Board: Niche Story

Size: 156

Camber Option: Multi-camber. Reverse between the feet and a mellow camber underfoot.

Bindings: Rome Black Label

Stance: 21.5 Wide 15 Negative 12 Goofy

Boots: K2 Thraxis Size 10

My Weight: 200lbs

Resort: Copper Mountain

Conditions: High visibility gray skies, fog, humidity, wet lumpy snow, ice, chop, chunder, frozen groomers. Basically it was a good day on the East Coast.

Flex: Slightly past middle of the road all mountain freeride. This gives you a slightly softer nose that progressively stiffens up to the tail with a hinged flex point in the dead center due to the camber profile. The torsional flex is noticeable and accentuated by that center reverse camber.

Stability: There’s a level of dampness to this board that sticks out as it’s still a somewhat lively board. It does a good job of stopping chatter from the nose when you’re plowing through chop but doesn’t feel dead underfoot. Under the insert packs are the most stable as the center reverse camber acts as a hinge point and that does effect how this board rides when it hammers into any undulation in the snow.

Ollies/Pop: With independent camber zones it changes the dynamic of how you engage this board. It doesn’t have the rebound of other boards but it’s easier to engage off that back foot as you load up the rear camber section and roll back on the tail. From there it springs off the contact point through the upkick in the tail. The overall snap is solid enough for what it is.

Butterability: With the hinged flex point between the feet it makes it easy to park your weight over the inserts and flex this board. Roll forward and you got a nose butter, roll back and weeeeee you’re doing a tail wheelie. Basically it’s a lazy man butter stick from the camber profile and takes no effort.

Carving: So this board has Niche’s take on Magnetraction. It is far more aggressive between the feet to the point you can see it a mile away. This creates a lot of contact when on edge between the feet. To the point some people might find this a bit hooky, I’d say detune as needed to fix this. The overall edge to edge transmission is quick and snappy. You feel it go from toe to heel with force and just grip. When you’re on edge it steers from right under the front foot but completely drives from inside the rear foot. That contact point that’s right inside the rear insert pack just grips and lets you drive from inside the bindings through the tail giving you all your power. It’s relatively easy to lock in a hard carve and just cut through the crap with it.

Rider in Mind: All mountain freeride guy.

Personal Thoughts: There’s a dampness to this board that sticks out as making for a smooth ride without sacrificing the liveliness. Their take on Magnetraction is more aggressive and won’t be for everyone, but it does work, albeit if you have to spend some laps figuring out how it engages and disengages. Overall it’s a solid ride for what it is.

Comparable Boards:
Jones Flagship: https://bit.ly/3DTJcVU
K2 Manifest: https://bit.ly/3rs2b2J
Libtech Rasman: https://bit.ly/3reDMgA

Binding Recommendations:
Rome Katana: https://bit.ly/3DQeX2i
Jones Mercury: https://bit.ly/3dHU8vo
Bent Metal Transfer: https://bit.ly/3DQggye