Location: Winter Park, CO
Snow Conditions: Hardpacked to softpacked groomers.
Setup: I rode the Venture Helix with Salomon Absolute bindings and Vans Ferra boots size 8.
Size: 158 cm
First Impression: Don’t let the pretty snowflakes distract you, the Helix definitely rides tough and charges the mountain.
Weight: Average.
Flex: The Helix had a stiffer more aggressive overall flex to the board despite being a true twin all-mountain freestyle deck. Stiffer flex torsionally between the bindings that helped give it good stability on the ride down but also meant more effort to engage the board on edge. Tad softer nose in case there was a powder moment. The Helix has rocker technology which is flat between the bindings with a mellow uplift on the tip and tail.
Turning: I noticed right away that getting on edge took more effort with the stiffer, aggressive flex. Overall the shorter quicker radius turns felt the best but required more quickness on the riders part. Everytime I got into a longer drawn out turn, the board felt ready to get out of it. It could have been something with detuning or just the conditions but I kept the board to the shorter turns to have more control over the handling on edge.
Stable: The Helix kept with the Venture tradition of offering a stable, all mountain ride for the mountain. Handled bomber-proof for stability so you never felt bounced around or out of control on the board. It gripped the hardpacked conditions just fine.
Pop: I didn’t play with the pop on the Helix unfortunately it was a charging run kind of day with this board.
Switch: The Helix is a true twin and rode like a true twin on the mountain.
Overall Impression: With bomber-proof construction by Venture, don’t let this true twin model deceive you…it’s built for the mountain, the backcountry and hauling ass on a twin shape. The Helix comes as a splitboard or solid, I rode the solid version at the on-snow demo on some hardpacked, resort riding conditions and the aggressive stiffer flex could handle the easy groomers.
Shay’s Honesty Box: I’ve ridden a couple Venture boards and they are always built with good worksmanship and stable riding. The Helix definitely charged the mountain but when it came to turning, I struggled to get the longer radius turns comfortable with my own riding.
Review Disclosure: I demoed this board at the SIA On-Snow Demo at Winter Park, CO.