If you’re looking for a quality snowboard, either as a hobbyist or professional, one route you may consider is purchasing a snowboard made in the USA. If a handcrafted snowboard made from materials sourced from the US sounds like the perfect fit for you, here are the snowboard brands made in the USA. To help you further, we’ve also provided some information on how to search for snowboards made in the USA.
Complete List of Snowboards Made in the USA
A company created by passionate snowboarders, Marhar Snowboards produces high-quality snowboards built to last. Their snowboards are crafted with the finest materials and cutting-edge technology. Plus, they don’t sacrifice design, either, as you can customize your own board. Marhar Snowboards proudly handcrafts all of their snowboards in the USA.
Never Summer has been around since 1991, creating snowboards for snow enthusiasts that are high-quality and incredibly durable. Every Never Summer board is handcrafted in Denver, CO.
By keeping manufacturing in-house, they are able to take care of every step of the manufacturing process from start to finish. In fact, they are so selective they only allow the world’s best snowboard shops to sell their products.
Gilson Snow is a community-driven snowboard company launched in 2013 in a classroom by two middle school science teachers and their students. All Gilson Snowboards are made in the Appalachian Foothills with locally sourced materials. The core of their products is Pennsylvania Poplar, a local, lightweight, and sustainable material.
Venture Snowboards prides themselves on not being a “mass manufacturer.” Instead, they’re able to pay meticulous attention to detail to create and handcraft quality snowboards in Silverton, CO. The team tests their boards themselves on rough terrain, and not a single board leaves the factory without final approval.
A ski and snowboard manufacturer, Meier makes it a point to produce high-quality, eco-friendly, and environmentally friendly products. Their snowboards are made of 100% Colorado trees and use plant-based epoxy. This company was also the first of its kind to eliminate plastic from any packaging and shipping. If you’re curious about how Meier handcrafts their custom wood skis and snowboards, you can watch the entire process from start to finish by visiting their factory and booking a factory tour!
Proteus Snowboards proudly handcrafts snowboards for each rider. The company uses its patented Adjustable Camber Technology that makes its snowboards the only all-terrain snowboard on the market. All Proteus snowboards are made right here in the USA using premium materials. By buying a Proteus snowboard, you’ll also be supporting freelance and aspiring artists.
Lib Tech manufactures boards for various sports and terrains, including snowboarding. All Lib Tech snowboards are made in the USA, near Canada. The company hires incredibly skilled craftsmen and uses high-performance but environmentally friendly materials to make its boards from scratch.
Donek has been handcrafting snowboards since 1987. The company creates custom boards, tailoring the board specifically for each rider. There are many different types of Donek snowboards, fit for a huge variety of terrains, so you’ll easily be able to find one that suits you. All snowboards are custom-made in Colorado.
A small family-owned business, Sneva MFG crafts around a thousand pairs of skis and snowboards every year. While they are a much smaller scale company than others on this list, they have been around since 1994. All Sneva MFG snowboards (and skis, for that matter!) are made in the USA with American materials. 100% of the product is made in-house, so you know that the quality of the product is going to be top-notch.
Parlor is a custom ski manufacturer founded by three ski enthusiasts. However, don’t worry; Parlor also produces snowboards! The company is proud of its New England roots and makes everything by hand in its East Boston Factory. Everything from graphics to grinding takes place in-house.
Mike’s YouTube Video on American Made Snowboards
How to Find Snowboards Made in the USA
The above snowboard brands are a great place to get started. But what if you want to do your own research? Here is our guide to finding snowboards made in the USA, including the definition of “made in the USA.”
What Does “Made in the USA” Mean?
First, a definition. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), for a product to be “made in the USA,” “all or virtually all” of the manufacturing must take place in the United States. So, for example, a product assembled domestically but from foreign-made parts and components is not made in the USA. Conversely, a product manufactured and assembled in the USA with mostly (if not all) domestically sourced materials is indeed made in the USA.
If you’d like to learn more about identifying domestically product products, check out our “made in the USA” labeling guide.
Materials
Now, onto the research. The first step when looking for snowboards, or really any product, made in the USA is to look at the materials used to make it. As mentioned, for a product to be truly considered “made in the USA,” it should be made with US materials. So, what are snowboards made of, and can these materials be sourced from the US?
Wood
The core of the snowboard, or center of the snowboard, is generally made of wood. Some of the most popular strips of wood used to make the snowboard core are poplar and birch. Both of these woods, as well as other hardwoods, are found all over the USA. In fact, the USA is one of the world’s largest producers of hardwood lumber, second to only China, which means that finding locally sourced wood cores for snowboards is pretty easy.
Fiberglass
Snowboards generally have two layers of fiberglass on either side of the core to reinforce it. This synthetic material is mainly made of silica. China leads the way in terms of fiberglass production worldwide, but the USA does not lag too far behind. With that said, China does produce almost all of the world’s production of the material, so make sure to double-check the origins of the fiberglass just in case.
Polyethylene
Polyethylene is a lightweight and durable plastic used as the snowboard base. This material is made all over the world, but China leads the pack. However, the good news is that the USA currently produces polyethylene to some extent. In fact, US plastics production has risen steadily in recent years, so it is becoming increasingly easy to find domestically produced polyethylene.
Steel
The edges of the snowboard are made of steel, which helps grip the snowboard on icy slopes and protect the board from wear and tear. As always, China is the top steel producer worldwide, accounting for more than 50% of the world’s steel production. Other top countries include India, Japan, and the USA. Keep in mind that Chinese-made steel is three times weaker than US-made steel, making it all the more important to find a snowboard made with domestic materials.
Epoxy Resin
Epoxy resin bonds the layers in a snowboard together to make the snowboard durable and flexible. The top countries for epoxy resin production are South Korea, Germany, China, and the United States. With that said, the US exports and imports around the same amount of epoxy resin, so you’re just as likely to find foreign-made epoxy as you are US-made epoxy.
Labeling
After researching the materials, it’s time to take a look at the label. Luckily, Title 19 Chapter 4 Section 1304 of the United States Code makes our job a lot easier in this regard. According to this law, companies are required to label their imported products with their country of origin. Furthermore, the FTC protects the usage of the “made in the USA” label. But it’s worth noting that the FTC doesn’t do the best job in policing the usage of the label as there is no pre-approval process.
While simply looking at the label may sound easy enough to determine whether a product is or is not made in the USA, there are a few things to watch out for.
First, watch out for the wording. Here are some examples of other labels you may come across that may sound synonymous with “made in the USA” but are not:
- Made in America – America can also refer to Canada or Mexico
- Manufactured/Assembled/Designed in the USA – Only a part of the manufacturing process takes place in the United States
- Made in the USA with imported materials – This is exactly how it sounds; while the product is made in the USA, the materials used come from abroad.
- The American flag sticker – Just because you see a sticker does not automatically mean the product is made in the USA, as there is nothing stopping companies from putting the flag on their product labels or packaging.
The other issue is that many people do their shopping online nowadays. While companies are legally required to state the country of origin of their product’s label or packaging, there is no such requirement for companies to disclose this information online or on their promotional materials.
So, finding the country of origin of snowboards when shopping online requires a bit more sleuthing. Check the brand’s About Us page, Home page, and the product pages to see if you can find anything. “Made in the USA” is something brands won’t be shy about advertising, so if the snowboard is truly “made in the USA,” you should be able to find the information somewhere.
Other Tips
Still unsure whether a particular snowboard is made in the USA? Here are some extra tips for you.
Stalk Their Social Media
Companies with snowboards made in the USA will use this point as a marketing ploy on their social media. So, see if you can find any information regarding their manufacturing process. You could also DM them and ask!
Just Ask
On that note, you can always call the company or use their chat box for more information. Companies should be more than willing to answer any questions you may have.
Snowboard Brands Not Made in the USA
During our research, we found quite a few popular and famous snowboard brands not made in the USA. Here are the brands we found. Let us know if you know of any brands we should add to this list. We will continuously update this list as we go.
- Jones – Made in Dubai
- Burton – Made in China, Taiwan, Austria, Poland, and the United States.
- Salomon – Made in China
- Arbor – Made in Dubai
- Nitro – Made in Taiwan
- K2 – Made in China
- Ride – Made in China
- Rossignol – Made in China, Southeast Asia, and Europe
- CAPiTA – Made in Austria
