_REVIEWS2010-2011_BOARDS

Snowboard Review: 10-11 Atomic Stasher

Location: Keystone, CO

Snow Conditions: Hardpacked to icy snow conditions during night riding.

Setup: I rode the Atomic Stasher with Union Force bindings and Vans Veil Boots size 8.

Size: 156cm

First Impression: Definitely a backcountry freestyle board with the stiffer flex this has…not your typical resort park flex.

Weight: little heavier than average

Flex: The stasher was on the stiffer side for a freestyle board but it matches perfectly to a backcountry charger, all mountain focused board that can charge the mountain or the jump line. Stiffer longitudinally with a more forgiving softer torsinal flex between the bindings, the stasher could charge the mountain but also offer quick edge to edge response when you needed it. The Stasher features S-poontech which makes the board feel shorter and buttery (though I didn’t think it was that buttery) and when put on edge, gives you the edge hold of the entire effective edge.

Turning: This is where the stashed impressed the most and the S-poontech was noticeable, the effective edge really rallied on this board down the mountain.  S turns felt the best and held the edge the smoothest but shorter radius turns were possible, it just felt more fun to really carve down the mountain especially when it was wide open Keystone night riding runs.

Stable: When handling speed, the stasher excelled but in some more bumpy spots you felt them a bit more  but could still feel in control on the board.  The rep and I did one run where we pretended to race boardercross, as fast as possible down the mountain over rollers and the stasher was ideal for pointing it with a couple turns around corners.

Pop: You could definitely load up the tail of the board to get pop but the stiffer flex required more effort and wasn’t as playful as I was expecting.  I enjoyed the side of the cat tracks with it, popping ollies over the rocks and small features since it wasn’t as easy.

Switch: The Stasher is directional shape so there was some adjustment to how it handled switch and it didn’t ride the same.

Overall Impression: I could see if you were playing on the jump line, pipe runs or big mountain riding with some freestyle aspect, how this board would be it.  It was a bit overkill for Keystone night riding in that you just wanted to charge which meant more time on the gondola instead of enjoying the run.  It was on the stiffer side and a really good handling board for carving on hardpacked, icy conditions but not as playful with the stiffer flex.

Shay’s Honesty Box: The Stasher was on the stiffer side for a night riding at Keystone board but when it came time to charge down the mountain as fast as you could go, the Stasher was ideal for bombing.

Ready to buy? Head over to evo for Atomic snowboards or shop their full line of snowboards

On Snow Photo

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Atomic Stasher description

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Review Disclosure: I borrowed this board while riding with the Atomic rep for CO and returned the board.

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    April 29, 2010 at 7:22 am

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  • qubek
    May 11, 2010 at 1:57 am

    Hi Shay! I’m looking for next years setup and thought Atomic Hatchet which comes in pop – rocker technology for 2011 season, would be ideal for my backcountry focused style of riding, did you have an opportunity to ride it and compare to Stasher? How does S-poontech technology in Stasher works, does it improve powder riding in any way?
    cheers!
    qubek