Top 5 Freeride Snowboards of 2010

Lately, we’ve been focusing a lot more on freestyle boards on the site, which is why we figured it would be equally important to take a look at the top freeride boards of 2010. After all, the most common form of snowboarding is freeriding and a lot of people spend more time at the top of the mountain and on the groomers than in the park. Personally, I would consider myself a freerider over anything else. My reason for snowboarding is undoubtedly the powdery backcountry and at the bigger resorts I’ll spend most of the day at the peak riding the bowls, chutes, and shredding the pow. I love making the most of natural terrain features and would pick that over the park any day.

To keep up on this kind of terrain, you need a board with good float in powder, handles well in high speeds, and a nice directional flex that’ll keep you on the board when things get a little sketchy. Without further a due, I present you with the top 5 freeride boards of the season.

1. Burton Malolo ($580)

Burton Malolo

There’s no denying that Jake Burton’s board of choice is one of the premier freeride boards on the market today. I’ve had my eyes set on this stick for a few seasons now but could never justify buying a powder board when my powder days are so far and few between. Whereas most boards designed these days are park specific but can handle powder freeriding, the Malolo is the opposite. It’s a powder freeride board that handles beautifully on groomers and that you can even jib in the park.

The Malolo has a tapered shape where the tail is narrower than the tip, which helps the back end sink and the front end float in powder. Burton’s S-Rocker technology exaggerates this even further by incorporating a rocker that extends from the nose to under the front binding and then a traditional camber design extending from under the front binding to the tail to give an S-shape.

My personal experience with the Malolo is that it is a great board that gives you effortless float in powder. As you make your way down the mountain on the groomers, you’ll find that it holds edge really nicely with faster, longer turns being better for it then short ones where more response is needed. Riding switch with this board is a little awkward cause the tip is significantly longer than the tail but it’s still doable. Not to mention that it’s a beast in the pipe.

Sizes: 149, 154, 158, 162, 166

2. K2 Gyrator ($550)

K2 Gyrator

Here’s the thing with K2 snowboards, they really seem to have a religious following behind them. I grew up in Nova Scotia, Canada and most of my friends that had started to snowboard early on in middle school seemed only to talk about these boards. At one point I though K2 was the only snowboard maker out there! People love these things and tend to be hesitant to switch over to another brand.

The Gyrator features K2’s most exaggerated rocker tech called the Powder Rocker to help give this board really good float in powder. The tip and tail have also been stiffened up on this season’s model to give it more control and pop. K2 invested a lot of other tech in this model to make sure it’s performance translates really well on all parts of the mountain, despite being primarily designed for powder riding.

Personal Experience: I remember trying this board at a product demo and not expecting much because the rep had told me it was a powder board. The day’s conditions was mostly hardpack snow. Despite all that, I remember having the most fun that day on this board, mainly because I had never been on a rocker board before and I just loved doing turns, buttering, and pressing with it. It held a good edge over hardpack and wasn’t as squabbly as some rockers out there.

Sizes: 158, 162, 168

3. Ride Slackcountry ($700)

Ride Slackcountry

Ride’s take on the powder freeride board comes only in three pretty large sizes. The main purpose for this stick is to spend a day in the deep pow backcountry shredding thigh-deep fluff and taking off of some serious kickers. With Ride’s aggressive HighRize rocker, this thing will have no problems staying on top of the good stuff. The board also comes with SlimeWall technology, which is apparently a very smooth and durable edge that will last you season after season.

I personally have not tried this board yet but Ride rarely puts out anything in the market that turns out bad. Being only available in the 160+ range though might be a problem for shorter freeriders out there that still want that increased turn control. The price is also a little hefty in comparison to the other great sticks out there.

Sizes: 160, 164, 168

4. Never Summer Premier F1-R ($500)

Never Summer Premier F1-R

There’s been a lot of buzz in the snowboarding community about Never Summer for recently releasing some great boards. The F1-R is one aggressive freeriding machine. Although the company does make a few other freeride sticks, I chose to feature the F1-R because of the tech involved with constructing it. The board features Never Summer’s Rocker & Camber tech that basically includes a rocker between the bindings and two mini cambers just outside the bindings towards the ends of the board. This new style of boardmaking has been adopted successfully by Lib as well and ultimately works to give you the float and forgiveness of a rocker but edge control of a camber.

The board is slightly softer between the bindings, which makes it torsionally easier to flex despite being a significantly stiff board. The flex profile however ranges from a soft nose to stiffer tail to make powder riding and ollies just that much better. The board features some pretty wicked graphics and Never Summer’s three year warranty.

I got the chance to get on the Premier F1-R before it went live last season and was surprised at how well this camber-rocker hybrid handled in the pow. On the groomed runs it was stable edge to edge and had an all-round damp feel to it. Riding switch was doable but not as good when you compare it to a true twin. In the park the stick handled some boxes and rails very fine. Pressing it was a bit of a challenge because of it’s general stiffness.

Sizes: 157, 159, 161, 163, 165, 168, 172

5. Salomon Burner ($540)

Salomon Burner

A lot of freeriders refer to the Burner when talking about boards for the backcountry. Many owners seem to be thoroughly impressed with the board’s performance on the pow and off of it. Salomon boards have always been known for their versatility and the Burner is no different. Being surprisingly light for it’s size also help the Burner stay on top of powder despite it being a traditional camber board. This stick also features a tapered design to it meaning that you will be riding the back seat a lot less often.

I have no personal experience with this particular board but freeride Salomon sticks I have tried in the past have been really fast and responsive. Some riders have switched to them from the other more popular brands without looking back. Light, versatile, and responsive; this is definitely a board to consider adding to your collection.

Sizes: 160, 163, 166, 171

Bonus: Split Boards

Some board makers like Burton and Never Summer make split backcountry boards. These boards can be divided in half into two ski-shaped pieces, so that you can easily hike with them up the mountain. Once you reach the peak, they are easily reassembled to form a whole snowboard again. This tech is critical for helping you reach those remote areas of the mountain.

Check out Burton’s S-Series and Never Summer’s Summit Custom Split

Burton S-Series

Never Summer Summit Custom Split

Related posts:

1. Top 12 Snowboards for 2010
2. Freestyle or Freeride?
3. Review: 2010 Lib Tech Banana Magic
4. K2 Brigade 2010 Snowboard Review
5. Top 5 Snowboarding Boots for 2010