Gnu Velvet Guru Snowboard
BEST FOR: PARK
鈥淭he only negative: most other boards I rode couldn鈥檛 live up to it,鈥 one tester scribbled after a test run, during which she noticed how nimble and lightweight the was in the park. Its camber-rocker-camber profile (the inverse of the Scarlet) and soft flex give it tons of pop and a low, fun swing weight. We were surprised at how well it plowed through chunder, but as expected, it was too noodly to hold an edge on hard-packed steeps.
High Societ Scarlet Snowboard
No surprise that the earned the highest praise in our test: it has the same technology as our Gear of the Year-winning men鈥檚 board鈥攁 surefire camber profile (rockered everywhere but outside the bindings) and burly P-tex sidewalls鈥攚ith a few women-friendly features (lighter weight and softer-flexing fiberglass). It charged steeps but was playfully agile through trees. 鈥淧oppy enough for airs, soft enough for moguls, solid enough for big landings,鈥 summarized one tester.