Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25233
Control" rods extending far into the tip. These keep it from nose-diving in deep pow, thus reducing the amount of rear-leg force needed to keep one from going "over the bars." As a result, we could ride a size smaller. The variable cap sidewall makes turn- ing as easy and natural as possible, while the high-tech base is tailored to cut freshies at mach pace. Salomon, www.salomonsports.com. $480 ARBOR WOODIE Overall: A finely tuned stiffness for maximum usability on all parts of the mountain. One of the most stable and versatile freeride boards made. A classic in its own time, the Arbor Woodie will someday hang on ski-lodge walls around the world. Indeed, the Woodie is as pretty as it rides. This year the company has reverted to a more traditional sidewall construction. This makes it a bit more durable but can take more effort rolling edge to edge. Unlike other boards, the unique aesthetics of the Woodie's 100 percent pure Hawaiian Koa topsheet-that's actually sliced, not cut, to reduce waste-translate into performance. While others are for show, this gives it a little extra pop. The Woodie features a pure wood core. Arbor, www.arborsnow.com. $430 K2ELDORADO Overall: A good intermediate, medium-stiffness freeride board with a penchant for deep powder. K2'S flagship freerider, the Eldorado (or Eldo), is redesigned this season with "Elite Cap" construction, a superlight wood core, and carbon/Kevlar reinforcements, so this is the big news to us. Compared with past versions, it turns quicker and easier-thanks to the corrugated topsheet design-and has a little more pop in the tail than years past. Its tapered tail also lets it sit back more naturally in deep powder, allowing the nose to float. Then all you have to do is lean and ride. The board's weaknesses are found on the steeps and rough stuff, where a stiffer board is preferred. K2, WWW.k2sports.com. $400 Overall: A Jack-of-all-trades, including occasional jaunts into the terrain park. Some boards are built for beginners. Others just work well for them. The Heritage falls into the latter category. In shorter lengths, it is softer for lighter riders, and the construction is a go-degree full cap for snappier turning. In the form of a Celtic Dragon, the topsheet features an ode to the Nordic heritage of alpine sports, which surrounds a die-cut Koa center for that classic Arbor feel. Compared with the Woodie, its tip and tail are narrower, giving it less floatation in powder but quicker action edge to edge. Arbor, www.arborsnow.com. $400 Overall: A solid intermediate board for groomers, parks, and spring conditions. Top of the line in the Airwalk family, the Al is built for a little bit of everything on the mountain and is one of few boards in this review owing nothing to trees. In other words, it's loo-percent synthetic to the core-literally. (However, we're not sure what other environmental impacts these materials account for.) A cap construction with directional sidecut and generous rigidity, both longitu- dinally and torsionally, it's easy to get and hold an edge on everything from slush to ice. This is further enhanced by a seamless one-piece edge. It's not a forgiving board, though, so it needs constant input and feedback from the rider. Airwalk, www.airwalk.com. $450 , , , ,, I I I Overall: A sweet backcountry or heli board, specifically for size-ll-feet plus. And you know what they say about guys with big feet? That's right, big boards. Wide boards, in fact. So feet don't drag. But rather than simply widening a standard ' board, Ride's Yukon features a tapered tip and tail to reduce swing weight and a rad- ically angled cap construction (37 degrees), which allow you to initiate turns more quickly and hold them more easily once you're there. Leans toward the stiff side for hopping obstacles and landing airs. This year they added a step-in binding option. Ride, www.ridesnowboards.com. $470 ~---------------------------------------------------- : BURTON CANYON ~------------------~--------------------------------- Overall: A stiff and heavy board for strong, aggressive riders who seek to conquer sick lines. There really is no taming of the Canyon. But you can arrive at a compromise with it, which can blossom into a great relationship. If a girder can be graceful, then it is an accurate description, because this board is stiff and heavy and bashes through crud I with the force of a sledgehammer. For the rider, it's all about convincing the board that it's you against the snow; otherwise, it's likely to ride you. Get on some steep terrain on breakable crust, though, and you'll be damn psyched if the Canyon is on your team. Burton, www.burton.com. $480 Overall: A bomber board for advanced, all-mountain riders who ulti- mately yearn for the steep and deep. You get a little bit of everything with the Levitation. The core is a composite blend of poplar wood and synthetics, such as polyurethane and fiberglass, in an attempt to maximize chatter dampening, lightness, and snap, while still offering a natural feel. Its unique construction is both cap and sidewall, and the graphite base is built for speed in all conditions. Designed for aggressive freeriding-steeps, powder, fast groomers-its flexibility is consid- ered firm and the side cut is radial. We were asked not to comment on its ride characteristics, for Rossignol feels this is completely subjective. Rossignol, www.rossignolsnowboards.com. $419 Overall: A board for casual women riders or those in their first and second seasons. A cap construction with composite core, the Wild Flower is designed to be light and forgiving for beginner and advanced-beginner riders. In her first season riding, our review subject found that it rolled from edge-to-edge much easier than the rental boards she'd been riding and that it inspired her to go faster because she felt more in control. We're not typically drawn to graphics but simply could not resist a ride on the Wild Flower. The work of artist Caia Coopman, each size depicts a differ- ent scene of femininity for this women-specific model. Morrow, www.morrowsnowboards.com 69