A few weeks ago I made fun of this $2,000 gas-powered “snowboard”, because it’s ridiculous. But browsing the interwebz the other day, I found a gas-powered snowboard that is actually worthy of praise: the snowmoboard, a home-made snowmobile/snowboard hybrid. Originally built in 2001 using a 173cm K2 Fat Bob snowboard, it is equipped with 90cc 5.8hp two stroke engine from a Stihl chainsaw and a vintage 28″ x 3″ x 3/4″ track.

The snowmoboard is cool for all the reasons that the $2,000 “snowboard” is not cool.

It’s actually a snowboard. It’s not a gimmick. It doesn’t weigh 150 pounds. If you want one, you have to build it yourself (but it’s not cheap).

Now, I’m not the first person to discover this, but I thought it was cool so I decided to reach out to the guy behind the design, and he was generous enough to spend a few minutes answering some questions below the video of the snowmoboard in action.

When you’re not snowmoboarding, are you a regular snowboarder?

I’ve been boarding for over 10 years.

What inspired you to build the first snowmoboard?

I love building stuff and 10 years ago no one had even tried putting a motor on a snowboard so I figured I had better do it before someone else does. I never had any intentions of manufacturing or patenting them, I just wanted to do it first.

How much did it cost you to put this rig together?

About $700 for the snowboard, chainsaw and track. It would cost over $1,300 to buy the stuff new, plus labor, so I wouldn’t be making any money at 2 grand if I were to start manufacturing them to sell.

So it looks kind of heavy, how much does it weigh?

About 60 pounds, I need to learn how to weld aluminum!

I’m sure everyone wants to know how fast it can go. Have you ever clocked it?



34 mph, there is a radar sign in a school zone by my house.

The stance appears set back pretty far, as opposed to a centered or nearly-centered stance on most snowboards. Did you build it like this originally, or is this configuration the result of trial and errors?

It just worked out that way, the first priority was to motorize the board then find a way to stand on it. Not a lot of options once you start laying out all the parts.

It looks tougher to maneuver than an ordinary snowboard. Did it take you a while to get the hang of how to steer a much heavier board that won’t flex as easily?

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I have only made videos of it going straight but I can carve with it and have jumped it a few times. It doesn’t handle like a regular snowboard because it is 60 pounds but it is handy to know how to ride a snowboard if you are going to try to ride it. Only 1 person has made it more than 5 feet on their first time riding it, everybody says “wow, that has a lot more power than I expected” right after it comes out from under them the first time they hit the throttle, that Stihl chainsaw engine has some torque! There is a bit of a learning curve to riding it. Put me in a field with the perfect snow and I can do some tight figure 8’s with it.

It would be awesome to see a video of those figure-8’s! So it sounds like a lot of work, but if someone out there wanted to try this, what advice would you give them?

Get some parts and try it, mine didn’t work the first few times, it has been cut, welded, ground down, a few different boards, a few different engines, different controls, different bindings, different suspension etc… I don’t have any training or experience in any sort of design or fabrication, just a redneck with an arc welder, a cutting torch and an idea.

There you have it folks, straight from the man himself. You can check out some youtube clips of the snowmoboard or visit the “official” snowmoboard website. There are plenty of things in the snowsports world that deserve to be made fun of, like skiing and tall tees, but the snowmoboard is all “win” in my book.

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