Board: Nidecker Area
Size: 153
Camber Option: Directional camber. It’s a set back camber that goes into a flat zone that acts more like an early rise in the nose.
Bindings: K2 Indy
Stance: 21.5 15 negative 12 Goofy
Boots: K2 Thraxis
My Weight: 195
Resort: Copper Mountain
Conditions: Overcast skies with patches of blue poking through, 23 plus inches in the last 36 hours, colder temps, perfect corduroy, and pow pockets all over.
Flex: This board has a unique directional flex pattern to it. Softer nose, stiffest under foot, then a tail that is stiffer than the nose but softer than the mid section. There’s a decent amount of torsional give to it.
Stability: So here’s the thing you’ll see the nose flapping and vibrating, but you won’t feel any of that resonate back underfoot. This board is so stable right under foot that it doesn’t buck you around. It’s great in whoops and rutted out terrain. You’ll never feel like you’re going to get bucked.
Ollies/Pop: Having camber in this board really helps with the pop. You do have to load it up to get the snap out of it, but it likes launching off rollers, sidehits, cat track gaps, and anything you can put in front of it. While it is camber it’s not so aggressive that you feel the load pushing back into your knees which makes it quick to snap when you’re in uneven terrain.
Butterability: The nose has such an abrupt up-kick in it that you want to make sure you’re buttering in fresh snow, otherwise on firm snow you’ll be leveraging yourself so far over the tip that it can cause you to wash out. I will say that having the tips softer than the mid section does make it playful and fun in various snow conditions.
Carving: This board is touted as a softer more friendly board for someone getting into carving. I would agree, although don’t let that marketing spiel turn you off to this board. It fucking rips turns. You can set it on edge and forget it. The nose engages easily then it locks in right where that camber zone is and allows you to set the edge and forget it. Tight quick turns or long drawn out ones this board has you covered.
Rider in Mind: Someone that wants to carve and ride pow on a directional board that isn’t going to be over powering or domineering.
Personal Thoughts: I wasn’t sure what I was going to get into with this board. I could see the camber dominance in it but that nose shape and up-kick was intense. The conditions were right to put it through some early season powder paces and the groomers at Copper were perfect for carving. This is a board that for someone that doesn’t want to spend a lot for a powder/carving board is a solid option.
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