Board: Nitro Highlander
Size: 159
Camber Option: True Camber. Oldschool camber.
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, cooler temps, a dusting of fresh snow on top of firm perfect corduroy, chunder, ice, and slush.
Flex: This is a stiff freeride board. You get a a slightly softer nose that stiffens up midway to the front insert pack then gets progressively stiffer to outside the rear insert pack. On the outside of the rear insert pack there’s a noticeable flex point that then gets stiffer as it goes to the tail upkick. The torsional flex is there but not overly noticeable.
Stability: This board is smooth and stable for the most part. Chatter in the tips is dissipated before it hits the front insert packs. Right inside to the outside of the rear insert pack you can get jarred if you hit really rutted out terrain. This board does want to cut through everything in its path.
Ollies/Pop: You have to load the camber to get it to snap. This is one of those boards that once you load it up there’s a slight delay in how it snaps, but once it rebounds the pop is immense and you get some solid air time.
Butterability: Yeah that didn’t happen.
Carving: Here’s what this board is designed for. It’s a hard charging and groomer killing carving machine. This board is one of those decks that’s a bit unique in how it engages. You start the carve out at the nose contact point but then you transition in to steering it under the front foot where the Power Pod is and then you drive it from the rear foot entirely. This is a board that rolls smoothly from edge to edge but can get a bit twitchy at speed meaning that it needs to always be engaged on edge. When laying this thing over it takes a lot of work and you will put some serious effort into it to control it. This is a board that thrives in high speed aggressive situations. Short quick carves are fine but it’s those medium to hard carves where it just shines.
Rider in Mind: Hard charging freeride guy that has a carving focus.
Personal Thoughts: This board isn’t going to be for everyone, but those that understand who this is for will enjoy it. This thing needs speed and space to really come alive. It can get twitchy at times and want to kick out or hook up on that rear Power Pod but once you learn that you can’t be weak with this you’ll be fine. Overall it’s a super smooth ride.
Comparable Boards: Amplid Souly Grail, Ride Berzerker, Capita Black Snowboard of Death
Recommended Bindings: Nitro Phantom Carver, Ride A-10, Union Atlas
No Comments