Snowboarding Is a Slick Sport With Droopy Duds — Why Do Snowboarders Wear Baggy Clothes?

Like every other sport, snowboarding has a series of unique traditions and requirements that might not make sense to outsiders. For instance, snowboarders with long hair always wear their hair out. And they always wear mittens instead of gloves.

And, like with many sports, there are some things that are done as a matter of tradition as much as any practical application.

But there's one unique aspect to their outfits that might make you wonder: why do snowboarders wear baggy clothes? After all, many other snow-riding sports sport far tighter outfits, so the gear tends to stand out. Here's what we know about why the tradition exists.

If you've ever watched snowboarding or gone yourself, it may strike you that the baggy clothing is unusual and stands out from other similar sports.

So, why is it worn?

According to Sesh Snow, the baggy pants we recognize as the snowboarders uniform today started in the 1960s and 1970s. By the '80s and '90s, Gore-Tex and other similar high-quality fabric designed for snow sports had arrived and began producing these loose pants.

By the 2000s, they had become nearly omnipresent. For snowboarders, it's about more than looks and convenience, though. There are practical considerations to be had.

And, the outlet notes, there are several reasons for the prevalence of these loose pants: mobility and comfort; ventilation and temperature control; protection and durability; layering capabilities; versatility in different weather conditions; and convenience, with ample pockets and zippers to bring along whatever you might need on the slopes.

With the ability to duck and bend in loose pants, they quickly became the obvious choice for athletes who need to have a lot of flexibility and range of motion, plus the chance to lawyer underneath their clothing, as snowboarders often find themselves sitting on snow at times.

If you think about it, it may be unsurprising that other sports, such as downhill skiing and other speed skiing events, wear far tighter outfits.

And there's a very good reason for that. Not only are the tight uniforms aerodynamic, but they're required.

According to Fox News, veteran ski jumper Colin Delaney told the outlet, "Each suit is handmade for the individual jumper, and they have to fit within a tight tolerance to your body. So each point of the suit has to be within a two-centimeter tolerance to your own body measurement, or else you could be disqualified.”

Colin explained that a suit that fits more loosely has the potential to create more lift, allowing the jumper to hang higher and fly farther through the air, giving them an advantage.

He said, "It could kind of be like a wingsuit for a skydiver."

Which means that in order to make the suits looser for some, they'd have to be looser for all. And right on down the line in other similar snow sports.