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

#4. Omatic’s EXTR-ECO (aka The Wigglestick, $390)

Omatic took a different direction with this board. Instead of throwing in a reverse camber or “rocker” tech on it they opted to keep the board dead flat from tip to tail.  What they did do is play around with the stiffness of the board in different parts of it and add carbon fiber points to adjust its feeling. With their new BS technology (stands for Bowed Surface, no joke), Omatic have virtually eliminated any edge catching on rails with this board.

Carbon fiber V’s extending form the bindings to the edges help increase your stability when recovering from a jump or rail. They also help give a more dramatic pop to the board making it really fun to ride. The board’s flex is pretty soft in the middle of the board and stiffens as you go towards the tips for maximum control.  I also love the “no such thing as a ‘green’ snowboard’ decal.

Sizes: 149, 151, 154, 157, and 160

#5. Rome’s MOD ($550)

This solid board is designed for the more experienced, aggressive rider due to its conventional camber design. Camber boards are slightly raised in the midsection and run flat to the tips before they scoop up. This tech keeps the board very stable at high speeds. The MOD features a wider waist and mellower sidecut for nailing the landing on those giant jumps. Slightly scooped tips also alleviate the problem with most  camber boards by helping you stay more floaty in powder.

With a camber design and stiffer middle area than most boards, this thing will stick with you through the good times and the bad. The board feels really nice on traditional piste but will be pretty smooth off of it.

Sizes: 151, 154, 156, 158, 160, 162

#6. GNU’s Park Pickle ($490)

Have you ever noticed that when you’re bombing it down the mountain carving away slalom-style that turns on your toe edge are a w hole lot tighter than the turns you pull on your heel edge? The reason behind this is the fact that it’s impossible to dig your heel edge into the snow the way you can your toe edge. When I was first introduced to this board, I didn’t quite agree with that statement but then I took a closer look at the way I ride… My toe edge turns are so tight sometimes, my face skims inches away from the ground and I usually put my hand on the snow to get even more lean.

The guy’s at GNU came up with a great idea to counter this. The Park Pickle’s heel edge sidecut is one whole meter tighter than the toe edge, giving you that extra bit of digging power to make your turns nearly symmetrical. And guess what, it actually works! I tried this board at Mont Tremblant at the beginning of this month and difference is feelable. Mervin (the company that owns both GNU and Lib Tech) put the same banana reverse camber that you see in the Skate Banana into this board. They also added Magne Traction, softened the waist, and stiffened the tips for a perfectly balanced board. The board’s asymmetrical sidecuts doesn’t make it look weird or anything. You won’t even notice it.

Sizes: 147, 150, 153, 156, 156W, 159, 159W

#7. K2’s Slayblade ($550)

Meant for high speeds, the Slayblade is stiff from end to end and even from edge to edge. What I love about this board is that it’s your typical aggressive stiff board, but with a dead flat camber profile. This will give the board a much more forgiving, playful feel than other stiff boards out there. So, you can hang around the park, jib and play around, then just bomb it the hell out of there.

I haven’t tried this board personally but I can only imagine it as being something I would definitely be interested in. My riding is fast and aggressive but I have those days when I just want to spend hours in the park and my Burton Vapor just isn’t meant for that with its positive camber and pretty stiff core. I want to play around but still have the freedom to ride the chair to the peak and tear the mountain apart when I want to. A stiff dead flat like the Slayblade sounds just about right.

Sizes: 153, 156, 158, 159W, 160W, 161, 164, 164W

#8. Never Summer’s EVO-R ($480)

I love it when snowboarding companies look at a problem boarders are having and then come up with great solutions to tackle them. A lot of riders that make the switch from camber to reverse camber or rocker boards complain of the “dead” feel they have with reverse camber because the board isn’t as poppy and pulling of an ollie just feels different. Never Summer’s answer? Give the board a reverse camber between the feet but a normal camber design underneat the feet and out to the tips.

This technology is very similar to Lib Tech’s C2 Power Banana, which I had the chance to try this season. All I can say is wow. These boards just combine the best of both worlds. You’ll find yourself twirling on it’s center like a ballerina but when you need that perfect pop to ollie onto a rail, it’s there waiting for you. The design also gives the board a slightly more stable feel at higher speeds than traditional reverse cambers.

Sizes: 148, 151, 153, 155, 158, 161

#9. DC’s BDR ($430)

For a company that’s not really known for making snowboards, DC pulled off a great board with the BDR. The reverse camber design here runs flat between the feet and kinks up right outside the feet straight to the tail. The boards are playful and super fun for the park rider.

For those occasional back country missions, the “kinkness” in the BDR will help you stay afloat in powder. The board is stiff from tip to tail meaning that there will be zero squirming at high speeds too. An all around, fun yet reliable reverse camber board from Ken Block and his crazies at DC.

Sizes: 149, 153, 156, 159

#10. Capita’s Indoor Survival FK ($400)

FK stands for Flat Kick and helps you get an idea of the design of this board. The core of the board is flat between the bindings and lifts up outside them for that kinked feel we talked about earlier. The tips of the board are different in the sense that they are flatter than most tips you see out there. The design contributes to the versatility this board is meant for.

The Indoor Survival is wider than most boards, which gives it a lot of energy and the right setup to nail big jumps. The board starts out stiff in the center and gets softer towards the tails for a very smooth and clean feel.

Sizes: 152, 154, 156, 158, 160

#11. Smokin’s MIP DTX ($420)

Smokin’ Snowboards purchased the license for Lib Tech’s Magne Traction and threw it on this kinked reverse camber board. Smokin’ have been gaining a lot of attention from riders lately because of their truly versatile fun boards. The MIP DTX is solid at high speeds, stable on sharp turns, yet catch-free on spins and jib landings. This board is truly meant for everywhere on the mountain: park, groomers, powder, and cliff drops.

Sizes: 147, 151, 155, 158

#12. Nitro’s Rook ($470)

If you’re the park rider that’s hesitant on giving up the more traditional positive camber design, the Rook is definitely for you. This thing was made for the park in every sense. Clean presses, clean spins, and clean pipe boosts are all part of the package.

The board is slightly wide and is softer in the middle than in the tips. The nice sidecut profile helps with edge-to-edge transitioning while the rest of the board helps you stay stable on the rails and jump landings. If you’re not ready for the transition to a reverse camber just yet, it may be worth your while to give this stick a shot.

Sizes: 152, 154, 156, 158

Merry Christmas and a Shreddin’ New Year folks!

Related posts:

1. Review: 2010 Lib Tech Banana Magic
2. Top 5 Freeride Snowboards of 2010
3. Burton T6 2010 Rider Review