not fight against it. Take the Coiler Contra, for example. That board basically carves itself. Hold your posture, nail your edge transitions, and it does the rest. You don’t need to throw your upper body around like those Japanese riders — it’s just smooth and effortless. Honestly, I’d say it’s one of the easiest boards to ride out there. Now, I’ve got to talk about Bruce. His boards are crazy damp — smoother than anything, though maybe a bit too damp for my taste since I prefer more feedback. But wow, they are buttery smooth. I still regret not getting a custom Contra when I had the chance. I owned a custom Thirst CC+, and I’d say it sits right between a Coiler and a Japanese board. It’s damp, but not dead. It’s sensitive, but not twitchy. I ride in a style similar to Kento, and the Thirst handles it beautifully — super responsive when I push it hard, but mellow enough for easy morning runs. It guides me out of turns like a Coiler but demands a lot a lot more effort when the snow isn’t perfect.
Now, let’s talk Europe. I’ve owned quite a few European boards — F2 Eliminator World Cup Titanal, Oxess CX, Kessler X Carve, Virus X Carve, and a few hard-boot Oxess. Here’s my honest take: Europeans haven’t quite figured out soft-boot carving boards yet. The F2 Eliminator World Cup is a BX race board, so let’s skip that. The Kessler X Carve feels like their softened-up BX race board — powerful, precise, and slightly more forgiving. It’s got a hammerhead nose, and it rides well if you’re an expert, but it still demands lot of energy, It’s not a chill cruiser.
Then there’s Oxess. Marcel, the guy behind Oxess, knows what he’s doing. His boards are loaded — Titanal layers, P-Tex topsheets, rubber dampening. I owned their BX board, and later, the CX, which is a totally different animal. The CX is stable as hell, grips ice like it’s glued to it, and you can feel the World Cup engineering in every carve. But it’s not an easy ride. It’s built for riders with power, not precision. Unlike the Coiler Contra, which rides smoothly with minimal effort, the Oxess CX demands you to dump energy into it. Do that, and it’ll reward you with rock-solid performance in any condition. Don’t, and it’ll ride you instead. Finally, there’s Virus, I had the X Carve and tried their GS setup with an Allflex plate, the same rig Benjamin Karl used to win the 2022 Olympics. The X Carve isn’t Titanal-based; it uses Zylon fiber, and it’s hands down the most responsive board I’ve ever ridden. It’s feather-light, insanely responsive, and feels like an extension of your body. Every input translates instantly. The flip side? It’s unstable and unforgiving. When the snow gets rough, it chatters like crazy, and even small mistakes can bite you hard. But if you’re precise — and I mean laser-precise — it rewards you with explosive energy and rebound out of every turn. If you love drift-style carving, this thing will blow your mind.
Been lurking for a while... I had to make an account to thank @pigbrogg for the master class on differences between styles. Really appreciate it.
What about the Chinese carving styles? Any insight there?
Well, I got my morning coffee, and I'm ready to talk about it.
One sentence version: Chinese carving is originally started in hard boots as European Extreme Carving, but later influenced by Japanese rider Kazunori Hirama.
Looking back at the origins of the Chinese carving community, the timeline traces back to 2012. Since that pivotal year, the culture has evolved into two distinct branches: the Hard Boot and the Soft Boot. To understand the current landscape, however, one must examine the unique path this community took to get here.
Hard boot carving actually arrived in China earlier than most rider realize. By the 2012–2013 season, riders were already visible on the slopes attempting to mimic the "Extreme Carving" style popular in Europe. Any discussion of this era must mention a pioneer named Omar. He has become a legendary, almost mythical figure in the scene—dating back so far that few current riders have met him personally. The story goes that he learned Extreme Carving while studying abroad in Europe and brought that hard-boot technique back to China at a time when the sport was barely visible. It is important to remember the context of those early days. Unlike in the West, Chinese riders could not easily access YouTube tutorials due to internet restrictions. Furthermore, before 2018, snow sports were still a niche interest in the country. There were no shops selling specialized carving gear, so the movement was driven entirely by enthusiasts promoting the sport out of pure passion.
The turning point came in 2015 with the founding of the first carving club, ECC (Extreme Carving China). In just two seasons, the club grew from a small group of a dozen people to a massive crew of nearly 200. This surge proved there was a genuine market. European brands like SWOARD and F2 entered China, and the scene shifted from a grassroots hobby to a mature commercial environment. By 2017, commercial backing had officially pushed carving into the mainstream snow sports conversation.
While hard booter started the movement, the massive spike in popularity came from the "Japanese Style" soft boot revolution. A huge amount of credit goes to the Japanese rider Kazunori Hirama. For a time, his videos seemed to flood every Chinese rider’s social media feed. His popularity was driven by local conditions: snow in China is often hard, icy, and thin. For riders trying to learn park skills, falling on that ice is unforgiving. Hirama’s style opened a new door for frustrated enthusiasts; he showed them that simply turning on the snow could be incredibly dynamic and cool.
This era gave rise to Rama Li, known in the scene as "The Carving God." In 2017, he founded the first soft boot organization, Share Team. Rama Li was a devoted follower of Hirama, and back when "Hammerhead" boards were nonexistent in China, he spent nearly 100 days a season on the snow in Chongli, refining his technique to match his idol. Share Team promotes "Technical Riding," a blend of deep carves, high-speed buttering, and a style often described as "snow parkour"—navigating trees and natural terrain with total control. The team evolved from a small video crew into a professional organization, hosting camps and even managing Kazunori Hirama’s tours in China.
Then there is Guangming, a key figure who represents the business side of this history. As a chain ski store CEO and some big brand head distributor, Guangming’s story is interesting because he was initially a skeptic. He did not view carving as "real" snowboard culture and only tried it to confirm his dislike. Instead, he was captivated by the speed and G-force, eventually describing it as a mix of motorcycling and riding a rollercoaster. Because he had industry resources, he did not rely on guesswork. He traveled to Japan and Korea to study properly, avoiding the bad habits of self-taught riders. He eventually placed 4th in major competitions in Japan and Korea and founded Max Team, an amateur squad that dominated domestic podiums with title sponsorship from Huawei. Guangming proved that systematic training yields better results than self-taught imitation.
For those wondering what the specific "Chinese style" is, it is actually quite difficult to define. In reality, Chinese carving is built largely on emulation. It is less about developing a unique, individualistic flair and more about perfecting established systems. On the slopes, one won't see a lot of loose, undefined styles. Instead, riders often look like the product of rigorous training. Think of it like a PGS race. In those races, everyone looks similar because there is one "standard" way to be the fastest. In China, riders are collectively chasing that standard. The goal isn't necessarily to be different; the goal is to be technically perfect within the system they think is correct.
I was watching the Progression Sessions tech talk video, and I realized we could get together on Zoom or something to talk about carving, too. We probably need a topic to follow, but it could be a very informative session. What do you guys think?
@pigbrogg This is fascinating.
A zoom would be cool, but may be hard to coordinate across timezones and schedules... Especially since resorts around here are starting to open and there are important turns to be made! A livestream on Youtube may be a better format, that way we can still watch it later if we couldn't make it live.
"Shut up Tyler"
I was watching the Progression Sessions tech talk video
Oh you're the one! Watched a few minutes of the new one this morning.
We could get together on Zoom or something to talk about carving, too. We probably need a topic to follow, but it could be a very informative session. What do you guys think?
Could do... That's easy content. With a little editing it could be way more engaging than the progression sessions too.
I'm just slaying...
Rama109 on youtube is really good. His heelsides are next level. I wonder if its the same guy you are talking about (Hirama)?
I was watching the Progression Sessions tech talk video
Oh you're the one! Watched a few minutes of the new one this morning.
We could get together on Zoom or something to talk about carving, too. We probably need a topic to follow, but it could be a very informative session. What do you guys think?
Could do... That's easy content. With a little editing it could be way more engaging than the progression sessions too.
I for one would be super interested in that type of content! I have loved that type of content James have done with Lars, Jasey-Jay and Exegi-Carl.
Dreaming about soft snow
Thanks! How do you know so much about the history of the Asian carving style?
So, I got into snowboarding when extreme carving was just starting to pop up in China, and then I picked up Japanese style carving around 2017 after learning from a JSBA rider, I also got a bunch of buddies in the Chinese carving group Share Club.
Rama109 on youtube is really good. His heelsides are next level. I wonder if its the same guy you are talking about (Hirama)?
Yeah, that's him!
CASI, AASI and even the progression sessions are really focused on pedagogy… teaching the teacher. So it is a bit of a different perspective.
Big White, BC, Canada
