Board: Nidecker Alpha
Size: 162
Camber Option: Surfy camrocker. Set back camrocker with more rocker in the nose than the tail and the camber section being more dominate under the backfoot.
Bindings: Rome Black Label
Stance: 21.5 Wide 15 Negative 12 Goofy
Boots: K2 Thraxis Size 10
My Weight: 200lbs
Resort: Copper Mountain
Conditions: A mix of grey skies, low to moderate visibility, low to high winds, fresh powder, chunder pow, crisp groomers, and after the storm conditions.
Flex: So here we are once again with a directional freeride flex. Softer nose that stiffens up outside the front insert pack and gets a little stiffer in the tail. The torsional flex is pretty minimal which adds to the rigidity of this board.
Stability: The stability is there that’s for sure. Getting into choppy terrain or anything that might considered less than ideal it just pushes through. You do get a little bit of chatter in the nose but most of the vibrations are gone by the time it gets to the front insert pack.
Ollies/Pop: The snap is there. You notice right away when you load the camber section up how it engages with that small amount of rocker in the tail and lets it spring. This board can boost but you need to be going moderately fast, at slow speeds it just seems like a slug.
Butterability: This takes a bit more work due to the flex pattern. Even though there’s a flex point right where the camber meets the rocker it still remains rigid and forces you to put more effort into it.
Carving: The edge to edge transmission is fluid off the front foot but when you start to get onto the back foot to apex the turn you notice it gets a little hooky. A bit more power and speed kills this issue so if you’re a slow rider, guess you better go faster. Now with the setback, camber profile, and flex you do end up steering this board more from inside to outside the back foot. That’s where it gets its drive. The torsional flex does limit how much you can twist this board when steering so be aware of that.
Rider in Mind: Freeride guy that likes to have a little power in their board but can still sometimes be laid back.
Personal Thoughts: I don’t know what it is about these Nideckers in this new series but I’m overly not impressed with them. Sure they get the job done and they cut through chop with ease, but they just feel like more work than what they should for how they’re being marketed. It’s nice that I can plow through chunder and chop with ease but I also like to have some torsional flex when I drive the board, instead I feel like I’m just pushing through the turn instead of controlling it the way I want.
Comparable Boards: Nitro Slash, Ride Smokescreen, Capita Navigator
Recommended Bindings: Nidecker Kaon Plus, Ride C-9, Rome DOD
