2007-2008 Snowboard Review

This review will be updated throughout the season as I demo and test more 07/08 bindings. Each review is judged by the same standard and for the majority of reviews I used my own boots (some exceptions).

During demos I try to stick to riding the same size board of 157-159cm with the exception of some female boards which come in smaller sizes. I have the weight to back up riding a men’s board, however I do try to ride women’s boards in the longer lengths.

About me as a snowboarder:

• I’m coming up on my 13th season snowboarding: 11 seasons in the NW and 2 seasons in Colorado.
• I am a freerider (I ride trees, powder, steeps, groomers, natural terrain) and I ride halfpipe.
• I am 5’6″ and typically ride a 158cm for my all mountain board, my powder board is a 161 or 164cm and my park board is a 155cm. I weigh about 200lbs give or take.
• I am a regular rider with a 22 inch width, +15, -15 stance angles.
• I wear size 8 womens snowboard boots.

My opinion is only my opinion…of how these snowboards rode. Take it as you want. If you are looking for more snowboard reviews, go here

2007-2008 Snowboard Review

This list goes by brand alphabetically.

07-08 Arbor Alt: I haven’t ridden many Arbors but the two I have rode including this one are solid boards. I found this board to be very forgiving, easy to initiate turns and carve with. It was a very mellow ride…doesn’t bore you but doesn’t make you work too hard either. The bamboo definitely makes the board ride great and handle the snow conditions anywhere on the mountain, good flex that absorbs and distributes evenly. I really had a fun time freeriding with it.

07-08 Atomic Polarity: This was the board I didn’t expect to ride, because it was a smaller size than i’m used to (154cm). However this board impressed me the most during the demo day. The board rode amazing even though it was stiffer than I expected. Even with my weight on this board, the flex was solid and it handled the conditions great. It was very light and poppy but still carved well all over the mountain. Held great at higher speeds and lower speeds, always felt in control and never felt any chatter on this board. It is a high end womens freeride board.

07/08 Atomic Alibi: This was a really popular snowboard at the demo, in fact I didn’t get on it till the end of the day. I didn’t ride the 06/07 alibi so I cannot compare the two at this time but there were construction changes so it is a different board than previous years. I thought the 07/08 was a great all mountain board, stiff enough to really carve hard and make S turns down the hill with but still soft enough in the tail to butter and press with. Handled fine in the slushy bumps that came out late in the day and was stable at slow and faster speeds. This is a board that can do it all, you can take it anywhere on the mountain and it blows you away.

07/08 Atomic Radon:I managed to get this board on a hard packed, icy day at Loveland and it was really fun to bomb with. One thing I did notice about the Radon is it did weigh a little more than my premier. The Radon is definitely a board not to be taken lightly…it will ride you if you can’t ride it. A step above the Cold Smoke, this board rides solid on edge, a bit slower edge to edge but can hold speeds very well. It plowed through the snow conditions. I ended up only taking one run with the board because it was very demanding and by that time…I wasn’t gonna give it the carving it deserved.

07-08 Bataleon Riot:I own the Hero and the new Riot is a step up from the hero. I rode the Riot at A-Basin and it blew me away in how much fun it was to ride. It could handle the freeriding on the mountain but still quick and poppy. The triple base is so smoothe on edge, cuts through anything on snow and grips when you are carving. I really liked the flex of the board, strong enough for freeriding but the tail and nose were soft enough for pressing. One of my favorite boards to ride.

07-08 Bataleon Violenza: A new addition to the Bataleon line, the Violenza is the all mountain freestyle board for women and it is as described. Very forgiving for the female rider, still a solid board for freeriding and soft enough to take into park. I only felt it struggle in the slushy spring conditions but I also rode a smaller size (153cm). Less noticeable triple base than the other Bataleon boards but still holds a grip and carves good on the mountain.

07-08 Burton Uninc: I was impressed and surprised by this board…how well it handled everywhere on the mountain. It was fun and poppy for buttering and 180’s but it also held very well at higher speeds and carving lines with it. I had a lot of fun on this board. I did feel a good connection with the board and flexing it through turns. No complaints except for the price.

My second day on the uninc is where I spent the most time on this board…and seriously it’s a fun board. I managed to take it through a variety of conditions, ice runs, hard packed and even slushy moguls and the flex on the board handles every type of condition with no problems.

07-08 Burton Supermodel: I definitely wanted to try this board since it’s their free ride board for charging. It did very well at high speeds, carving on hard packed and icy conditions. It was torsionally stiff which I liked. Any freerider would like this board, it’s a lighter board but still handles charging and making turns down the mountain.

07-08 Burton Custom: I finally got convined to ride a custom again. It didn’t handle the best on ice, skidded during the icy spots on the mountain and I took it out later in the day as the snow hardened up. It was still a fun board, handled speeds. I was buttering with it but was still surprised that it was stiffer than I’d thought.

07-08 Burton Custom X:Last board of the day and my 2nd time riding the custom X and everything I’d said before…I’ll say it again. It’s a lighter free ride board that rips the mountain up. Handles the icy spots, handles bumps and crud…and still is an aggressive board.
So I spent more time on this board at Copper…during another hard packed and icy day on the mountain. I finally got a chance to take it through the half pipe and man this board is awesome in the pipe. I took a smaller size out for demo and it was so much fun, held a fine edge in the pipe and still a light board that you can swing around and throw tricks with.

07-08 Burton X8: I found the board to be super smoothe, quick edge-to-edge and easy to initiate turns with. Very light board but still stable in the conditions I rode which were varying from hardpacked to heavier powder on the side of the run. I loved the board but didn’t like the bindings (triad’s that were with the board). The EST system once dialed in by the user allows for easy to adjust binding angles on the go. The X8 is a solid all mountain freestyle board.

07-08 Burton T6: I thought the T6 was too torsionally stiff and not in the best way. I didn’t find the board that responsive to turns, handled okay but I still felt chatter in that board even though it has the added dampening system. I really had to put a lot of effort into edging the board into a carve. I am going to try to demo the board again and put it to more terrain, more runs next time to get a better judgement of it.

07-08 Capita MHT: Just when I thought that the BSOD was the only board I really loved from Capita…I rode the MHT and damnit…I loved it too! I was a bit skeptical since it’s a midwide but I ride wider width boards from NS so I wasn’t too scared. The board was everything i’d want in all mountain freestyle. Quick edge to edge response, carved very well, gripped the snow and didn’t notice any washout. Plus man it was really poppy and fun to mess around with just pressing, 180’s, nose rolls…fun board.

07-08 Flow Quantum: Fun…this board is fun. I was blown away by this board’s response. Another all mountain freestyle board that is very poppy and responsive. Holds a solid edge, can handle any speed. Flow has definitely stepped up the game with all mountain freestyle boards that you can ride everywhere, love it everywhere and are solid products.

07-08 Flow Infinite WX:This is one underestimated board. It charged and carved the mountain up like no other of the day. The construction of the board won me over. You could lay carves and pop into the next one riding out on edge…man this board was meant for speed, carving and having fun doing it.

07-08 K2 Gyrator:I managed to take this board out on a hardpacked, icy in spots day in early season at Loveland. Even with riding this board outside of it’s powder specific area of expertise…this board was the most fun I had all day. I could feel the rocker mostly when getting off the chairlift, skating and sometimes on the mountain in between turns. But it was really fine at carving on hardpacked, laying over on edge…I only had it throw me once and I am pretty sure that was my fault cause of the conditions. This was the easiest, most fun board I have ever nose and tail pressed…seriously it was like it was meant to just press and hop around with. I hope to get on this board later this week…hopefully in powder. But even without powder…I’m impressed.

07-08 K2 Duchess: I was stoked to finally get on this board. It is the high end womens freeride board and any change I get to ride a womens freeride board…i’m up for it. This board was quick edge to edge response, great flex more torsionally stiff so you can really power up and full it into carves but still softer in the nose and tail to have fun with and not feel like it’s a stiff charger. It was a really solid freeride board and it’s a board that any women could ride…I thought it wasn’t too demanding or aggressive but solid overall.

07-08 K2 Zeppelin:
Probably the most aggressive board of the day…but man if you can ride it…it’s the best ride. I seriously loved this board, the power you can push it into carves, but also it handles bumps and crud pretty dang good…not to mention grips on icier conditions.

07-08 K2 Podium: I really loved just pointing the Podium down the hill and bombing with it. It’s a really stiff unforgiving board and this is snowboard that will ride you if you lag or can’t ride it. It held fine on carving but only at higher speeds. When I slowed down on the board it wasn’t the same.

07-08 Lib Tech Skate Banana: This was the popular board for obvious reasons…it’s a fun
snowboard. For me, I needed a more all-rounded board than the skate banana but it was very fun and had so much pop it was easy! I had to be careful with buttering cause it was easy to put more effort into buttering and end up with your face kissing the snow…not fun. It still held up good on freeriding the hardpacked groomers.

07-08 Lib Tech Trice: The Trice is never a board to let down a snowboarder. It is very fun, poppy and responsive on the snow. With the MTX, you have better grip and edgehold during the icier days. I really liked the flex of the Trice…you can ride it like a speed demon with carves but also it’s soft enough to press and butter. Rode very well switch.

07-08 Never Summer Titan: I took the Titan through every condition I could during the couple months at Steamboat and it is a solid freeride board. Even on the cruddy conditions with heavy powder, it was still ready to cut through it all and bomb. It’s not hard to transition or carve with. I accidentally took it in a mogul field one day and surprising it was poppy and flexible enough to make turns and make it out alive. Carving with the board is amazing, just making S turns on it down the hill makes it so much fun. It is a very fast snowboard you can bomb with, holds up at any speed. If you don’t have the weight or skill to back it up…it’ll ride you. But damn if you can ride it, it’s the best ride you’ll have.

07-08 Never Summer Premier: I own this board, this is my baby and I can ride this board anywhere on the mountain. It was the hardest board to test ride this year because I have no complaints, I have yet to see any weakness in this board. It handles great everywhere I take it, whether it’s tree runs, powder, icy mornings or riding the halfpipe. Handles great in mogul fields, makes quick snappy turns, holds an amazing edge for carving. Even in icy conditions, it grips and holds the edge. I rode it during one of the best powder days at Steamboat this season in the trees, floating through the powder and it was an amazing ride. It’s my everything board and it does it all.

07-08 Never Summer T5:Even though I own the premier, I really love the T5 sizes. Same
board just longer lengths. But on snow…man the T5 is a freeriding machine with the length in effect. I love bombing on this board, the response is great, the edge hold is awesome. It really is solid and I don’t even notice when I’m riding 160+ sizes on this board.

07-08 Never Summer Heritage: I spent a day this summer at Mt Hood riding the heritage and it was a great board in the pipe to spend the day with. Handled very well on the groomers and cut through the summer slush. For the conditions it was really poppy but I found it an overall fun ride. I plan to spend more days this winter on the heritage since it’s a very similiar board to my premier.

07-08 Never Summer Evo: My first board of the day, the Evo is stiffer than the SL…so I was expecting a lot more from this board and I got it. It held up great all over the mountain, fun to olllie, press and 180 with. The stiffness really came into effect when carving with, man this board could carve on a dime…seriously great response and loved riding it. I would love to take this board into the pipe during the season to see how well it does…the stiffer than SL part will be awesome in the pipe and I loved the SL in the pipe.

07-08 Never Summer SL:I managed to get all sunny bluebird days on the SL. It’s really not a bad board outside the park and in the pipe it’s amazing. I had fun just doing butters and pressing down the easy runs, held up great on turns and carving. In the pipe was the most fun with this board, it made pipe riding a lot of fun.

07-08 O-matic Awesome: I was expecting a softer board, but I got a stiffer freestyle board with a softer nose and tail to press with, butter and still throw 180’s into carves. It was an overall fun board that you can ride anywhere on the mountain and have fun anywhere on the mountain. I can see why O-matic is definitely becoming a popular brand on the mountain…for the price you can an excellent quality board.

07-08 Ride Concept TMS: I was hyped up before riding it by one of the Ride Reps at
SIA…so when I got to riding it, it was kind of a disappointment. It was too torsionally soft and the flex was too unforgiving. It was the only board I rode at Keystone demos where I could feel every granular bump in the snow. The carving was decent on edge and holding a grip. I did feel some chatter when I went up to higher speeds with it.

Update 2/17/08: I was able to take the Ride Concept TMS out on the snow here in Steamboat. I really enjoyed riding the board in powder, had no problem keep afloat in the couple inches of new snow that we had overnight. It was also fun to ride in the trees, making quick turns. This time when I took the board on groomers, I didn’t feel everything in the snow. I still find it torsionally soft, doesn’t handle choppy conditions that favorable. I definitely still think it’s pretty unforgiving, like if you get lazy in a turn, it doesn’t let you ride out of it as easily. But I had a better time in powder with it.

07-08 Ride Havoc: The Havoc has the new 90A slimewalls and this was the first board I could feel the difference in how it affected the ride (unlike TMS above). The board handled the bumps, hardpacked groomers and damn it was fun to butter with down the mountain. Very poppy board, went over some smaller rollers and loved how it handled. Rode smoothe on edge, handled carves and really fun to ride.

07-08 Rome Anthem: Definitely a freeride killer, the board was stiffer than I expected but you can definitely tell the new air pop core is there, it’s lighter and the bamboo in the core makes it torsionally handle carving very well. Hard a lot of pop, flexed very well while carving the mountain and could handle the bumps that came out at the end of the day. Very fast board!

07-08 Rome Design: I took this board out at the end of the day…but I plan to ride it again during better less icy conditions. It’s a solid board, definitely more freeride in my opinion. Not very forgiving but bombing down and making lines with this board is ideal.
Now that I got more time on it…I realized that i’m riding the board in the conditions that it’s not suited for. It needs powder and big mountains. Freeriding on groomers really doesn’t do it justice. It was okay to freeride with, didn’t grip the icy spots. I was interested in the smartbase and how that’ll hold up. But I noticed when I 180’d into switch riding, that the board wanted to grab the snow…versus riding regular with it.

07-08 Rome Mod:This was a fun freestyle board. I just enjoyed it for popping off the little kickers and pulling 180’s with. It was super poppy, but still rode fine for free riding and getting down the runs. I really enjoyed riding switch with it, cause it felt like nothing had changed at all. Eventually I had to bring it back so I could enjoy another board more in my freeriding realm…but this board was really fun.

07-08 Rossignol Jdub with MTX: I took this board out in the morning while conditions were still a little icy in spots. It was a great ride for the conditions, held the edge, gripped the snow but still fun to ride and a bit on the stiffer side for freestyle. I’d love to ride this board in the pipe though…definitely would be a solid pipe board.

07-08 Rossignol Jeremy Jones: This is the board for big mountain bombing. I loved how it rode, very smoothe and stable while carving…could carve through any of the conditions. The base was extremely fast and held speeds very well. Definitely would love to take this board in the backcountry for bigger lines.

07-08 Santa Cruz Seth Huot: My first board of the day, the seth was a really fun board to ride. I really love directional boards that you can ride anywhere on the mountain, press or carve with and still have fun. The Seth is all of that plus more. No problems riding it switch and I really liked the flex of the board. It really rides solid everywhere on the mountain, the base is fast and it feels stable at higher speeds.

07-08 Santa Cruz Gian Simmen: By the time I got to riding this board it was a bit hard packed and icy in spots. It didn’t wash-out but didn’t grip the snow as well I’d hoped…but I also recognize it might need the edge tuned too. Regardless when I was messing around with it on the small kickers and pressing the board, that’s where I liked how it rode and flexed.

07-08 Santa Cruz Fusion TT: This board really is a do-everything board. I was quite impressed with how it rode and handled the conditions of the day. It was fun, poppy but held an edge and was really fun to carve and bomb runs with. The base which has structurn is really fast as well and you notice it during riding, cat tracks and skating off the lift.

07-08 Santa Cruz Duo Freedom: I was convinced to ride it and it was an interesting ride to say the least. The board has 2 cores so it’s basically split in two from nose to tail. On edge and steeps is where this board excels…it was very good on edge but in the transition period is where I wasn’t too sure about it. Also on flat, the board would grab and feel wierd…so I didn’t like that.

07-08 Sapient PNB1: I really liked this board. It was a fun ride everywhere on the mountain, really gripped the snow and held turns well. I noticed it was a pretty lightweight snowboard but offered a lot of pop and response when riding. Anyone looking for a solid freestyle board, this is it. I definitely felt very comfortable when riding regular and riding switch, no differences at all and solid everywhere.

07-08 Unity Dominion: This board is meant for big mountain riding, bombing and big powder lines. Keystone didn’t do this board justice in any way. But even on hardpacked groomers and mellow terrain, this board proved it’s strength. I thought this board would get my lift ticket pulled because damn it was a fast ride (fastest of the day) and just wanted to point it straight. Slower edge to edge but very smoothe carves whether you are going slow or fast. Definitely a burley board for a more advanced rider. I gotta try it in powder…cause it just screams for backcountry riding and epic pow runs.

07-08 Unity Pride: This board killed for all mountain freestyle. Definitely a contender among the favorites. It was really fun, poppy but responsive and fun to carve with, easy to edge to edge transitions. Handled great in all the conditions that day: hardpacked groomers, bumpy, choppy slushy snow. I really liked the board, good construction and a board you’d keep for years as your everything board.

07-08 Unity Origin: I was surprised by the stiffness and power of this board. It’s definitely a very aggressive snowboard to ride. I thought it was too unforgiving and stiff than i’d like. In one carve, I actually felt it kick out…which I didn’t like.

07-08 Venture Zephyr: Holy hell bomber board. It was a slower edge to edge response, but I definitely felt this board would excel more off the hardpacked and into big mountain powder rides…you can tell it’s a solid freeride board.