Board: Nidecker Rave

Size: 159

Camber Option: Cam rocker

Bindings: K2 Indy

Stance: 21.5 Wide 18 Negative 15 Goofy

Boots: K2 Thraxis

My Weight: 195

Resort: Arapahoe Basin

Conditions: Overcast skies, slightly warmer temps, snow falling lightly, fresh powder, and freshly groomed runs under fresh powder.

Flex: This board has a slight directional flex to it making the nose ever so marginally softer than the tail. It does progressively stiffen up from the nose to the tail and there is a moderate amount of torsional flex to it.

Stability: Underfoot this board is super stable. You never really notice any chatter or vibrations resonating back up. The nose did get a little flap in it at high speeds on groomers but once again that didn’t resonate back under foot. Overall this board was super stable.

Ollies: Having a camrock camber profile gives this board pop. You do have to load it up and be slightly on top of it to get snap, but once you do it’s solid.

Pop On Jumps: If you’re cutting through the park and going to hit a jump, well you’re golden. If you’re going to be jumping every day, probably not the board you want. That’s just how it is.

Butterability: So to get a good butter on this board you want to be way out on the tip and really press into it. There is a tiny sweet spot that you have to be aware of to lock into it. I found that in fresh snow it was easier to manhandle this board than it was on a groomer as that fresh snow created a cushion for playing around.

Jibbing: It’ll get the job done, but it’s not a board you want to jib on daily. Go fast, press hard, pop off quickly.

Carving: The sidecut on this board is dialed in. You can just drive it into a turn and know it’s going to feel locked in and never wash out. You want to push it to the max? Go for it. Whether you’re doing short quick tight set up turns or long drawn out hard carves this board has you dialed.

Rider in Mind: All mountain freerider with more emphasis on the freeride aspect.

Personal Thoughts: While I somewhat regretted taking this out on the surprise powder day that we had, it didn’t suck. With A Basin opening new terrain I got this right into some steep terrain and took it through its paces in tight steep technical trees. This is a board that was great at absorbing chatter and would let you push it to the limit when you needed to.

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