Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25233
PSYCHOANALYSI OF THIS YEAR'S SNOWBOARDS, BOOTS, AND BINDINGS TEXT: ROB REED Like people, boards are composed of layers. Each means some- thing and performs a function that contributes to the greater whole. In every model, then, we find a unique personality that behaves, responds, and performs according to the sum total of what it is and how it's put together. In choosing boards to test we looked for the best new and updated freeriding boards. This basically means boards designed for everything the mountain can throw at you, not con- sidering terrain parks and pipes. And when it comes to jibbing, it's easier to take a freeride board into the park than to take a park board onto a big peak. Primarily for the sake of apples-to-apples comparison, you'll notice that many hover at the high end and are designed for intermediate to advanced riders .. If our picks fall beyond your price and/or ability range, you can reliably look to less expensive models in a given line and find ride characteristics and technology that are appropriate to your budget and experience. We tested the boards at Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort (www.Mammoth-Mountain.com). a three-hour drive from Reno, Nevada, and five hours from Los Angeles, in the month of April, when Southern California's masses pack it in for the season and the m.ountain gets the season's tastiest storms. During the first part of our review it had just dumped two feet and we seldom did a run without eating at least one face shot. The Arbor Woodie, Salomon Fastback, and K2 Eldorado were our boards of choice for the light, deep powder. Part two took place under dramatically different condi- tions: 6o-plus degrees, blue skies and soft spring snow. Tuning the boards accordingly, we opened things up a bit, testing rail hold with fully laid-out turns and the bases with slushy mach speeds. For these conditions, we were particularly psyched on the Nitro Supernaturals, Rossignol Levitation and to a slightly lesser degree, the Airwalk A1. ------- -iF~~- ---- ------------------------------------ -- ------ Overall: For all-around aggressive riding and a preferred tool in all powder scenar- ios-heavy, tracked, deep, champagne, you name it. The Fastback's Trans-Am-inspired graphic is no coincidence. For lack of a better term, this board rips-specifically its handling of powder and tracked powder. Looking through the semi-transparent topsheet, you'll notice carbon ''Torque 68