Snowboarding is fun. At least, it should be. When you’re on the wrong board—one that doesn’t jive with your size, skill level, riding style, conditions, or terrain—fun can devolve into frustration. Luckily for you, our selfless test crew of 30 riders sifted through a stellar crop of 50 men’s and unisex snowboards at Tahoe’s stunning Diamond Peak Ski Resort this past spring to bring you the best snowboards of 2025.
Even when testers were analyzing snowboards that didn’t blow them away, risking high-speed scorpions under the chairlift for the sake of data collection, good times were had. These riders inspected every board to bring you the most award-worthy snowboards on the market. So whether you’re new to the game or three decades deep in the culture, chances are you’ll find the right board for you below.
At A Glance
- Editor’s Choice:
- Best Value:
- Best Swallowtail:
- Best All-Mountain:
- Best Powder Craft:
- Best Freestyle:
- Public Statement ($480)
- How to Choose Snowboards
- How We Test
- Meet Our Testers
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Editor’s Choice
Nitro Alternator
Sizing: 154, 157, 160, 162w cm
Genre: All-mountain/Backcountry freestyle
Profile: Trüe Camber
Shape: Directional
Flex: 7/10
Waist Width: 25.4 cm (157 cm)
Sidecut: Dual degressive (10.8 m/6.8 m/10.8 m)
Pros and Cons
⊕ Jack of all trades
⊕ Can go bigger and faster than you can
⊕ Lightweight
⊕ Responsive
⊕ Reasonably priced
⊗ Likes jumps more than jibs
⊗ Not forgiving for less experienced riders
⊗ Not as much float as tapered, wider shapes
We don’t need a crystal ball to predict that we’ll see the Nitro Alternator (read our full review) everywhere this season. Why? Because Nitro’s team riders and resort rippers the world over value a no-bullshit quiver-killer. Our testers do, too—so much so that the Alternator earned our coveted Editor’s Choice award.
The deck is a collaboration between cruisy skin track slayer Griffin Siebert, backcountry bull-dog Jared Elston (who just announced his departure from the brand), and Nitro’s legendary co-founder, Tommy Delago—an amalgam of shred personalities that helps explain the Alternator’s versatile DNA. It can cruise groomers and surf wind lip-laden pow fields—and it can charge steeps, drop cliffs, and straightline sketchy runouts like it’s trying to break the sound barrier, too. Snowboard purists (read: the anti-rocker contingent) will appreciate the Alternator’s frills-free traditional camber profile. “It holds a strong edge, and loads behind the back foot for explosive pop,” commented freestyle-forward rider and longtime board tester Cody Buccholz.
After getting the Alternator airborne both during our test week at Diamond Peak and all spring long at his home hill of Winter Park, former product editor of Transworld Snowboarding (R.I.P.) and lifelong board nerd Tyler Macleod praised the stability provided by the mid-stiff, high-grade poplar core, which is reinforced by nose-to-tail carbon stringers. “No fear of looping out or going over the bars here,” he reported. “In fact, [the Alternator] saved my ass a few times when I thought I was about to go over the nose.”
The classically directional deck sports subtle setback and minimal taper, as well as an early rise nose and a kicked tail. While the Alternator wasn’t the best in test when it came to float in powder or switch stomping and ripping ability, the design provides what testers agreed is a solid balance between the two. Testers also loved the Alternator’s carving prowess, which comes courtesy of Nitro’s Dual Degressive sidecut—a smaller-radius sidecut between the bindings that’s bookended by larger-radius sidecuts at the nose and tail.
Testers did note there are more forgiving boards out there for intermediate riders, and resort rippers concerned with technical jibbing should look elsewhere. Testers also reported that the standard-cambered Alternator doesn’t plane as well as wider, rockered shapes in slow, low-angle powder, so if you’re looking for a powder stick and between sizes, they recommend sizing up. At speed in the steeps, though, it’s a dream. I got a chance to test the Alternator on a couple of KT-22 powder days at my home resort of Palisades Tahoe, and it sliced through heavy Sierra powder, inspired confidence on take-offs, and put the landing gear down on sketchy cliff drops.
All told, the Alternator is a backcountry-freestyle, all-mountain menace, one best suited for advanced riders who want a daily driver that does it all. Macleod summed it up: “Pow day? Alternator. Slushy day? Alternator. Backcountry booters? Alternator. Mediocre conditions? Definitely the Alternator.”
One final note: If you’re anti sparkplugs, Nitro also has a collaborative edition of the Alternator with Volcom. It has the same tester-approved engine under the hood, but the paint job is more abstract.
Best Value
Korua Shapes Transition Finder
Lengths: 150, 154, 157, 160 cm
Genre: All-Mountain/Backcountry Freestyle
Profile: Float Camber (rockered nose, camber underfoot)
Shape: Directional
Flex: Medium
Waist Width: 26 cm (154 cm)
Sidecut: 8.1 m (154 cm)
Pros and Cons
⊕ Cruisy
⊕ Freestyle aptitude
⊕ Versatile
⊕ Affordable
⊕ New 150 and 160 sizes for smaller and bigger riders
⊗ Isn’t strong switch
⊗ Shorter-radius turns felt overwhelming on larger sizes
⊗ More sizes still needed
Korua’s cult-classic, medium-stiff Transition Finder (read our full review) hasn’t been updated since the German board builder shaved down the taper to boost all-mountain freestyle and switch-riding capabilities in 2022. Our test team sends its sincerest gratitude, as we’re card-carrying members of the cult. I spent six weeks in Hokkaido testing the Transition Finder over the last two winters, and I can attest that it’s absolutely perfect as is.
Hokkaido has a reputation for deep snow, and it delivered for me both winters. Each trip, the wide, early-rise nose of the Transition Finder provided unbelievable buoyancy on hip-deep tree runs, mini-truck-sized pillow poppers, and sidecountry sojourns. I sized down—the shape is wide, after all, with a 26-centimeter waist on the 154-centimeter length. Still, I rode some of the deepest runs of my life on this thing, and it was never undergunned.
The shape is deceptively agile, too, which I noticed after ripping through Hokkaido’s iconic deciduous trees. In tight corridors, you can shift your weight to the diamond tail, pivoting and piloting the Transition Finder through gaps in the glades you have no business bombing through. While the nose is pliable and surfy, the short tail is stout enough for substantial drops as well. A beefier, longer tail might be welcome if you’re sending 25-plus footers at speed, but for me, dropping anything up to 15 feet felt ideal.
The majority of testers who hopped on the Transition Finder at our test week in Diamond Peak felt similar sparks fly. “It pops reliably like a movie theater popcorn machine, and excels at everything from long, fast carves to tight wiggles and banked slalom slashes. Favorite board of the test—flexy, fast, fun!” commented an intermediate Sierra surfer, who loved the versatility provided by the middle-of-the-park sidecut and the dampness of Korua’s cruisy, cost-effective construction (tried-and-true biax fiberglass over an unpretentious poplar core).
That said, the Transition Finder isn’t for everyone. A heavier, aggressive freestyler found the nose flex on the floppy side for his style of all-mountain charging, and also craved better performance while riding switch.
An affordable, damp, cruisy yet capable all-mountain surfer, the Transition Finder slashes the nexus of freestyle and freeride. If you’re hoping for pow but planning to shred regardless of the conditions, this is a solid travel board, daily driver, or addition to your quiver. Between the relatively low cost and impressive versatility, it also delivers the most bang for your buck.
Best Swallowtail
Bataleon Surfer
Lengths: 149, 154, 159, 162 cm
Genre: Powder/Resort
Profile: Camber
Shape: Directional
Flex: 4/10
Waist Width: 26.4 cm (159 cm)
Sidecut: 7.89 m (159 cm)
Pros and Cons
⊕ Lightweight construction
⊕ Futuristic, pow-loving shape
⊕ Groomer ripper
⊕ Versatile resort riding
⊗ Some riders wanted a stiffer flex
⊗ Riding switch is a gamble
“Futuristic swallowtail” is a tad oxymoronic, but that’s exactly what popped out of Bataleon’s shaping bay with the updated Surfer this season. Many of the earliest snowboards, most notably Dimitrije Milovich’s trailblazing Wintersticks from the early 70s, were swallowtails, named for dual-pronged tails borrowed from surfing that sank the tail down and lifted the nose up in powder. Bataleon’s revamped Surfer doesn’t just inject the storied swallowtail with the latest and greatest snowboard tech—it reimagines the shape entirely.
The most notable modification to this year’s Surfer is a translucent bridge between the two prongs of the swallowtail. Dubbed the Powder Hull—tech seemingly borrowed from Yes., as both brands are owned by Nidecker—this feature helps funnel powder out of the back of the Surfer like the hull of a speedboat and limits how deep the tail sinks in the snow. Testers felt it gives the swallowtail a balanced, surfy, skim-the-surface ride in powder. Connecting the two prongs also makes the tail more stable and better-suited to resort ripping than previous iterations. “The tail doesn’t wash out like every other swallowtail—it’s a stomping machine,” commented impressed Wasatch tester, Kordell Black.
Bataleon’s proprietary Triple Base Technology—a hallmark of the brand’s boards for over two decades—also sets the Surfer’s shape apart from the kaleidoscope of swallowtails on the market. The center section of the board base is flat, like that of a traditional snowboard, but the outside sections of the base are curved upwards at the nose and tail, giving the nose (and to a much lesser extent, the tail) a spoon-like concavity. This three-dimensional curvature allows riders to effortlessly roll the mind-bogglingly buoyant, extra-wide nose, which was elongated for 2025, in and out of turns. “I was surprised by how easy it was to get on edge,” reported smitten snowboard instructor Nico Henss.
The Surfer sports a mid-tight sidecut and traditional camber, which help increase edge hold when carving corduroy. The poplar and paulownia core is on the softer side and extremely lightweight, partly because Bataleon thins out the profile along the rails into razor-thin sidewalls. Bataleon also reinforced the Surfer with carbon stringers in the tail, hollow carbon rods along the outline of the shape, and tri-axial fiberglass and aramid laminates throughout to make sure the Surfer stays the course in chop. “I loved it—it makes the swallowtail less of a quiver board and more all-mountain. From mach 10 euro carves to tree pow wiggles, this thing excels in all terrain,” opined Black.
While most testers agreed with Black’s sentiments, a lighter rider who struggled to keep the tail engaged on tighter Euro carves suggested the Surfer was better suited for powder-chasing than indiscriminate all-mountain shredding.
Best All-Mountain
Capita Aeronaut
Lengths: 153, 155, 156w, 157, 158w, 159, 160w, 161, 162w cm
Genre: Resort/All-mountain
Profile: Camber
Shape: Directional 0.8-inch setback
Flex: 6/10
Waist Width: 25.6 cm (159 cm)
Sidecut: 8.6 m/7.6 m (159 cm)
Pros and Cons
⊕ Intergalactic pop
⊕ All-mountain jack-of-all-trades
⊕ New wide sizes for the big boot gang
⊗ Not super floaty
⊗ Sometimes overwhelmed by variable chop at speed
Pop is potential energy—a board’s capacity to load, unload, and explode upwards in defiance of gravity. Capita’s aptly named Aeronaut, the pro model of French side-hit savant and style conservationist , has more explosive potential energy than a ski patrol dynamite shack.
There’s no TNT stashed beneath the Aeronaut’s abstract topsheet (although testers did find the graphic, which is painted by the multi-talented Longo, dynamite). Instead, that energy comes courtesy of a mid-stiff poplar and paulownia core, eight snappy, nose-to-tail bamboo rods located just outside the inserts, and a reactive yet shock-absorbing strip running from the back inserts to the tail. If you’re popping switch or nollie—or just need some stability at speed—a pair of carbon-and-flax strips run in a “V” formation from the front inserts to the nose, too.
The standard camber profile amplifies airtime and edge hold, too. Factor in a predictable, progressive sidecut that excels at medium-sized turns, and the overall ride is so classic that riders with graying hair will rail reliable carves, regain the ollies of their youth, and weep bittersweet tears, overcome with nostalgia for the nineties. While we’re always stoked to check out innovative shapes, sometimes the classics are hard to beat.
“It’s a true resort daily driver—directional, little bit of taper, plenty of pop. I could ride this every day,” summed up longtime snowboard reviewer, former Transworld Snowboarding product editor, and connoisseur of camber Tyler Macleod.
Critiques for the Capita mainly centered around it being a jack of all trades, master of none, which is a tick in the pro column for many all-mountain riders. More specifically, a couple of riders judged the deck overwhelmed by chunder and craved more setback, taper, and float in deeper snow.
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Best Powder Craft
Lib Tech Apex Orca
Sizing: 150, 153, 156, 159 cm
Genre: All-mountain, Powder
Profile: C2x (Camber under feet, directional prominent rocker between the feet)
Shape: Volume-shifted directional (ride 3-6 centimeters shorter than standard board)
Flex: 7/10
Waist Width: 26.7 cm (156 cm)
Sidecut: 7 m (156 cm)
Pros and Cons
⊕ Floaty yet ferocious Orca shape
⊕ Top-of-the-line lightweight construction
⊕ New recessed, lighter nose and tail
⊕ Magne-traction supplies great edge-hold
⊗ Expensive
⊗ Loose ride according to camber purist
Lib Tech’s Apex Orca is shaped exactly the same as the big-nosed, kick-tailed, hybrid-rockered, volume-shifted original Orca, pods of which have been invading lift lines and gluttonizing powder stashes since the mutant species was released into the wild in 2018. However, this pricier, higher-end iteration is crafted with the same snappy yet lightweight construction as last winter’s Editor’s Choice-winning Lib Tech Golden Orca. (And it’s crafted in the same factory, too, we might add, Lib Tech’s dream-board-building shredquarters in Washington, one of the few still located in the United States.)
The Apex Orca’s core consists of aspen, paulownia, and plastic from PET recycled bottles, and the updated nose and tail now feature gram-shaving indents. This composite core is then fortified by unidirectional carbon laminate, 30-degree carbon “X’s” centered just outside the inserts, and magnesium fiber bands, which give the Apex more snappiness and quicker reactivity than the original Orca.
According to testers, you have to work the Apex Orca a little harder in chop and chunder, like most carbon boards. But on fresh faces, the higher-end construction provides synaptic response, particularly when I rode it during thigh-deep powder days at Palisades Tahoe. The broad nose and rocker pocket between the feet, combined with the lightweight core and milled tip and tail, make this a dream on deep days—it’s floatier than the Golden Orca and feels like you’re surfing a magic carpet in bottomless pow.
Testers appreciated the Magne-traction edges and elliptical sidecut, which help the Apex Orca rail groomers and lock into hardpack. “Fast to initiate a turn and holds a carve with ease,” commented Wasatch rider Jackson Weber.
One rider who prefers traditional camber was put off by Lib’s C2X camber profile (which has camber under the feet with a prominent rocker pocket between the bindings). “It feels loose and skatey,” he said. “I looped out multiple times on it.”
Best Freestyle
Jones Men’s Tweaker Pro Snowboard
Sizing: 146, 149, 151, 154, 156, 157w, 159 cm
Genre: All-mountain freestyle
Profile: Camber
Shape: True twin
Flex: 4/5
Waist Width: 25.4 cm (156 cm)
Sidecut: 7.8 m (156 cm)
Pros and Cons
⊕ Solid pop
⊕ Great landing gear
⊕ Stiffer construction for high-speed all-mountain freestyle
⊗ Not as playful or jibby as other park boards
Jones isn’t exactly known for its park boards, but the Tweaker Pro makes a statement: don’t pigeonhole Jeremy Jones’ eponymous board brand to big mountain guns and powder craft.
The new Tweaker Pro shares its shape and camber profile with the original Tweaker, a blunt-nosed true twin first released in 2022. Like the OG Tweaker, the Pro has a classic camber profile and a tight sidecut dotted with three grip-enhancing bumps between the contact points, improving edge hold in firm conditions. The Pro also has the same double-radius rocker that lifts up the squared nose and tail more steeply towards the ends of the deck. This design feature allows Jones to cram more effective edge (the distance from wide point to wide point) into a relatively shorter overall board length—which helps provide stability at speed and reliable landings. The resulting board loves to ride fast, spins quickly, and stomps like a tired toddler.
However, the Pro is enhanced for harder charging and bigger sends thanks to a stiffer, triple-density paulownia wood core reinforced with hardwood bamboo stringers, a more rigid and responsive triaxial glass job, and a faster, higher-end sintered base. Jones also integrated Koroyd—lightweight welded plastic tubes often used in snowsports helmets—into the core at the nose and tail to cut weight and amplify dampening. Jones ranks the resulting flex as a four out of five, while the standard Tweaker only notches a two out of five.
A more intermediate park rider found the deck “almost too stiff.” That said, they did appreciate the stout deck’s “forgivable landings” in the park, and acknowledged Jones’ V-core flex pattern—which links a stiffer nose and tail via a more pliable waist—helps the Tweaker Pro to pop and lock into presses.
For Colby Wangler, an advanced all-mountain freestyler and born-and-bred Sierra shredder, the flex pattern and nose and tail design make this deck a “nimble bulldozer” that can handle ripping in and out of the park. “This board ate up whatever I threw at it in Tahoe and again on a Utah trip,” Wangler reported, lauding the Jones’ pop, edge hold, and stability at speed. “Mach 1 groomers, chunky moguls, side hits, jumps—you name it and I was smashing it with confidence on this board.”
Lib Tech Apex Golden Orca
Sizing: 153, 157, 161 cm
Genre: Backcountry Freestyle/All-Mountain
Profile: C2X Directional, with mild camber in the front foot, shortened rocker between the bindings, and aggressive camber in the tail.
Shape: Directional
Flex: 7/10
Waist Width: 26.5 cm (157 cm)
Sidecut: 8 m
Pros and Cons
⊕ Unreal response, snap, and stability at speed
⊕ Exceptional swing weight and maneuverability
⊕ Floats well in deep snow
⊗ The price
⊗ Not as damp in chop and chunder as heavier, carbon-free shapes
Six of nine testers gave this futuristic directional deck perfect scores during our 2022/2023 testing—nearly 15 percent of the perfect scores awarded at last year’s test. This telling data sums up an airtime-annihilating, confidence-inspiring ride that approaches terrain like a killer whale toying with a blubbery seal before making it a meal. It’s equal parts fun and ferocious—one of those rare shapes that encourages advanced boarders to ride faster, go bigger, and spin when they might normally chicken out.
Much of the Apex Golden Orca’s all-mountain acumen comes from a shape it shares with the standard Golden Orca. First, the now-classic, wide, cutaway nose blasts through powder. The camber-rocker-camber profile, mid-wide, volume-shifted waist, and Magne-traction serrated edges that supply a perfect balance of pop, grip, and float. An extended, kinked tail rides switch better than the original Orca.
But this pricier powder predator is lighter, more responsive, and more aggressive than the standard Golden Orca, thanks to Lib Tech’s most advanced construction. Evolutionary enhancements include a lightweight yet snappy core crafted from aspen, paulownia, balsa, and recycled plastic bottles. A laminate layup of unidirectional carbon, carbon mesh, and magnesium fiber bands delivers springloaded power and surprisingly quick edge-to-edge action given the width, and a recessed, three-dimensional nose and tail provide minimal swing weight.
Lib’s technological alchemy strikes paydirt on- and off-piste. After local shop tech and no-holds-barred freerider Anthony Santos lapped Sugar Bowl’s iconic Palisades—a fin-featured spine zone reminiscent of Alaska—he affirmed that the Apex thrives in steep terrain. Santos complimented the Apex Golden Orca’s combo of Magne-traction (Lib’s signature serrated edges) and a mid-stiff flex pattern that supplies “excellent bite on icy steeps and eats up chunder and the competition.”
Tahoe snowboard guide Andrew Allisandratos expressed testers’ thoughts on airtime well: “I felt like I could fly to the moon and stomp the landing as well. This might be the best board I’ve ever ridden.” A local pro accustomed to filming in no-fall-zone steeps and spinning off puckering cliffs summed it up: “Not much this board can’t handle.”
While positive feedback outweighed the negative, there were just a few critiques. One sidecut snob did find the serrated edges catchy on hardpack (if you’ve tried Magne-traction and you’re not a fan, keep that in mind), and the carbon craft isn’t as forgiving in chop as its damper, more affordable brother, the original Golden Orca. Otherwise, the few negatives were more warnings than anything else: this board isn’t for beginners or intermediates, and it performs best when ridden aggressively.
Jones Hovercraft 2.0
Sizing: 144, 148, 152, 156, 160, 164 cm
Genre: Alternative Freeride/Powder
Profile: Directional Rocker, with camber between the bindings
Shape: Directional
Flex: 7/10
Waist Width: 26.3 cm (156 cm)
Sidecut: 9 m (156 cm)
Pros and Cons
⊕ Fluid, natural turns and glide in powder
⊕ Versatile powder craft that might turn into your daily driver
⊕ Radical stringers are derived from reclaimed snowboards
⊗ The XXL nose can feel unwieldy in chop and tight trees for lighter riders
The Jones’ Hovercraft sports the spiffy “2.0” suffix since 2024, a rare honor bestowed only upon boards that have undergone serious re-design. The updated, now unisex shape retains the volume-shifted waist, lengthy sidecut, subtle, and stubby swallowtail that earned the original board a cult following (peep to observe ripping worshippers at play). The 2.0 designation is earned by drastic, three-dimensional changes to the nose and tail as well as an exciting, eco-friendly overhaul to the construction.
The spooned-out nose jumped from teaspoon to tablespoon, with Jones increasing the bevel of the concave shape from 7 millimeters to a whopping 12 millimeters, hoping to spark more synaptic turn initiation. The mission was a success according to tester Gela Malek Pour, a Mammoth freestyle coach who owns an older Hovercraft. “Turn initiation is effortless,” she reported after analyzing the board’s arcing acumen in powder, chop, and on manicured groomers during our 2023 test at Sugar Bowl. Tester John Lauer, a snowboard buyer for local shop, Tahoe Sports Hub, agreed, calling edge-to-edge action “so smooth. They nailed the positioning of the spoon tech.” Lauer also noted that the tail of the 2.0–which now sports an aggressively channeled hull for improved glide–seems more forgiving than the OG version, but still trustworthy on edge.
Tester Andrew Allisandratos, a splitboard guide for Blackbird Mountain Guides, appreciated the long, arc-swooping sidecut. “It shines laying carves and throwing slashes,” he said. However, there were a few testers, some lighter and with smaller boots, who felt outgunned by the width and stiffness of the nose, particularly when riding tracked-out zones or making tighter turns. “The Hovercraft will hover above any depth of powder and bite into a groomer of any firmness,” acknowledged one a ripping local lady, who was appreciative of Jones’ serrated traction tech along the sidecut. “It holds a solid edge–once you get there–but it needs a stern talking to in order to achieve small turns.”
And on the construction side? The Hovercraft 2.0’s sustainably sourced wood core is now reinforced by stringers sliced from reclaimed snowboards–a novel technique that makes this Jones the most eco-friendly option in their lineup so far. That makes this board a win-win option in our book.
Stranda Biru
Sizing: 150, 154, 157 cm
Genre: Alternative All-Mountain/Volume-Shifted Powder
Profile: Camber with early rise nose
Shape: Directional
Flex: 7/10
Waist Width: 27 cm (154 cm)
Sidecut: 6.7 m (154 cm)
Pros and Cons
⊕ Versatile, volume-shifted shape balances next-level float and agility
⊕ Sidecut and camber provide locked-in, ultra-stable carves
⊕ A unique shape from a boutique brand
⊗ Minimal size run
⊗ Unwieldy for some lighter riders
The Biru is not your typical Swedish fish. A brawny, barrel-chested beast of a board from Stranda, a Scandinavian purveyor of premium powder craft and turning tools, this volume-shifted shape is designed to be ridden four-to-five centimeters smaller than your standard stick. And even after sizing down, you’ll still find the Biru an exceptionally confidence-inspiring ride thanks to its massive yet manageable nose, camber underfoot, gently serrated sidecut, and a reliable backbone of poplar, paulownia, and ash.
“This board is the most stable thing I’ve ever ridden,” exclaimed Tahoe snowboard filmer Riley Bathurst during our 2023 test.
For shop tech Anthony Santos, the Biru’s relatively long effective edge, stout tail, and goldilocks flex in the nose sparked a borderline religious experience on rail. “Perfect flex, stiff enough to handle speed but soft enough for slalom-like carves. The nose is a thing of beauty, God’s perfect mid-volume creation,” he proclaimed. While all testers agreed that the Biru supplies stability, float, and surfy slashes in spades, a handful of our lighter riders (those who weigh less than 160 pounds), wished for a smaller, more manageable size than the 154-centimeter length we had on tap at our test. Limited size run aside, the stoke was high for this versatile all-mountain ride.
Public Statement
Will Be Available in October 2024
Sizing: 150, 154, 157 cm
Genre: All-Mountain Freestyle/Park/Street
Profile: Camber, with flat sections at contact points
Shape: Twin
Flex: Medium-soft
Waist Width: 25.6 cm (154 cm)
Sidecut: 8 m (154 cm)
Pros and Cons
⊕ Ready to demolish steel and concrete
⊕ Trustworthy twin shape rides switch with ease
⊕ Poppy core with carbon reinforcements yields snappy ollies
⊕ Durable
⊗ Locking into presses was tough for lighter testers
Jonesing for a jib board that can hang in the streets, on jump lines, and at the resort at large? The Public Statement fits the bill. The pro model of Dutch rail royalty Kas Lemmens, the Statement embodies the gimmick-free ethos of Public, a small-scale board builder founded by Minnesota’s own sultan of streets and Hyland Hills heavy-hitter, Joe Sexton.
The Statement has payloads of pop thanks to its cambered twin shape, mid-wide waist and an overall middling flex that’s amped up at the contact points with four strips of carbon. “A remarkable combination of soft torsional flex with plenty of pop in the nose and tail makes this deck poppy, stable, and maneuverable,” commented an occasional park rat who was stoked to dust the cobwebs of his rail game on the Statement.
“Predictability is a 10/10, inspiring confidence to charge and trick the features you’ve been avoiding all season.” However, it’s worth noting that while aggressive riders were able to lock in to presses, loading those carbon-reinforced zones, lighter riders more accustomed to softer jib boards found the nose and tail on the stiff side.
Bottom line? Ready for a riotous session at your local rope tow, peak-to-park laps at your home mountain, and a nocturnal mission to that street spot you’ve been scoping for months, the Statement is a freestyle weapon from a brand any bona fide boarder will be stoked to support.
Burton Family Tree 3D Deep Daze
Sizing: 149, 154, 159
Genre: Powder
Profile: Directional Flat Top (Flat underfoot, rockered nose)
Shape: Directional
Flex: Medium
Waist Width: 25.5 cm (154)
Sidecut: 6.2m (154)
Pros and Cons
⊕ Delivers constant energy and float
⊕ More versatile than expected
⊗ Small, soft tail overwhelmed on gnarlier drops
⊗ Short running length and softer flex aren’t ideal for steeper, longer pitches
A recent addition to Burton’s experimental Family Tree line, the 3D Deep Daze is a futuristic deep-snow skiff that riffs on a storied surfboard technology: channels. Channels are hydrodynamic grooves in the bottom of a surfboard that purposefully funnel water, assisting with speed generation and purchase. If you want to nerd out, dive into this . Now, three-dimensional bases aren’t rare in snowboarding—brands like Bataleon, Burton, Morrow, and more have been experimenting with this tech for years–but channeled bases have typically been reserved for chasing barrels, not blower.
That said, shapers of powsurfers—boards meant to be ridden without bindings in untouched powder—like and have been bringing channel tech to snow, as the dynamics of powder and water aren’t so different. The Deep Daze isn’t a powsurfer—it’s meant to be ridden with bindings—but it gives traditional snowboarders a chance to get tubed when the forecast is firing.
“Even though I’ve ridden plenty of contoured bases, I’d never tried anything like that,” reported a still-reeling tester after riding the Deep Daze on the deepest days of our 2023 test at Sugar Bowl. He claimed the channels produced “surfy drive and energy through turns.” Add to that a flat base, rockered nose, and mid-soft flex, and the 3D Deep Daze “pumped, bounced, and buttered through powder like a peyote-popping porpoise on a vision quest.”
Testers were astounded by the balance of nimbleness and float of the 154, which has a relatively wide 30.5-centimeter nose, two centimeters of taper, a fairly narrow 25.5-centimeter waist, and a tight 6.2-meter sidecut radius. “I have no problem riding a 25.5-cm-waisted board in deep snow, but I’d expect the length to be closer to my normal freeride specs of 158 to 160,” said our incredulous tester. “If you told me that I’d have some of my most memorable powder turns of the year on a flat-based 154 with a 25.5-cm waist and a 100-centimeter running length, I’d have called you crazy.”
Thanks to an alchemical amalgamation of flex, specs, and a dash of borrowed surf tech, the Deep Daze threaded trees like yarn bombers. But freeriders who preferred firmer equipment for high-speed big mountain riding dubbed it a specialized board best saved for powder days. “Too soft,” said one. “In specific conditions, this board will blow your mind. Think Hokkaido, Japan.” On the other hand, riders used to softer sticks gave the shape more credit. “I was pleasantly surprised,” wrote jibby snowboard instructor . “It carves smoothly on groomers and the channels make riding powder effortless. I liked riding this in all conditions.” Meanwhile, , a Sugar Bowl park crew member said it was “Exactly the playful-to-control ratio I like.”
How to Choose Snowboards
Shopping for snowboards is like dropping a cliff: It’s equal parts exciting and nerve-wracking. But if you do your homework before you send it, chances are you’ll ride out just fine. Here are a few tips to help you stick your landing:
Ride as Many Boards as Possible
Demo boards, swap with your friends, and do whatever it takes to ride as many boards as you can. Testing a diverse range of boards will expand your snowboard lexicon. You can read reviews all day long, but nothing informs your decision-making like time on snow.
If you’re relatively new to the game, experimenting is especially important: you’re still developing your preferences, and riding more boards will speed up that process. If you’re an old head who’s been riding the same style of board for decades, don’t be afraid to break out of your shell and try something new. The exception is complete newbies, as switching boards before you know how to turn properly may only frustrate you. Get a board that works, stick with it, and postpone demo sprees until you can comfortably tackle intermediate and advanced terrain.
Shop By Riding Style
Here are the three most common board styles:
Freestyle Boards: Freestyle or park boards are on the shorter side, which makes them easier to spin. They’re often true twins, meaning they’re symmetrical from nose to tail, facilitating landing and riding switch. Directional twins are also common: These boards are symmetrical in shape but not in flex pattern or profile, or vice versa. Some park boards are softer, allowing riders to flex, press, and butter, while others are stiffer to handle heavy landings and hold an edge in halfpipes.
Freeride Boards: Freeride boards are designed for speed and stability when charging groomers, riding off-piste, and ripping backcountry conditions. They’re usually directional (the nose and tail are defined) and tapered (the nose is wider than the tail). Directional shapes float and carve well, but riding switch isn’t a cakewalk. Many freeride boards are also stiffer, supplying stability for big mountain charging, while others are soft for cruising mellow powder.
All-Mountain Boards: All-mountain shapes blend the freestyle elements of park boards and the big-mountain chops of freeride decks. They’re meant to be ridden, as the name suggests, all over the mountain—they can ride switch through the park one lap and bomb a hike-to chute the next. If you’re unsure of where to start or you only have a budget for one board, go with a versatile all-mountain board. These shapes are usually directional or directional twins.
Consider Profile
Profile refers to the curvature that’s visible when you lay a board flat on the ground and look at it from the side. It is a critical element of board design, as it dictates how and where a board interacts with snow. There are two primary profiles to be familiar with: camber and rocker.
Camber: Camber is the time-honored, traditional profile. Lay a cambered board flat, and it looks like an upside-down U. The board will touch the ground near the nose and tail, but the center will be raised. This curvature supplies drive, stability, and edge hold–it allows riders to flex into the deck and dig into the snow. It’s also a principal ingredient in pop production—if you like to send ollies to the moon or carve aggressively on groomers, camber is your launch pad.
Rocker: Rocker is reversed camber. Lay a rockered board flat, and it’s shaped like a U. You’ll find a single low point in the center of the board while the nose and tail float off the ground. Rocker provides a fun, skatey ride. It’s easy to turn and enables you to weight your back foot and float through deep powder. However, it’s not as reliable in technical steeps, on icy hardpack, or on high-speed straight lines.
Hybrid Camber: Hybrid profiles mix rocker and camber. These combos usually attempt to blend the skatey, buoyant, easy-turning aspects of rocker with the pop, stability, and edge hold of camber.
Sizing Tips
Sizing a board can be just as tricky as picking one in the first place. Sizing depends on a number of factors, both in terms of the board itself and the rider who’s rocking it. Here are a few to keep in mind.
Board Length and Rider Height: Back in the day, length was the primary measurement taken into account when sizing a board. You’d walk into a shop, a stoned teenager would hold a board up to see if it reached between your chin and nose, and bingo: you were on your way. But this outdated method doesn’t account for weight, which is arguably a more important data point. Nor does it touch on board width, as wider shapes are more common these days.
Rider Weight: Weight, more so than height, is what enables a rider to flex a board and engage its camber profile. Many brands’ size charts don’t mention height but do include rider weight ranges. This is a solid place to start.
Skill Level: If you’re a beginner, look at softer, forgiving shapes—and if you’re between sizes, err shorter. For example, if you weigh 170 pounds and you’re deciding between a 157-centimeter option that’s recommended for 120-180 pounds and a 159 that’s recommended for 140-200 pounds, go with the 157. A smaller board is going to be much easier to turn and better suited for learning. If you’re an intermediate, size in the middle of your weight range and consider slightly stiffer all-mountain shapes–these boards will allow you to progress and build upon the skills you developed on a softer, shorter shape. If you’re an advanced rider, your board sizing depends more on riding style.
Riding Style: As we mentioned earlier, different boards are meant for different objectives. Rail riders like small, easy-to-spin boards, while freeriders appreciate the stability of a longer effective edge when speeding down big mountain lines. If you ride everything, a complete dream quiver might look like this: 152 rail board, 155 park board, 158 all-mountain board, 160 freeride board, 161 powder board. That said, we recognize most people can’t afford a full quiver. So, when in doubt, go with an all-mountain shape and size to get the most versatility for your buck. That 158 can still hit jumps and rails, and on powder days, you can set back your bindings for more float.
Snow Conditions: Powder-specific boards are usually longer, wider, or both, providing more surface area and float in deep snow. If you frequent a powder-blessed location like Japan, you’ll want to size up. If you live on the East Coast, that might not be necessary.
Boots: If you have large boots, particularly in relation to your height and weight, you may need to consider a mid-wide or wide board. The last thing you want is toe or heel drag, which will happen on a board that’s too narrow for your boot length.
Volume-Shifted Shapes: Some boards, referred to as volume-shifted shapes, are meant to be ridden shorter than traditional snowboards. Volume-shifted shapes condense the surface area and float of a longer shape into a more maneuverable package. Usually, a brand will supply sizing recommendations for volume-shifted shapes. Once you figure out your standard board sizing—like the 158 all-mountain shape we discussed above—you’ll be able to size volume-shifted shapes accordingly.
Demo Multiple Sizes: Again, the best way to develop your understanding of snowboard sizes is to keep demoing boards. Don’t just demo different boards from different brands, either—if possible, demo the same board, from the same brand, in slightly different sizes, and test them in varied conditions.
A Note On Picking Between Unisex, Women’s, and Men’s Boards
Many snowboarders use gender to narrow down their search for the right board, which is totally fine, and in many instances a helpful tool to sift through the myriad of options on the market. However, gender doesn’t dictate what boards you can and can’t ride. Far from it. In fact, many of our male and female snowboard testers ride unisex boards, which are becoming increasingly popular as brands turn away from largely unhelpful gender constraints. Some of our female testers even ride men’s boards (and vice versa), especially if they have bigger boots or prefer a stiffer flex pattern.
Women’s boards, in general, are sized smaller and more flexible compared to men’s boards. Other than those key attributes, the biggest difference between men’s boards and women’s boards often comes down to graphics, which might impact the aesthetic of your kit, but not the way a board performs on the hill.
As you shop, pay attention to gender if that’s important to you. However, always remember that it’s more critical to consider factors like flex, board length, recommended rider weights, board width (your boot size is a critical factor in determining what board widths you should gravitate towards), et cetera.
How We Test
- Number of testers: 30
- Snowboards tested: 50
- Brands represented: 25
- Average board score: 68%
- Highest board score: 91% (Nitro Alternator)
- Furthest a tester traveled to join the fray: Tokyo to Reno, 5,198 miles
- Most money a tester won hitting the casinos in Reno: Approx. $420
- Cases of Fat Tire remaining at the end of the test: 0
This year’s snowboard test was well-timed. We scheduled our annual board test in late February, which, by chance, turned out to be a couple of days after a massive storm deposited over 10 feet of snow in the highest and harshest reaches of the Sierra—an awe-inspiring, shred-rich range that traces the border of California and Nevada. Once the roads opened and local testers shoveled their way out of neck-deep driveways, our crew assembled in the Biggest Little City in the World: Reno, Nevada, our basecamp for this year’s board test.
Each morning, we made the quick trip from Reno up to the slopes of Diamond Peak Ski Resort. There are certainly more famous resorts in Lake Tahoe, and the Diamond Peak locals wouldn’t have it any other way. The resort is on the small side, but it boasts an impressive 1,840 feet of vertical, the fourth highest in Lake Tahoe—not to mention ripping groomers, excellent tree-skiing, and non-existent crowds. While droves of Tahoe tourists flock to bigger resorts on mega passes, Diamond Peak is hidden in plain sight along the northeast shore of the lake, and is publicly owned by the community of Incline Village. The lift tickets are relatively cheap, the vibe is a throwback to mom-and-pop resorts of yore, and the secret stashes stay secret a little longer than you might expect on a powder day.
The storm gave way to sunny days, and we spent the test week exploring Diamond Peak, enjoying wind-loaded powder, manicured groomers, wind-scoured crud, and warming slush. We also checked out the surrounding sidecountry, accessed from a gate at the top of the Crystal Express chair. We had 32 testers in the mix, enough to handle 70 decks submitted by brands big and boutique alike. Riders made the pilgrimage from as far as Salt Lake City, and one snowboard instructor even caught a flight from Japan after spending a season in Hokkaido. But the vast majority of our test team consisted of local Tahoe and Reno riders. Skill sets ranged from intermediate to expert—a critical mix to assess which boards are best for each specific skill level.
After hammering two or three laps on a board—occasionally more if the deck deserved it—testers returned to shredquarters to fill out comprehensive review forms. We scored boards on overall performance, responsiveness, turning ability, pop, and performance at speed. We had testers dive deep on flex, carving chops, and asked them if they’d spend their hard-earned cash on each board. Then, we grabbed a drill or screwdriver, found a new steed, swapped bindings, and hit the slopes. Rip, review, wrench, repeat.
We also ran extended testing throughout the rest of the season, seeking to put higher-scoring gear through as many conditions and scenarios as possible. Testers took select splits, solids, boots, bindings, and accessories on trips to Japan, Norway, Utah, Montana, Washington, and beyond. They almost tested through summer, riding at their home mountains of Palisades and Mammoth until the end of May. Finally, I sorted through over 350 feedback forms before identifying the top picks and writing these reviews.
Meet Our Testers
Drew Zieff
is a Tahoe-based freelance writer and a lifelong snowboarder. In addition to directing ܳٲ’s snowboard and splitboard gear tests—a role he’s handled since 2016—he directs Backcountry Magazine’s splitboard test and nerds out on snowboard gear and travel for REI, Gear Junkie, Gear Patrol, and Popular Mechanics, among others. He spends his winters testing snowboard and splitboard gear in his backyard backcountry zones or up at Palisades Tahoe, as well as chasing stories and storms to snowboard meccas like Japan and Norway. His summers? They’re mainly spent at his desk, sifting through review forms and spec sheets, compiling our snowboard reviews—although he occasionally disappears in his custom-built 2006 Chevy Express for a few days when there’s swell on the coast.
Chris Cloyd
The only thing more eclectic than Chris Cloyd’s riding style is his resume. A former touring musician, former personal trainer, and still-holding-on endurance athlete who lives in June Lake, CA, Chris Cloyd spends his winters splitboard guiding, teaching AIARE courses, and handling radministrative duties for . In his free time, you can find him crushing couloirs deep in the Eastern Sierras or putting solid boards through their paces at June Mountain. A fan of strong coffee and heavy metal who often combines the two on his way to shred, Cloyd is not remotely gentle on his gear—he lives to thrash.
Tyler Macleod
Tyler Macleod is a diehard snowboard nerd who resides in Denver, although his heart still lies in his former home of Winter Park, CO, which he continues to visit as often as I-80 traffic allows. While Macleod now works in the beer industry, he’s the former product editor of Transworld Snowboarding. He brings skills and snowboard knowledge gleaned from running հԲɴǰ’s world-famous “Good Wood” test to our annual board testing.