Best Sims Snowboards: Reviews by OutdoorEquipment.com
Read OutdoorEquipment.com’s reviews of Sims snowboards & learn why these beginner snowboards might be perfect for you! Reviews include Protocol, Heiress & more!
You may be saying to yourself: Wait, Sims snowboards… what the heck are they?
And you’d be right to ask that question. These are boards that could have been contenders for the top snowboarding manufacturer in the country. Instead they have become hardly-seen relics from a barely recognizable brand name.
That may sound unnecessarily harsh, here’s the truth: While these are decent snowboards, Sims simply fumbled their marketing and development departments so poorly. This means most consumers have no idea what a Sims snowboard is.
So, to honor the boards that are out there, the ones that are worth your time and money, we’re going to answer your plain old curiosity with some info.
If you’re an expert snowboarder, you may not find too much useful information here (go check out Burton snowboards or Gnu snowboards for more advanced rides), but if you’re new to the sport, keep reading. Because while these may not be the cheapest boards on the market, they are certainly affordable ones, and it’s important that your first board be an inexpensive model. That way you can ride it as hard as possible while learning the tricks of the trade. And when you’ve outgrown it, you can move on to a more advanced brand.
Below, we’ll check out the pros and cons of Sims snowboards and give you an understanding of whether these snowboards are right for you. Information is power to the consumer, and we want to make sure you got the muscles to make the right purchasing choice.
Best Sims Snowboards: Reviews of the Bestsellers
It’s not that Sims snowboards are terrible–they really aren’t!–but they’re just nowhere near the high quality boards they could be.
If the Sims parent company would take a bit more time with research, development, marketing, and production, Sims could find itself back on top.
As of now, though, the models just seem like cheaply made snowboards that may last you a few years, but will do nothing to further your game.
The decks are lightweight, which is good for a variety of reasons, and the camber technology is decent, if not a little behind the times–but the price tags are really outrageous.
Let’s focus in a little tighter on this brand and peek at the top three bestselling models:
- Sims Protocol Snowboard
- Sims Heiress Snowboard
- Sims Fisher Snowboard
Sims Protocol Snowboard Review
Despite a lot of negative energy directed towards Sims snowboards in general, the Protocol is actually a pretty decent all-mountain snowboard. Is it worth the $300+ price tag? Probably not… but it would still make a truly great beginner board if you can find it secondhand at a ski swap or online marketplace.
The Protocol is really good for learning new tricks in the park–getting some air, grabbing a tail or two, and maybe even doing some twists–but it’s really at home in the backcountry. That’s why we find it a little strange for the Protocol to be built as a beginner snowboard. Beginners shouldn’t be in the backcountry–they should be staying on greens and blues. But, let’s move past that fora minute…
The poplar core is strong enough to last you on hardcore runs and light enough to keep you afloat on the powder.
It also comes in a variety of sizes and styles, with at least two different wide models for those who need more foot room on their boards.
Here are other boards similar to the Protocol:
- K2 Believer Snowboard Snowboard
- Rossignol Retox snowboard
Sims Heiress Snowboard Review
This is listed as an all-mountain board, but that’s kind of a misnomer. The Heiress is actually a pretty sweet ride when you stick to the park, or when racing down the groomers, but it’s pretty useless in the backcountry.
The Heiress is lightweight enough to give you some righteous air on the half-pipe, but it could use a bit more pop to get the tricks really going.
On the groomers, the speed is okay, but it could definitely be faster.
Like many other Sims snowboard models, the best thing about the Heiress, to be perfectly honest, is the stick’s artwork drawn by Jason Thielke. But is that worth the $280 sticker? No. It just can’t compare to other boards in the same price range.
If you’re a woman looking to get a big time all-terrain board, you’d be better off focusing on the snowboards listed below:
- Burton Feather snowboard
- Option Domino snowboard
Sims Fisher Snowboard Review
This snowboard was designed by pro rider Steve Fisher. It’s been lauded as a beautiful park snowboard as it has plenty of pop and the response is great. The thinner profile core makes it fantastically pliable on the half pipe and in the trails, but…
The problem is that it seems so shoddily made. We’ve read reports of the laminate coming off the first time it is waxed!
This has all the makings of a sick board, able to turn tricks with you like nobody’s business, but it just feels cheap. Go ahead and hold it in your hands at an REI or your local ski shop.
If, however, you are a brand new rider looking for something to get you started in the park, then this may be perfect for you. Don’t turn your nose up at it just because it gets some bad reviews. Only you will be able to tell if a product is right for your current boarding style.
Other boards like the Fisher:
- Rossignol JDub Mag snowboard
- Ellis Supreme snowboard
Sims Snowboard Summary
Oh, boy. Sims Snowboards had the potential to be a K2 or Burton, but a few bad turns has taken it to the dumpster.
If priced appropriately, we could recommend them to beginners. However, you’re probably better off spending your money elsewhere.
The company had a promising enough beginning: world champion snowboarder Tom Sims began his board-making odyssey in 1969, when, according to an interview, he created his first ever snowboard and called it a ski-board. From there, the company went on to make a relatively small splash in the industry. This can be attributed to mismanagement and the distance Tom Sims put between himself and his company.
Sims snowboards had the potential to be a world leader in the industry, but the ball was dropped too soon and too often for them to become anything but a second tier manufacturer.
| Store | Inventory | Price Range |
  Moosejaw.com |
Decent | $250.00 – $599.95 |
  ProBoard Shop |
Tons! | $299.00 – $349.00 |
 The-House.com |
Tons! | $250.00 – $399.00 |
  Tightboards.com |
Tons! | $250.00 – $399.00 |
Head on back from Sims Snowboards to Outdoor Equipment.com
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