2014 Niche Knew Snowboard Used and Reviewed

What can you say about the Niche Knew to give it an appropriate intro for a review? Well it’s a snowboard, it will probably get some of the job done, and you know people will ride it. Yep, that’s about all there is to say for this 2014 stick so just read the review.

Board: Niche Knew

Size: 156

Camber Option: Flat. Neither reverse nor traditional it’s just flat.

Bindings: Rome 390 Boss

Stance: 22.5 Wide 18 Negative 15 Goofy

Boots: K2 Thraxis Size 10

My Weight: 175lbs.

Resort: Arapahoe Basin

Conditions: Spring snow that could range from frozen ice to slush and overcast skies and high winds.

Flex: Stiffer than a jib noodle but softer than a middle of the road park board. The flex reminds me of one of those beginner to intermediate level decks you put a rider on to progress with and tell them it won’t hold them back. The tips have a lot of give and then there’s only a mild amount of stiffness starting under foot and moving between the bindings. When it comes to the torsional give there’s an abundance which adds to the softer flexing nature of the board.

Stability: Yeah throw that out the window this thing was getting bucked around on cat tracks. It’s just not a board that absorbs chatter.

Ollies: There’s a little bit but over all it felt dead.

Pop On Jumps: Hope your knees are prepared to do the work for this deck it just doesn’t pop.

Butterability: Now here’s something this board isn’t bad at but it’s not great at. It’ll get the job done but don’t think for a second you’ll be going to yourself, “oh wow this is fucking awesome balls I can just do whatever I want”. Being flat camber it is a little hooky if you’re not on top of your game.

Jibbing: It took me a whole day of riding this to find the sweet spot for presses and even then it just wasn’t a wow look this board can jib. It was more like oh finally I’m locked in. Yeah it got the job done but once again not something that stood out.

Carving: It’s a non-aggressive sidecut that can dig in on a carve to a point but it won’t let you get super low and hold on. Occasionally the board would wash out due to the flex pattern and if you weren’t paying attention you were more than likely going to fall down.

Rider in Mind: Someone that likes a dead flexing board that is sort of blah.

Personal Thoughts: This board just rides like a dead plank. There’s no real pop, the sweet spot for presses is mediocre, and over all it’s just not fun. This is just a snowboard that doesn’t add anything to the equation. I guess if you want to feel good about yourself they have that green initiative thing but over all I’d avoid it.

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