Top 12 Snowboards for 2010

With so many snowboards out there to choose from, the addition of all the new technology made available the past two seasons just makes life a whole lot more complicated. Cambers, reverse cambers, dead-flats, rockers, cambered-end rockers… It’s a zoo out there. To make your life easier we took a look at twelve of the best boards for this season, researched the crap out of them, and helped breakdown some of the tech that goes along with them. Here they are, in no particular order…

#1. Lib Tech’s “Skate Banana” ($490)

Although many snowboarding companies have been familiar with reverse camber technology for quite some time, you really have to give props to Lib Tech for reviving it with the Skate Banana. Over the past 2-3 seasons, the company has also been tweaking this board with minor adjustments just to make it better and better. I absolutely LOVE riding this board and so does everyone else who tries it.

The board features Lib Tech’s take on the “reverse camber” where the board is kinked upwards between the feet and from there runs flat to either end of the board. The result? A very loose, fun board that will have you jibbing around and pulling tricks like you never thought possible. Critics will say that this thing is unstable at high speeds but they’re wrong with this board cause the length of it from tip to tail will be on the snow when you carve. With eight contact points digging into the ice on a turn, you’ll also be more stable thanks to the Magne Traction tech.

Sizes: 148N, 151N, 152, 156, 156W, 159, 159W

#2. Ride’s DH2 ($500)

There’s been a lot of talk about the Ride DH2 among the snowboarding community for 2010.  The board features a different kind of reverse camber technology with the board running flat underneath your feet and then kicking up outside the bindings. This allows for a fun, relaxed feel that makes it ideal for the pipe, jumps, and pressing rails.

Haven’t tried this board myself but fellow boarders out there have told me that apart from being incredible in the park, the board can be used with no problems for aggressive riding as well. Ride adds what it likes to call “Carbon Pop Rods” in each tip that give a lot of character to the feel of this board. Apart from being lightweight, it also has thicker steel edges to help with the wear and tear that happens from park riding over time.

Sizes: 151, 153, 155, 156W, 157, 159, 159W

#3. Burton’s Joystick ($530)

With a name like “Joystick” you know fun is just around the corner with this board. Had the chance to try out this board from a Burton demo tent early into the season and was thoroughly impressed with it. Featuring Burton’s “rocker” reverse camber design, this board is similar to the Skate Banana in it’s between-the-feet kinkness. The board’s got a slightly wider feel with tips that scoop up (technology similar to Morrow’s spoon).

The Joystick is very fun to ride, whether it be for jibs, jumps, or pipe attacks. The nice thing about it is that it is insanely forgiving, so you can go big trying new tricks on it. The scooped tips maintain the boards very free feel even when you lean hard on it. With a very balanced stiffness and quick edge-to-edge movement, the board can do pretty much whatever you want.

Sizes: 150, 154, 156W, 157, 159W, 161, 163

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Review: 2010 Lib Tech Banana Magic

I got a chance to try this board out for a couple days on the East Coast this past weekend. I’ll spare you the details and jump right into the juicy review stuff.

Where: Mt. Tremblant, Quebec
Snow Conditions: groomed / packed powder
Size: 158 cm.

Notable Technologies/features: Banana/reverse camber design, Magne-traction, made from green-friendly material, and art by Matt French.

First Impression: It’s stiffer than other Banana boards I’ve ridden which makes it more of a freeride board than a freestyle one. It’s official Lib Tech flex rating is 7/10, but it felt less stiff than that (a good thing in my books). The board didn’t feel too heavy or too light, so I was a little concerned with taking jumps with it, but it felt as balanced in the air as it did on the snow.

Feel: So depending on what type of board you’re used to riding, the Banana Magic is on the stiffer end compared to a typical park board and on the more flexible end compared to a typical all-mountain board. In other words, the board is neither overly stiff or flexible and is ideal for a freerider who wants some some extra flex compared to what you get from an all-mountain/freeride board.

Response: To put things in perspective, I ride a T6 (here’s my Burton T6 2010 Review) and I’m an aggressive rider. Given my experience with the T6, responsiveness of other boards is usually weak in comparison. However, I was pleasantly surprised with Lib Tech’s Banana Magic’s responsiveness. It’s deeper sidecut made turning fast and easy and going from edge to edge was a breeze. Overall, there were no issues with sharp turns or wider turns.

Magne-traction & Stability: The MTX technology definitely comes into play with this board, allowing you to be more aggressive with the turns compared to a same-flex board with no MTX. To my surprise, the board was also pretty stable bombing down  the mountain.

Pop & Switching: The Lib Tech Banana Magic isn’t as playful and easy to press as park boards, but it certainly had more pop than typical freeride boards and was fun to butter with. As for switching, the board is designed as a true twin board and it rode that way. My buddy didn’t completely agree with me at first, but after a few runs, he got used to it and felt it did ride like a true twin board.

Overall Impression: Lib Tech is selling this as a stiffer Skata Banana for freeriding, and I think they hit the spot with that. The Banana Magic will be ideal for freeriders who like to get a little rough with their boards, but also enjoy hitting up the park every now and then. I just don’t recommend getting too comfortable in the park. The Banana Magic is definitely one of Lib Tech’s more aggressive boards that’s easy on the legs.

Burton T6 2010 Rider Review

When I got the chance to ride the Burton 2010 T6 (with the C60 EST bindings), I was pretty excited. I had been riding the ’08 model (with C60 bindings) for a couple of seasons now and I was very happy with it as an aggressive bomber board. The major difference between the 2008s and the 2010s is the ICS technology and the EST bindings (click the link if you want my take on those two technologies) and I was looking forward to testing that out. Some of the other relevant tech packed into this board are:

Vaportech Alumafly – Burton’s infamous aluminum honeycomb architecture that makes up the core of this board and allows it to be one of the lightest on the market. Picture holding a metallic honeycomb in your hand that twists and bends like moldable plastic but pops back into position just like real wood. When you hold this board up to a strong light, what do you see? Virtually nothing. That’s because the board is 90% air by volume.

Smooth Ride Technology – Smooth Ride™ dampening technology, exclusive to the T6™, is designed to let you react quicker, go bigger, and ride faster for longer with less impact on your body. Chatter, vibration, and the shock from flat landings gets absorbed by the board before making it to your body.

Feel: According to Burton’s feel scale, the board is rated 8/10. The higher the rating, the stiffer the board is, and vice versa (Burton likes to explain it a little differently, but that’s because they don’t like to use the word ‘stiff’ – apparently it’s not good for marketing). This is Burton’s stiffest board, and I completely agree with them. I’d even go as far as saying that this is one of the stiffest boards I’ve ridden. Ever. The stiffness is a good thing if you like speed. But with all this stiffness comes leg fatigue, and boy did I feel it. Unless you plan on doing some leg work outs, I’d recommend staying away from this thing as your all-purpose board. More importantly, if you want a board to just butter about and mess around, the T6 isn’t that board. It’s a beast on the mountain and was built for high speeds and aggressive riding.

Stability/Response: The board is mighty stable under high speeds and super responsive. The edges are responsive and you can really dig into the hard pack. In the deep stuff you can hop from toe to heel with no problems as well. My only concern is that, I did feel some chatter under the board a few times throughout the day. But that’s probably due to the insane speeds I was doing. As much as the smooth ride dampener helped, there are just some speeds that no kind of tech can keep chatter away. I only bring this up, because I’d hate for you to be disappointed if you feel some chatter at the higher speeds. But comparing this to other boards, the chatter is significantly less (way less). Overall though, the board is very solid and responds insanely well.

Park Riding: I didn’t really try the 2010 model in the park, but from my experience with the 2008 model, this is not a park board. Sure, the board lands jumps very well, but don’t bother taking this into a park. Not only will you be disappointed, you can seriously damage the board too. But if you really insist on hitting the park with your T6, just remember to press hard!

2010 vs. 2008: I have to say, the board was more responsive, while the stiffness remained roughly the same. I can’t  be a 100% certain, but I think the ICS design with the EST bindings had a hand in this. There really weren’t any other design changes that could have affected the responsiveness.

All in all, the T6 is a machine on the slopes and does exactly what it was designed to do: bomb down mountains. Unfortunately, it’s a stiff board, and with a price tag of about $900, I highly urge you to think hard about what your riding style is. Mine is very aggressive and I love the T6 for being very aggressive!

2010 Burton Rider Review: Method, Jussi, Custom V-rocker, Jeremey Jones, Easy Living

2010 Burton Rider Review

A rider review by Hoon, a rider, surfer, biker, and all around family man: hoonhwang.blogspot.com

As I wrote before, I spent a sweet weekend at the U.S. Open of Snowboarding. It was fun times with friends and some awesome snowboarding. I did a quick write up for Fuel here on it. As part of the weekend, I demo’ed a bunch of 2010 Burton Snowboards. I’ve been moving to smaller boards with a more blunted tip/tail shape so keep that in mind. Here’s a quick review for each board tested. Of course these aren’t production boards, and things may change before the fall.

Conditions: Spring VT. Nice groomers bright and early. Sugar, crap and ice mid-day. Slush, rocks and bare spots in the afternoon. US Open chaos but took runs all over Stratton. Found some rock jibs, stump and tree jibs. Didn’t roll through the park as my “rider” pass didn’t allow me into the Stratton parks (just the US Open pipe and slopestyle).

Burton Method 155

Burton Method 2010

This is the board that you’ve been hearing about. It costs around $1,300 to $1,600, depending on who you ask, and Burton raided the R&D department to create this ubermachine. I was 100% skeptical about this board, but like the Vapor, I was pleasantly surprised. The shape is pure freestyle with blunt tip and tail. Many boards in 2010 will be rocking the blunt tip/tail shapes, which are old skool, but I love them. It was surprisingly a fun ride. It handled everything well, but was a bit too dead compared to the liveliness that I’ve come to expect from Burton. Lighter and softer than a Vapor, livelier than a T6.

In the air, it was ridiculously light, like hit a kicker and totally overshoot the landing, light. After a few runs, I got a handle on the feel and started getting really comfortable with the board. I did a few rock taps and log jibs with no problems. You have to test the durability right? According to the Demo Tent Dude, it’s lighter than a Chopper kids board (that’s with bindings), whoa. I’d say my biggest issue was fearing that someone would steal it, so I had to bring it into the bar with me to keep it safe at lunch time.

Burton Jussi 156

Burton Jussi 2010

Holy fawking crap! I’ve always liked the Jussi as a nice stiff freestyle board with insane amounts of pop and springiness. But it seemed a bit too stiff to be that versatile board that you want to rock everywhere. The latest incarnation of the Jussi offers a softer (not too soft) flex between the bindings and scoop tip and tail. In the past, I’ve also really liked scoop as seen in the Fix or Seven for 2009. Scoop seemed to provide me with the extra little love for butters and flat land without sacrificing the ollie pop that I crave. The Jussi didn’t disappoint. From first to last run, it was like meeting back up with your old girlfriend. Sweet, comfortable and trustworthy. From high speed 180s to crud busting to goofing around, it was shredtastic. I’d right more, but I fear that this would be just another cliched “this is awesome” review.

And the graphics? Amazing. Burton put out all the stops on this one. For a short summary, I felt like they took my 08 Uninc, slightly softened the flex, added Scoop and sped up the base. This is definitely top 5 for 2010.

Burton Jeremy Jones 159

Burton Jeremey Jones 2010

Another tested favorite from ye old closet, the Jeremy Jones was one of my favorites way back in 2007. My assumption that this would be that same board, but now updated with better construction, a faster base and zero camber in the 159. To my surprise, I hated this board. Hate might be too strong, but I really disliked this board. Part of it could be because the base wasn’t really that well waxed, even though the Demo guys pulled the board right of the bag. Could it be that the zero camber was affecting the base on the flats? I couldn’t really get a good feel with the board. Riding it was ok, nothing special. It just didn’t feel right at all. I respect Jeremy Jones as a rider a lot, but I gotta say, it might be time to retire the board from the lineup after this season.

Oh and the graphics? Absolutely horrendous. Sorry Lance V, I’m just not into the topsheet. I do like the new Forum graphics though for 2010.

Burton Custom Vrocker 159

Burton Custom V-Rocker 2010

Every time I went into the demo tent, the Custom Vrockers were out. So finally I stalked the board by getting to the demo tent first thing on Sunday AM. The 156 (my preferred size) was already out, but they did have a 159. Unlike the Custom, the Vrocker is a mid-wide. The 159 has a waist width of 255, so I was totally able to take the board out even though it’s a bit long and wide for me for East Coast riding.

Many people I know were pushing me to ride this board. And it pains me to say this, but they’re right. The board is sick. The flex is slightly softer than the regular Custom and the Vrocker works in synch with this stiffer, all-mountain deck. It was super stable, held an edge at speed on ice, etc. and also at the same time was able to utilize the Vrocker to make your park riding, freestyle dorking sessions more fun. I’ve been testing the Never Summer SL-R. The Custom Vrocker reminded me a lot of the SL-R or the T.Rice that I was also riding. The common themes are: slightly stiffer flex, reverse camber, yet still maintains an edge and has ollie pop off the tail. So I think you’ll see a lot of Custom Vrockers on the slopes in 2010 as it combines the traditional best seller: the custom with Burton’s version of the rocker. Definitely a killer combo and this is also on my short list now. I just wish it came with blunted tip and tail.

Burton Easy Living 155

Burton Easy Living 2010

The Easy Living is Burton’s replacement of the Uninc (RIP PIG). The Unincs are my opinion of the gold standard. I’ve had an Uninc in my quiver for as many year’s as the boards have been around. I love the way these boards ride: stable, twin tipped, slightly stiffer flex and of course, sick graphics. So I fully expected to jump on the Easy Living and have a similar experience. On paper, the Easy Living looks almost identical to the 2009 Uninc 155, which was hella fun when I tested it a few months ago. The major difference is that Burton upgraded the base for 2010. The graphics in person are friggin’ rockstar. I remember when I first saw them, I was skeptical, but they’re tight.

The ride was a different story. It was stiffer than this year’s Uninc, and it kinda didn’t impress me at all. Of course it could have been the horrible conditions or the fact that I was super hungover or possibly still drunk, but I tested all the boards in this state. The board rode fine, but IMO it didn’t meet the standards that I’ve come to expect from the Uninc boards. Rocking it switch was super twitchy, like unpredictable not happy to ride switch twitchy. The board rode fine straight and was also fine in the air. Talking to a few different people, there’s been mixed reviews of the Easy Living. Surprisingly this board is not on my list for 2010.

Burton Vapor 2010 Rider Review

Burton’s Vapor is one of the boards I rode a lot in the past 2 seasons, so when I finally got my hands on the 2010 model, I had to take it out for a couple of days. First of all, let’s go through some of Burton’s BS marketing mumbo jumbo to give you an idea of some of the technology put into their previously most advanced board (Burton’s Method takes the cake this year). Here’s some of the tech worth mentioning:

Vaportech Alumafly Core – Burton’s infamous NASA-grade aluminum honeycomb architecture (oh yeah!) that makes up the core of this board and allows it to be one of the lightest on the market. Couldn’t find a picture of this stuff but imagine holding a metallic honeycomb in your hand that twists and bends like moldable plastic but pops back into position just like real wood. When you hold this board up to a strong light, what do you see? Virtually nothing. That’s because the board is 90% air by volume.

Infinite Channel System – The 2010 model features Burton’s ICS system that allows for basically infinite stance positioning options. Rami posted an article recently explaining this in detail. You’re no longer confined by shitty three degree increments in your stance, the width between your feet, etc etc etc.

Carbon Vaposkin – Burton’s ultra light topsheet that contributes to the feather-like weight of this board.

Sintered N20 Vision Base – New, faster base technology that apparently comes pre-impregnated with wax and holds it much better than your standard base. This is supposed to make for a much faster ride.

Directional Pro-Tip – The board is like most others in the sense the nose slightly longer than tail for better float and pop but the difference with the Vapor is a tail that is significantly narrower than the nose, which is supposed to reduce swing weight (mostly off the pipe and jumps) and give it a more playful flex.

The Reality

I’ve been a big fan of this board ever since I got into snowboarding. I couple of seasons back I bought the ’08 model and absolutely love riding it but that doesn’t mean that this shred stick is for everyone out there.

I got my hands on a 2010 157 model preloaded with Cartel EST bindings, which I tested with my new Burton Ion boots during a November visit to Whistler Blackcomb.

• Conditions: Reasonable temperatures between 2 and -10 degrees. Snow varied on different locations on the mountain but mostly soft packed and groomed with some powder on the sides of the runs.

• First Impressions: Right off the bat, the board feels amazing under your boots. This was my first time riding Burton’s ICS/EST setup and I must say, you can feel a difference. Felt much more connected to the setup, as if there was less “stuff” between me and the board, and even me and the snow. The pop was slightly improved when compared to previous models. When plowing through the powder banks on the side, it was much easier to keep the nose up than other boards I’ve tried and you even feel the tail sink a little.

• Feel – The board keeps up with the typical Burton stereotype of a “stiff” board. High speeds on groomed runs felt really good and natural. The best kind of turns for it were longer, faster S-shaped turns. Despite being a very light board, at high speeds the board held an edge extremely well and didn’t have the “shattery” feel you would expect. Instead a much mellower, damper ride with quick edge to edge turning. I loved pressing down with my entire body weight on it during a carve and knowing it would holf. That being said, this board sucks with tighter turns on much steeper slopes. The response just wasn’t there. Although I think the one I tried out was a bit too long for me, you can tell that the stiffness just doesn’t help. Buttering around towards the flatter part of some runs was also difficult if not impossible. You would need something with a mellower flex for that kind of stuff.

• Stability – The thing is a beast on groomed runs but didn’t take some bumpy, choppy terrain as well as I thought it would. The lightness of the board definitely played a factor there. In pow it feels smooth and natural almost like a powder board. The more aggressive pop in the tail lets you also pull off some tricks you didn’t think were possible in such deep snow.

• I Believe I Can Fly – I don’t care what bullshit you’ve heard out there regarding ultra-light boards, when it comes down to it there really isn’t much of a difference on the snow. But who said a board like the Vapor is made for the ground? This baby is meant to FLY. Where you really feel the lightness is in the air. Whether it’s a tiny feature on the side of the run or a giant ramp in the park, the second you get this thing off the ground the weight underneath your legs seems to disappear and turning your body for simple switches, 180’s, or even 360’s feel effortless. Swinging the board around feels much better than your typical snowboard and you use much less energy to do it.

• Park Riding? – Definitely not this board’s area of expertise. The stiffness just makes it hard to catch rails and boxes properly and with a board this expensive, I’m not sure you would even want to try. The thing is a vision when it comes to the halfpipe. You can really feel it climbing the walls of the pipe nicely and the “swingyness” of it makes it easier to spin in the air. A lot of people have claimed that the Vapor is essentially a pipe board, but that’s definitely not my thing.

The Usual Suspects

With a price tag over what you probably pay on your mortgage, this thing is pricey! Especially when you consider what you would have to dish out for EST bindings to get the true ICS/EST experience. Snowboarding is fun kids, but you need to draw the line between “fun” and “excessive” sometimes. All the technology packed into this board has also made it somewhat fragile. The Vaposkin topsheet is a scuff canvas for 6 year-old skiers waiting at lift lineups or going up the chair. This thing scratches very easily on the topside and if you’re OCD like me, it might drive you a little nuts! It’s also a stiff board that goes fast but might not be enjoyed by people that enjoy a slower, “jibbier” experience down the mountain. Buttering around is pretty hard to pull off on this board and it definitely is not your friend in the park. This shred stick definitely falls under the “advanced to expert” category and it will definitely overpower the inexperienced rider.

Time to Be Honest

Burton’s Vapor is definitely a wonder when it comes to snowboarding. Despite my comments, this thing is an all-mountain machine that will take you anywhere on the mountain but doesn’t seem to truly sell itself except when you’re in the air or riding the pipe. The price tag is too hefty to just throw this stick in with the rest of the collection and at the same time it’s range is too narrow to have as your single, full-time board. Other companies, like Elan with their Inverse, make lighter boards than the Vapor. I loved this thing on groomed runs but there are arguably better piste boards out there, even from Burton themselves.

That being said, I’m going to keep riding my ’08 Vapor till I break it and then I’m going to buy another one!