Words: The Crew

HURRAH, IT’S BLOODY DUMPING OUTSIDE, WHICH MEANS ONLY ONE THING: TIME FOR US TO GET OUT AND TEST SOME NEW BOARDS. HERE IS A LITTLE SELECTION OF STICKS WITH CONTRASTING CAMBERS WE RODE TO KEEP YOU ENTERTAINED UNTIL WE GET BACK…

SALOMON – GRIP

LENGTHS: 151/154/157/160
SHAPE: TRUE TWIN / ZERO CAMBER
PRICE: €459.95

Werni Stock saw me struggle with another board from Salomon’s range and recommend giving the Grip a go. How did he know I really like flat camber boards? This one features the “Pow Rockqualizer”, a fl at section with a solid rocker kick in both nose and tail. It holds a good grip even on icy patches, is playful, but not as loose as most of the boards from the reverse camber shelf. If you’ve seen Werni ride a park booter you know this board offers more control than you will ever need – but it doesn’t force it onto you. Hands down, if I had ridden this board earlier I might have begged the Salomon guys to give me one to keep for the season. – UK

DINOSAURS WILL DIE – GENOVESE 157

LENGTHS: 151/157
SHAPE: TRUE TWIN / REGULAR CAMBER
PRICE: €449

I did not get my regular board in time and had to borrow one for the Hintertux Opening. Eric from Good Question distribution seemed nice enough so I took the Sean Genovese pro model from Dinosaurs Will Die for a spin. I ended up riding this most of the day, as it has just about the right flex for me, not an old fart’s plank and not a butter machine. On top of this it had a superb pop (well, it’s technically a regular camber) but not too much bite on its edges. Though some of the tech specs were confusing to me (“fl at banks”?) I totally fell for its graphics. “Smile in your face, stab in the back!” That’s what it’s all about! – UK

JONES SNOWBOARDS – MOUNTAIN TWIN 157

LENGTHS: 155/158/160W/164W
SHAPE: TRUE TWIN / COMBINED CAMBER
PRICE: €449

I was pretty weirded out by the board’s odd shape with its squared off nose and tail but as soon as you hop aboard this is all forgotten as it’s a killer board to ride. I’d never have picked Jeremy ‘Freeride’ Jones as someone who’d design an epic twin, but he’s right on the money with this one. Whichever way you ride it it feels responsive and lively, and there was lots of pop with a skatey feel thanks to the combined ‘CamRock’ base profile. I even took it in heavy-ish pow and was happily getting face shots despite it being short for me. Light, not super aggressive and perfect for all mountain freestylers who’re after something different. – TC

Our team of winter-hardened hacks took time out from the daily grind to work on the bases of the some 10/11 sticks: this is what they came back with…

K2 Darkstar 159

LeNGtHS: 149/152/154W/155/157/157W/159/160W/163W
SHaPe: ZERO CAMBER
PrICe: 399.95€

The first thing I noticed when I strapped this board on was its great broken-in feel. The next thing I realised was that this is the perfect tool for anyone going big, be it in the park or in the backcountry. It has an awesome pop, excellent stability, and benchmark edge control. I sent it over a natural jump into a powder fi eld and both the board and me loved it. Alas, I would not recommend it for impressing your mates with your jib skills, as it is a little stiff around the waist. But why would you want to? The Darkstar is for the chargers out there. For everyone else there’s the Parkstar. Man, these K2 guys got it dialled… – UK

Nidecker Legacy 158

LeNGtHS: 155/158/159XL/163XL/165XL
SHaPe: DIRECTIONAL CAMROCK
PrICe: 399.00€

If you’re a savvy shred head who needs a solid ride for hitting the pro line and rides aggressively, without wanting to go overboard on the price, this would be a decent board to look at. It felt pretty damned stiff right off the bat so not something you should look at if you want to have fun cruising, it’s built to be solid at speed and it ploughs through the crud and slush. Switch was Ok but I found it hard to go from edge to edge unless you were blasting it. Butters and minishred? No. Tanking it? Yes. – TC

IMPERIVM ELVIRA PHOENIX RC 149 PHOENIX RC 149

WOMeN’S aLL MOUNtaIN LeNGtHS 143/146 /149
SHaPe: TWIN TIP ROCKER
PrICe: 349.00€

Imperivm’s take on reverse camber boards for women is a really good ride, even for riders who are not that crazy about rocker boards like myself. The Elvira Phoenix provides a good all around freestyle feel; it is reactive but forgiving at the same time, comfortable on hardpack, smooth on trannies, does a very decent job in a few inches of freshies, and as with every Impervm board I’ve ridden, it’s base is as fast as hell! Also, it feels good to have a toy that is at the same time a sick piece of street art. – EMG

Testing boards sure beats being in the office. Following on from our testival at the shops first try, we headed to Kaunertal’s spring paradise at the beginning of may to demo more decks at the UK snowboard test.

ROME
Graft 158

ALSO AVAILABLE IN: 149, 151, 153,155,160
CAMBER: REGULAR
€439.90

You could feel the pop and grip of the positive camber straight away but it was still playful – fi le this under ‘B’ for Buttery. It immediately felt like a true twin too, so if you’re a guy who just rides forwards it’s maybe not for you but for people wanting to get their freestyle on all over the shop this would be a great choice. Felt a bit on the short side for a man of my 13-odd stone – possibly due to the twin shape – but it was a lively fun shred nonetheless. Quick enough edge-to-edge but with a stable platform for stomps, and feeling tech without smashing the transfer record, this is bang-on for freestylers wanting to have it wherever. TC

K2
Turbo Dream 159

ALSO AVAILABLE IN: 153, 156, 161, 157WIDE, 160WIDE, 164WIDE
CAMBER: ALL TERRAIN ROCKER
€539.95

You know when you fi nd a board that just seems to fit you like a glove? This is it for me. “Amazing,” and “The perfect all-round board” were all I managed to scribble down before forgetting to write anything more and just enjoying the ride. K2 seem to have nailed the reverse camber playfulness mixed with response and another thing that came to mind was it was both super light and super quick. Wille’s gone for a directional twin for his umteenth pro model and it certainly feels like he’s struck gold with the perfect board for anyone taking on any terrain, bar hardcore jibbers. TC

NITRO
T1  159

ALSO AVAILABLE IN: 149,153, 156, 152WIDE, 155WIDE, 158WIDE
CAMBER: FLAT
€399.95

I have to fess up to being a fl at camber fan. Don’t think that I am biased towards Nitro’s T1, as it was this board that converted me into one in the first place. This zero camber true twin park board is a playful tool with a lot of pop and very good edge control. I charged down fast on it, I experienced a surprisingly good fl ow in powder, and I hammered it over the fl at rails in the beginner’s park – all in one day and without any major objections. The soft flex and extra thick edges make it the perfect tool for some jib action but the board has also good edge control and snap for getting serious on the booters. UK