The 2021 Ride Kink Snowboard Review

Board: Ride Kink

Size: 155

Camber Option: Hybrid Camber. Camrocker with a small rocker zone right before the contact points.

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, average temps, zero wind, perfect corduroy on the groomers with a minor amount of ice and chunder on the sides of the run.

Flex: This board is on the softer side but it’s still not a full blown noodle. It comes in somewhere between middle of the road park flex and jib board with snap which makes it a bit more versatile. You have a little more flex out in the tip and the tail right where that rocker zone is then it slightly stiffens up from there through the middle. There’s a fair amount of torsional flex to it which makes it playful where it counts.

Stability: It’s a park board that’s designed for rails so don’t expect it to be the most damp and stable board out there. It has stability underfoot where it counts but you do feel some chatter from the nose and tail as you ride around. In rutted out terrain it will get bounced around a bit.

Ollies: The snap is there. You load up that camber section which is easy to engage and it will rebound. If you’re the type of guy that boosts off side hits, rollers, and likes ollieing slow signs then you’re going to be pleased with this board.

Pop On Jumps: This thing doesn’t suck on jumps that’s for sure. It’s nice to ride a jib board that can handle some transition and lips. It pops well and that camber gives it just the right amount of added snap so you get optimal boost when you utilize the lip properly.

Butterability: The sweet spot isn’t the biggest in the tip and the tail but it’s noticeable right at the rocker zone before the upkick. Lock in and this board will have a little fight to it so be prepared to keep your weight out over the nose and tail whether going straight or getting sideways.

Jibbing: Here’s where this board shines. It locks into presses and holds you throughout the feature but gives you the snap out that you want to pop off anything. You do have to balance your weight over the sweet spot but that’s to be expected. Getting sideways this board doesn’t clap out on the feature it holds and it holds well cradling the feature.

Carving: It’s a park board so don’t expect it to have the greatest sidecut for ripping deep trenches all the time. With that said the boards nimble edge to edge and allows for a quick set up turn going into a feature or dodging a family of fat skier microwaves on the run. When you push into the center of the board you can get it to spring out of a carve with ease. It feels locked in and smooth on edge which is pretty much a staple of how Ride boards feel.

Rider in Mind: Jib kid that likes snap.

Personal Thoughts: It’s been a hot minute since I got on the Kink and this board didn’t disappoint. It did what I needed to do and then some. The shapes excellent for buttering and jibbing and when you couple that with the flex and camber profile you have a great camber dominate weapon. I like the fact that while this is a jib board it still can handle jumps and transition riding which may be Jed’s influence on this or it’s just the designers didn’t want to make a floppy noodle.

Comparable Boards: Capita Horrorscope, Rome Gangplank, Nitro T1