Prediction: The Nitro Alternator, which debuted last year and remains unchanged for 2025 (except for the new 154-centimeter length), will be everywhere this season. You’ll catch flashes of this directional all-mountain weapon’s sparkplug-adorned base on the silver screen at film premieres, decimating lines on the Natural Selection Tour, and under the boots of local legends at your home hill. Why? Because the Alternator was the ultimate no-bullshit quiver-killer in our testing, earning it a coveted Editors’ Choice award.
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Editors’ Choice
Nitro Alternator
Sizing: 154, 157, 160, 162(wide) cm
Genre: All-mountain/Backcountry freestyle
Profile: Trüe Camber
Shape: Directional
Flex: 7/10
Waist Width: 254 mm (157 cm)
Sidecut: Dual degressive (10.8m/6.8m/10.8m)
Pros and Cons
⊕ Jack of all trades
⊕ Capable of big drop and top speeds
⊕ Lightweight
⊕ Responsive
⊕ Stable
⊕ Reasonably priced
⊗ Not great for jibs
⊗ Unforgiving for non-experts
⊗ Average float
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Background
The Alternator is a collaborative pro model originally designed by Nitro team rider Griffin Siebert and former Nitro rider Jared Elston (who recently his departure from the brand), alongside Nitro co-founder, board-building authority, and cultural treasure Tommy Delago.
Elston’s a pedal-to-the-metal Bend, Oregon, ripper who’s made a name for himself filming heavy hammers in the backcountry (check out his recent part in Brown Cinema’s ) and butting heads with the big dogs on the Natural Selection Tour. And then, occupying a more approachable swath of the shred spectrum, Siebert is an ultra-suave Wasatch wiggler and skintrack slayer, whose flicks celebrate the joys of riding powder with friends. (Siebert moonlights as a graphic designer for Nitro and is the artist to thank for the Alternator’s tester-favorite graphics.)
According to our smitten test team, the resulting ride speaks to the designers’ diverse approaches. The Alternator can cruise groomers and surf windlip-laden pow fields. It can charge steeps, drop cliffs, and straight-line sketchy runouts like it’s trying to break the sound barrier, too.
How the Nitro Alternator Tested
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. Former snowboard editor and lifelong board nerd Tyler Macleod agreed: “It’s begging to leave the ground, whether you’re sessioning a backcountry booter or scouring your local resort for side hits.”
After getting the Alternator airborne both during our test week at Diamond Peak in a range of conditions, from forgiving, wind-loaded pow to dicey chop, and all spring long at his home hill of Winter Park, Macleod appreciated 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.” Buccholz was similarly stoked on the reliable flex pattern: “It has enough strength to battle the chunder.” While the core felt stalwart and stable, testers also felt the Alternator was lightweight and easy to spin.
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. The daily driver shined on runs that started off with testers pillaging powder stashes in Diamond Peak’s bountiful glades, then bombing out of the trees and into manicured groomers, drawing long, arcing turns all the way back to the base area.
Testers 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. “It lays a trench,” gushed Salt Lake City firefighter and dedicated gearhead Jackson Weber. “Fast, large-radius turns are the Alternator’s bread and butter,” affirmed Macleod. “But it’s not afraid to make some quick wiggles through tight trees and VW-sized bumps.” Testers relayed that all-mountain agility comes from the narrower sidecut between the feet, and a thinner core profile at the waist that boosts torsional maneuverability.
Downsides
Demerits were few and far between for the Alternator, but testers did offer a couple of words of warning. There are more forgiving boards out there for intermediate riders, and resort-rippers concerned with technical jibbing should look elsewhere. Additionally, if you’re looking for a powder stick and between sizes, testers recommend sizing up, reporting that the standard-cambered Alternator doesn’t plane as well as wider, rockered shapes in slow, low-angle powder.
Final Thoughts
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 best: “Pow day? Alternator. Slushy day? Alternator. Backcountry booters? Alternator. Mediocre conditions? Definitely the Alternator.”
Side note: If you’re anti-spark plugs, Nitro also has a of the Alternator with Volcom. It has the same tester-approved engine under the hood, but the paint job is more abstract.