Board: Nidecker Gamma

Size: 157

Camber Option: Surfy Camrock. Rocker in the tips and 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: Sunny bluebird skies, low to moderate winds, warm temps, chop, chunder, perfect smooth corduroy, and a little left over pow in spots.

Flex: This is that ever so slightly past middle of the road flex. The tips are soft and that’s accentuated by the rocker. The mid section is a little more stiff but not by much. The torsional flex is noticeable and works with the rest of the flex of the board.

Stability: This board is really lively, especially compared to the APX version. This means you get chatter in the tips that does resonate back underfoot. In lumpy terrain you want to keep your knees bent or you will feel it.

Ollies: This board is explosive with its reactivity. You load that camber up and roll back on the rocker and it springs. This thing will launch anything in its path.

Pop On Jumps: This board wants to send it off the lip of any jump. That small jump becomes a medium, medium becomes large, and the large will send you to the stratosphere. This thing wants to be in the air.

Butterability: That rocker in the tips gives you such a big platform to lock into presses on the snow. This is really easy to engage even with the rebound that it offers. So get weird, get wild, and pop out of every butter variation you can.

Jibbing: When you lock into a press this board lets you know. It’s easy to get your weight out over the tip or tail and feel it engage. When you hit the end of the feature it will rebound out giving you that much needed snap to get over anything in the landing like that family of fat skiers having their family reunion picnic there. Going sideways there’s enough give in the center that this board cradles the feature.

Carving: There’s something about this brands asym sidecut that just feels more secure than others. It locks in well, it has a smooth entry and exit from a turn, and it just lets you sit on it as you’re making your carves. When you lay it over it engages and doesn’t feel like it’s having any issues. In fact only once on sheet ice did I notice that the tail kicked out, otherwise it was consistent. Short tight quick carves, medium mellow carves, and medium hard to aggressive carves it has you covered.

Rider in Mind: All mountain freestyle guy that loves an asym sidecut.

Personal Thoughts: While slightly softer than the APX version I feel this one is easier to engage the snap and you get more rebound. This makes popping off anything a dream. The sidecut as previously stated is super dialed in. This was one of those boards I got on and didn’t want to get off because it rode so well.

Comparable Boards: Yes Greats, Ride Zero, Gnu Riders Choice C3

Binding Recommendations: Nidecker Kaon Plus, Rome Katana, Now Select