Board: Academy Team
Size: 157
Camber Option: Hybrid Camber. It’s camrocker.
Bindings: Rome Black Label
Stance: 21.5 Wide 15 Negative 12 Goofy
Boots: K2 Thraxis Size 10
My Weight: 200lbs
Resort: Arapahoe Basin
Conditions: Overcast skies, average temps, snow falling, with 4 to 10 inches of fresh snow on top of everything.
Flex: It’s your standard middle of the road all mountain freestyle flex. You have some play in the tips and then it stiffens up from where the rocker meets the camber through the middle. There’s a decent amount of torsional flex which makes the board playful where it counts.
Stability: I was riding a wide so that added to the stability of it. But overall it was a damp board that let you plow through everything in your path. You get some chatter in the tips where the rocker is but it never resonates underfoot.
Ollies: The camber profile is easy to load up and snap with. It’s not the poppiest deck out there but it will get the job done if you’re prepared to work for it a bit more.
Pop On Jumps: It was a full blown pow day so no jumps where hit, but I can say that things thing would handle anything from small to large with ease.
Butterability: That rocker in the nose and tail really gives this board an optimal spot to lock into presses. You can just pop and land on it and really press into it with very minimal fight it wants to hold on and just let you press forever.
Jibbing: It was a pow day and I don’t even think the rails got dug out so there was no reason to try. Would I have an issue pressing with this thing? No that rocker section is easy to engage. But again didn’t hit anything.
Carving: This board moves from edge to edge with the ease. It’s not overly nimble but it’s effortless and that’s nice. On edge it holds on and lets you stay locked in. You can drive it from the middle of the board back with relative ease and that’s nice for making bit long swooping carves. If you really want to lay it over just be prepared to drive it more from the center through the back foot.
Rider in Mind: All mountain freestyle rider.
Personal Thoughts: It’s a snowboard. It did snowboard things. I’ve ridden countless boards like this that don’t stand out as being anything special and that get the job done. Are there worse boards out there? Yep, and there’s better ones too. It’s just a middle of the pack deck.
Comparable Boards: West La Hache, Jones Mountain Twin, Endeavor BOD
