Location: Winter Park, CO
Snow Conditions: Hardpacked to icy conditions on the mountain, flat-light riding conditions.
Setup: I rode the Capita Black Snowboard of Death with Union Flite bindings and Vans Veil Boots.
Size: 156cm.
First Impression: The BSOD is back, 10 years later and charging the mountain like the badass board it’s meant to be. It felt like coming home, coming back to a board I loved and what made me a better rider.
Weight: Lighter than average
Flex: I found the Black Snowboard of Death (BSOD) to be torsionally softer, easier than I was expecting to turn and be able to get quick response edge to edge from it. Longitudinally it felt stiffer in the nose and tail so while it was easy to maneuver when you pointed it straight, it charged. Overall it’s a stiffer board but with 10-11 more forgiveness than in previous years. The BSOD is reverse camber freeride FK so positive camber between the outside inserts and then reverse camber from the inserts to the contact points, then flat kicks up on the nose and tail. The feeling is a stable cambered ride with reverse camber to help lift the contact points, float in powder and not impact the freeride capabilities of the board.
Turning: The BSOD has always been a more advanced freeride board but I found the freeride FK version a bit easier to handle than previous years. It was less catchy and easier to put on edge than what I remember from the past BSOD. I found it quick responsive edge to edge, torsionally softer so you could really lay it over into turns short or long radius and it handled them all. The new sidecut grips the snow without feeling locked into a turn and the camber between the feet still has the powerful ride.
Stable: The most noticeable stability from the BSOD was the edgehold, it gripped the snow very well for the first board of the day on some icy/shitty areas of the mountain. There were moments where the forgiveness saved me with the flat light conditions and I could have wrecked but didn’t. When I took it into the pipe, it surprised me by just how well well it rode the walls and never slipping out. On the hardpacked, when I took it faster and through some bumpy areas I didn’t feel flopped around on it and felt stable riding down the mountain especially when going fast on it…it loved being fast.
Pop: I didn’t play with the pop on the BSOD, flat light conditions and my own riding waking up meant cruising fast with it and not playing with it. I took it in the halfpipe where it was held an edge, easy to rotate 180’s and felt comfortable but no big pop tests on this board.
Switch: Easy to manuever into switch riding and being directional was possible to ride switch but not what the board is meant to do all the time. I made a couple turns switch and was stoked to be back to charging regular on it.
Overall Impression: Capita re-introduced the Black Snowboard of Death for their 10 year anniversary and this revamped freeride FK version continues with the qualities that made the original a legendary ride but with an increased better ride for today’s technology. The freeride fk doesn’t lose the freeride focus, the bsod continues to charge the mountain but now lighter and faster than before. To be frank, it’s still a badass board.
Shay’s Honesty Box: If there’s one board that I knew I’d be tough on at the on-snow demos, it was this board because it has a lot to live up to in my opinion and I still own this board so I know how good of a ride it can be. The expectations were upheld and I found myself riding a better improved BSOD with reverse camber, that doesn’t lose the freeride board that is meant to charge the mountain with. I ended up spending the morning riding this board and taking my time enjoying it again, it was like coming home to the BSOD and we enjoyed the ride together. My only complaint was the early morning conditions and the wax on it, made it slow in the flat areas but everywhere else the board did fine.
Ready to buy? Head over to evo for the Capita Black Snowboard of Death or shop their full line of CAPiTA snowboards
On Snow Photo
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Capita Black Snowboard of Death description
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Review Disclosure: I rode this board at a demo day.
DK
February 10, 2010 at 8:10 amhey shay, are you going to be putting up a review on the union flites? thanks!!
ghostovan
February 10, 2010 at 8:41 amGreat review! Thanks Shay!
I’m looking forward to get some sort of freeride stick able to charge in 2010/2011 and I’ll count the BSOD to be a good choice to make (another one – NS Premier F1).
jeremy
February 10, 2010 at 8:43 amGr8 review Shay!!
Its such a sexy all mtrn board!! Loves the combo with the blk/gold binding. Good to knw it live up to its bad ass graphic!!
Tomasz
February 10, 2010 at 9:08 amHey Shay!! Thank you so much for this review. I’m very exciting about this board and might get it for next season. I just have couple of questions. What other freeride deck would you recommend me to look into and will you review the Union Flite bindings? Also, very interested on how they perform.
Griff
February 10, 2010 at 10:01 amHi Shay,
How do you feel it compares to the Black Death Inc? I remember you tested one of those last year, and if I remember right, you were very positive.
Marcus
February 10, 2010 at 10:06 amI saw the BSOD a Ispo yesterday and it was one of the most impressive boards in the whole trade show. It looks absolutely awesome in every aspect. Big props to Capita!!
Nolan
February 10, 2010 at 10:39 amShay, are there wide models? I didn’t see any on the sheet (may have been cut off the pic). Anyway a 165 regular looks to be 26.2 and I could probably rock that anyway.
lee
February 10, 2010 at 10:59 amNo mention of “Death Grip”? They threw an extra contact point into the board in the middle to help with grip. For sure taking this board out as soon as I can. I owned a Black Death Speed Tribe and loved it, but this just seems to good to be true. Killer killer board.
Shay
February 10, 2010 at 5:56 pmDK, yep Flite’s will be coming soon for a review. Just need to get the product image first.
Ghostovan, definitely one of the big considerations for freeride boards. Everyone that I talked to who also rode it at the demos enjoyed the ride as well.
Jeremy, it lived up to it for sure. Those are the new flite bindings from Union.
Tomasz, Raptor is another freeride board to consider though I’ve been riding the softer version of it and not sure how the stiffer version will be until I ride that but another charger board. I’m putting up a lot of 10-11 info soon so you’ll get to see some other freeride boards coming out soon.
Griff, last year was a good year and they made it better this year…don’t get me wrong last year was solid but I am a fan of reverse camber so I think they made it just a bit more solid by the new tech this year. I definitely want to try it out in powder/more mountain conditions where it deserves to be.
Marcus, awesome loving it at ispo…it’s super fine in person right!
Nolan, no wide models unfortunately but you are right the 165cm is a 26 waist
Lee, haha sometimes I forget the tech names involved and focus on how it rides in the review. It gripped, that pipe wall was icy death in the morning and i had no slipping out, partially the reason I ride pipe with the boards is to see how well it holds on those walls…and sometimes they suck, black death held and could have stayed put haha.
Imn204
February 10, 2010 at 7:45 pmHey Shay, great review!! Do you know how much the board will retail for next year? Also, is this the only board in cqpita’s 2011 lineup that will have the freeride FK? thanks!!!
Sotha
February 11, 2010 at 12:07 amI have the 09 BDinc and i must say it’s a killer all-mountain board, especially on ice and groomers, i didn’t enjoy it in the powder though….maybe the new BSOD will solve this problem.
Capita seem to do a great job marketing the FK with their freerde FK, they have probably the freestyle/jibbing FK and powder FK on the charlie so they do resemble TBT from bataleon 🙂
Great job shay, do you know a simmilar MALE site? i mean i would appreciate some male boots review
Brek Leines
February 11, 2010 at 12:37 am159 with mc’s. oh yah. thatd be intense.
thanks shay!
lee
February 11, 2010 at 11:03 amI think the cost of the board is five hundred and some change. There’s a video where Johan talks about the board and he says the price at the end.
Francis
February 11, 2010 at 11:31 amI hurt 549 US retail in the USA.. and should be around 649 CAD in Canada
At this retail price, YES snowboard is getting a pretty competition compagny against this model
Shay
February 11, 2010 at 11:59 amImn, it’ll retail for $549 US in the fall. Yep it’s the only board in the line up with freeride FK.
Sotha, boot reviews are really up to you…I barely put out boot reviews since so much is dependent upon fit than boot tech. Unless your getting shitty boots, most boot companies out there make a good product but all dependent on fit of the boot.
big matt
March 3, 2010 at 7:17 pmThanks for the awesome review shay. I’m torn over whether to get this board or not. I wont have the opportunity to demo it. The specs are perfect for my size and I want to get a capita but I feel it may be more suited to really charging hard than my riding style while is mainly cruising around the groomers doing small natural jumps, butters etc. I spend a bit of time off piste though. Would love to pick this up.
New freeride stick, now or next year? - Snowboarding Forum - Snowboard Enthusiast Forums
March 4, 2010 at 9:56 am[…] You have to check out the 2011 Capita Black Snowboard of Death. This board is a hybrid camber with positive camber between the feet and flat kick in the tail and nose. THis board has made some huge hype and it will be a very popular board. Review made by Shay. […]
vince
March 11, 2010 at 11:04 pmis it too stiff to go in park? I guess that if i want a board that can do it all (rails, jumps, powder) i should go with the indoor right?
thanks!
Wilky
April 6, 2010 at 8:02 amBest board I’ve ever ridden. Maybe it’s just me (since I’m 6’5′ and 220lbs) but this board it stiff, forgiving, fast and sticks to any conditions in an aggressive turn. The board I’ve been looking for.
Found myself smiling all day. I rode it so long, I wanted to ask the groomers to give me a lift back up the mountain so I could ride all night.
Brilliant….
Alex
April 10, 2010 at 1:51 pmHow would you compare the flex to the YES Great Dudes of History you tested? They seem very similar boards, is the BSOD stiffer?
Shay
April 10, 2010 at 3:17 pmBig matt, maybe try the indoor survival then.
Vince, Indoor would do it all, BSOD you might find not forgiving enough to ride park all the time with.
Wilky, awesome you got on it too and great to hear you feedback on it!
Alex, BSOD is a lot stiffer than the great dudes, great dudes is more freestyle and BSOD is more freeride so completely different rides. BSOD is more aggressive, faster and more stable while the great dudes is softer, more playful, easier.
Steven
April 12, 2010 at 8:04 pmShay, I ha e heard that alog of Capita’s have top sheet issues….. What has been your experience. All the reviews on the BSOD are favorable but……
Shay
April 13, 2010 at 7:26 amSteven, the only issue I’m aware of was with the 2008 stairmbaster that had topsheet delams from issues at the factory. I’ve never seen topsheet issues with any of the boards I’ve owned from capita including the bsod, ultrafear, or others I’ve ridden.
lee
April 15, 2010 at 10:24 amand those issues happened with other companies that used the same materials. besides its just a topsheet. its not like the edge blew out or it turned to dust as soon as it touched snow.
Daniel
April 18, 2010 at 4:37 pmI can’t wait to get my hands on this board. If I’m 5’9, 150 lb, and size 9.5 boots should I go for a 159? I’m thinking about getting 159 BSOD for general all mountain riding and a short-ish indoor for the park+buttering. What do you think of that set up?
Daniel
April 18, 2010 at 4:49 pmedit: I should probably go for the horrorscope instead of the indoor.
Daniel
April 18, 2010 at 10:07 pmActually Shay, can you recomend me two boards since you are a lot more knowledgeable than me? As stated earlier, I’m 5’9, 150lb, and wear size 9.5 boots. I can probably afford a maximum of 2 board+binding setups. I live in Japan and though I’m moving soon, I’ll probably visit Japan to go snowboarding at least once a year. I think I want one board for shredding the mountain and pow and one board for hte park and buttering. Would a 2011 BSOD and horroscope work?
Brad
August 12, 2010 at 1:37 amThis board does sound awesome, love the sound of all the tect it has – im wondering how it performs on days when you arnt feeling 100%, does it have to be ridden aggressively or will it still be a good board for cruising piste and small kickers?
Shay
August 13, 2010 at 6:54 pmDaniel, 159 is on the larger size for you so depends if you are planning to ride some pow with it. Definitely the BSOD and horrorscope would give you the opposite ends of the spectrum, stiffer freeride board to softer park board.
Brad, when I rode the board I was sick and not feeling 100% at all. I was still having a blast riding it because it wasn’t overly aggressive for me. most definitely be a good board for that.
Francis
September 26, 2010 at 11:50 amHi Say and others,
I do have the same dilemma of Daniel…
Looking in Capita to BSOD 156 or 159…
I like to go fast (all the time) and want it good if there is powder….
For sure the 159cm is the best but I afraid of is wide sizing at 256mm since I do have 9US boots (5’10” 170pds)
Tell me if it is still agile?
Thanks
Francis
lee
September 26, 2010 at 8:06 pmFrancis
While I Havnt ridden this years BSOD I have ridden early versions and other Capitas. Plus I am darn near the same weight height and I have the same boot size. As far as boot size you short have a problem. The quiver killer I rode last.year was one of the most fun quick boards I’ve ridden and the waist width is about the same. The best pipe run I ever had was on a BSOD.
All in all I don’t see a problem with the sizes you are.interested in.59 may have more float in powder.
Francis
September 27, 2010 at 4:03 amThanks Lee,
to share your experience… true the quiver Killer is at least 257mm on 159.
I am thinking to for 159 on BSOD since I prefer holding Edge when I go fast and a better float in Pow… I think the 156 will be too limit for big mountain situation. And I guess it should be ok in 159 and agile on carving session since the exit radius is pretty deap at 7.9M.
Thanks a again.
lee
September 27, 2010 at 2:38 pmNo problem Francis. Seems like you know what you want Soo go out and get it! That board looks incredible and from what I’ve.heard pairing it with some union contact pros make it a dream.
Shay
September 28, 2010 at 9:29 amFrancis, I think you’ll be fine on the 159 if you plan to take it in powder at all. Go get it and ride it!
2010-2011 Snowboard Review – Shayboarder.com
October 18, 2010 at 5:34 pm[…] 10-11 Capita BSOD […]
George
November 5, 2010 at 10:01 amHi Shay,
thanks for the review. I’m about picking this one up, probably the 159 but since I also like to get some pow the 162 might be better. I’m 185 cm (over 6 feet?) and 78 kg (170 lbs), shoe size 44 (10 US). What do you think, 159 or 162?
Greets,
George
Shay
November 7, 2010 at 10:42 pmGeorge, Thanks! Really depends on you, if you want the larger size for pow then go for it. You could go either way on size and be fine. The 162 is on the larger size.
Jacob
November 8, 2010 at 10:35 amHey Shay!
Great review! I see you’re pretty familiar with Capita boards, so maybe you could help me out? I’m looking for a all mountain board – sth stable to bomb down the hill, but also sth to have fun with, i.e. doing butters and small, natural kickers. I was going to get the 2010 Quiver Killer, cause it seem to be a pretty fun board to ride, but as I am about 6.37 ft and 198 lbs (shoes: 12 US = 30 cm) the longest version (161 cm) might run out a bit too short (or maybe not?). My next shot was going for the BSOD cause its tech seemed to be the closest one to the Quiver Killer and it is availlable in 162 and 165 cm. 165 would be definitely enough, but as i read, it seem to be a pretty stiff and agressive board, so maybe i should get the 162 one? But then its only 1cm longer than the 161 QK… man im so confused. Its gonna be my first board (previously were rented or test boards) and i want it to last some years and help me evolve my riding style.
I would really apreciate your help.
Greetings form Poland btw 🙂
Cheers.
Shay
November 9, 2010 at 7:43 amHey Jacob, Thanks! One thing you’ll have to watch out for is your boot size since a wide board would suit you better than a narrow board you’ll get toe/heel drag on. The quiver killer has a narrower waist than the black death but also features camber over flat kick so depends on you. The black death is aggressive but it’s also a board I’ve seen destroy the park and handle jumps no problem (look up Brandon Cocard riding Windells this summer, he’s on the black death all the time). The BSOD 162 has a 25.9 waist width so that’s definitely doable for you depending on your stance width/angles but you can play with those.
Mike
November 13, 2010 at 7:17 pmOk, I usually agree with Shay on the board reviews. This time however, I was 180* away. Totally opposite opinion. So much so that I wonder if the board in this review is the same board in production today. The BSOD I demod, had some form of magnatraction-ish thing going on, but only had one hump on the edge and it was dead center on the effective edge and fairly large. That magna-bump on the edge combined with the flat kick reverse made the board feel as though when on edge it was balancing on that magnahump. Light turning input caused the board to feel very twitchy and unpredicable. This could be overcome by charging the turn, but the point at which the rest of the effective edge kicked in, was equally unpredictable. It made the board hooky at times and then totally washed out at others. I rode the board for 4 runs thinking I would get the hang of it and figure out what the board needed from me, but I never got there. I was afraid to spin it, jump it or rail it and in the end was glad to be off it. On the flip side, I finally got to try the Indoor flatkick and was really stoked on that ride. The Indoor is dialed and I was really impressed with its ability to be playfull and yet lay down some nice turns. It was poppy without being unstable, so the Indoor did great on jump landings and was very predictable when hitting up little jibs on the edges of the mountain. Indoor… two thumbs up, BSOD… three thumbs down.
Lee
November 15, 2010 at 9:36 amMike,
How big are you and what size did you ride?
And when and where did you demo.
Thanks for the review.
Mike
November 15, 2010 at 2:44 pmI just weighed in this morning at 203lb and 6’2″. I rode a 159cm. The demo was at Copper Mtn on Sat. I hope I was on some experimental board which got thrown into the truck by mistake cuz someone is gonna get hurt on the BSOD I rode. Interestingly, the indoor I rode was a 156 and it was far more stable and the carvability of such a short, nimble, poppy board really knocked my socks off. I’m gonna throw down with an indoor for sure. Oh and the demo crew was great. One fella was turning screws one handed all day with a jacked right arm.
seaowl
November 22, 2010 at 4:19 pmtested out my bsod for the first time on Saturday with 6 pre-season moonlight runs at my hill. LOVE THIS BOARD!!! setup with 390 bosses and vans andreas wiig boots. rips through turns on a dime with that tight sidecut at the back end. gonna be awesome in the trees. i didn’t have any problem with the magnabump like mike was talking about–its very obviously there when you look at the board–but riding it I didn’t even notice anything. I was riding in powder though so it could be different on a groomer i suppose. only concern at this point is heelside turns while riding switch…i was having a hard time initiating the turn but that could easily be due to a number of things that i just need to get used to: its my first directional board, first progressive sidecut, and i think my back binding needs some adjustment toward the heelside of the board. im sure it’ll all work out in the end.
hill opens up on thursday. i’ll be calling in sick to work, lol!
Jacob
November 27, 2010 at 12:15 pmHey Shay, thank you for the answer! I just got the 162 BSOD and I can’t wait to try it out this season. I set my bindings on the center inserts so the width stance is about 61-62 cm wide, and angles -9/+15 but still I got about 1.2 inch boot overhang on heel and toe side. The seller told me, that the 25.9 waist width is almost a “wide” board, so it should fit just fine, but it doesen’t look good to be honest. Anyway I hope it won’t bother too much due riding and eventually I can get some powerlinks for the bindings. There are so many opinions about the 2011 BSOD out there, from really bad to some excellent ones, so I’m a bit confused if I picked the right board for me, but I think I just wait and try it out by myself in december 🙂
Greetings
Jacob
Shay
November 27, 2010 at 1:46 pmMike,
Definitely interesting to hear your thoughts on the BSOD from demo’ing. I just took out the BSOD to make sure it’s the same board and it felt the same as I remember. But coming from NS this time, it definitely took some more adjustment to get used to it. I rode the whole day and the first 5 runs required me to be more on point with it, in my own riding. After that I adjusted and it felt 100% fine. But there was definitely a transition period on this board after I rode it this time.
skandaluz
November 27, 2010 at 7:59 pmI bought my 156 BSOD online off some guy it was in the original wrapper it seems but on the base graphic (white skull) it looks like it has a line running down the center of the skull and blotches around the cheek area is this normal? or is the face supposed to be just white?
scotty
November 28, 2010 at 6:03 amHi just wondering if I should get the bsod 159 2010 wide board when I’m 180 cm tall and size9 uk (10 us) boot and 13 stone (190 kg) it might be to wide and make edge to edge hard :::help ? I got to get this board soon as its on sale but I’m uming and arin 🙂 too wide?
lee
November 28, 2010 at 3:51 pmSkandaluz
Board is supposed to look that way,so no worries. Have you ridden it yet?
Speaking of riding it…..
I finally did today. I’ve waited ten years to get one of these and it is on point. Super light, responsive and never a question as to how it was riding. I ollied, loved it. I carved, loved it. Hit a little POW, loved it. Then I did all of that switch and loved it some more. Nothing felt out of place or awkward. Looking forward to a pipe run with it. They did a great job with this board on all levels. I am 200 lbs, 5ft 10in and size 9.5 boot.
lee
November 28, 2010 at 3:56 pmScotty
Not really sure that you would like that board. You seem to be about my size ,from what I can tell ,and I ride the regular board. No wide model needed.
scotty
November 29, 2010 at 9:35 amSound but not good as I got a massive discount on the wide ,,,,oh well ill just foork out the extra dollar for the regular, that leaves me with the queston 159 or 156 , I’d answer my own queston but I can’t try them out, ! The kindness of strangers 🙂 I’m 5’10” 😉