Ten of the Best - All-Mountain Snowboards

Want to ride park, pipe, powder and piste on one board, you’ll be after an All-Mountain snowboard. Characterised by a directional shape and flex, All-Mountain snowboards do exactly what the name suggests. If you’re not sure what kind of riding you’ll be doing or you just can’t afford a quiver of boards then an All-Mountain snowboard is the best option.

K2 – Zero

Rich took this board for a spin at the Kaunertal board test and didn’t want to give it back to the sales rep. Not only is the Zero an all-mountain killer it’s one of the lightest and environmentally friendly boards available this season.  It seems the Zero is never happier than when it’s charging down a bumpy slope at ridiculous speeds; the hyper-progressive sidecut means that initiating and holding carves is effortless no matter whether you’re closing or opening the arc of your turn. In the park this board is amazingly stable on take-offs and forgiving on landings, and in the pipe the Zero holds an edge beautifully and accelerates up pipe walls. If you’re a strong intermediate or advanced rider and you’re looking for a board that will help you give you the confidence to go even faster and bigger then the Zero is worth checking-out.

Atomic – Alibi

The Atomic Alibi has been at the top of all-mountain snowboard design for a long time now but still doesn’t get the praise we feel it deserves. Unfortunately it’s always been thought of as a cheaper, poorer performing version of the Burton Custom which couldn’t be further from the truth; you only have to look at the numerous accolades and award’s its won over the years. Not only is the Alibi very reasonably priced, especially if you’re buying it in the UK or Europe, but it performs like a board worth more than twice its value. The Alibi is very stable and damp underfoot but unlike a lot of stable rides has a very reactive sidecut which is coupled with lively torsional rigidity. Not only that but the Alibi has an ultra-fast sintered base and Atomic’s Kinetic FS core which is reinforced with carbon stringers for mega pop. Again, if you’re a strong intermediate or advanced rider and you want a board that won’t break the bank but will perform in the park, pipe, powder and on the piste then this beauty is definitely worth considering. Seasonaires looking for one board that will keep them progressing for the next couple of seasons could do worst than buying the Alibi.

GNU - Riders Choice

Any board that is the first-choice for GNU’s pro team, with the exception of Mr Kass, must be a high-end extremely versatile beast. Gnu have thrown everything they have at this all-mountain shred stick, with the exception of an asymmetric sidecut. This years Riders Choice has; a banana rocker profile, Magnetraction (wavy edges), a sintered 9900 base and Quasi glass laminate for added torsional rigidity. What you can expect is a board that grips well on the piste due to the magnetraction and Quasi glass laminate but also floats in powder and presses nicely on rails due to the banana profile and slightly more relaxed longitudinal flex between the bindings. For those all-mountain jibbers who want grip but don’t want to sacrifice floating in powder or pressing on rails this could be the perfect compromise.

Ride - Concept UL

The Concept UL is Ride’s ‘big dog’ this season but despite the higher price tag it seems this board is more forgiving and damper underfoot than its Ride counterpart the ‘Society’. Despite a slightly set-back stance, directional core and softer nose (to help the board float in powder) the UL is ridiculously stable when riding switch and hitting the park. Also, an ultra-light construction coupled with carbon torsion forks, Aramid/Fibreglass laminate and linear carbon mean that this board has more pop than a bottle of 1959 vintage Don Perignon. Ride have also given the Concept UL their Copper Fusion base technology which apparently increases conductivity of heat and static electricity which ultimately reduces friction and increases speed……just be sure to avoid riding over any electricity cables.

Yes – 156.5

There has been a lot of hype in 2009 surrounding ‘YES’ snowboards but the question remains; can their boards really cut the mustard? Well, in short……”YES”. Founders JP Solberg, DCP and Swiss nut-job Romain De Marchi were given the keys to the legendary Nidecker factory and told to create boards that would help take their own riding to the next level….so that’s exactly what they did. The 156.5 is JP and Romains’ all-mountain shred stick and unlike their former glory days at Burton it has enabled them to stay on the same deck all season. The 156.5 has been equipped with Nidecker’s Camrock profile (a compromise between camber and rocker), an asymmetric sidecut (to allow equal toe-edge and heel-edge turning performance) and Nidecker’s ultra-grip which is fairly similar to Magnetraction. Despite a comparatively rigid longitudinal and torsional flex the Camrock profile allows this board to be playful at low speeds but doesn’t compromise stability and control when hitting bigger kickers in the park and in the backcountry. If you’re looking for a ridiculously good-value all-mountain kicker-hitter from a genuinely rider-owned brand then YES’s 156.5 should be on your Christmas list.

Burton – Jussi

Jussi Oksannen is a robot…..FACT. It wouldn’t matter if Jussi rode a 1984 Winterstick because he’d still be considerably better than most of us. Nevertheless, if anybody is going to know how to design the perfect all-mountain deck it’s Jussi; after all he’s been ruling AK lines, street jibs and snowboard parks across the globe for years. This years offering is a directional twin with Burton’s new Freestyle Scoop Rocker profile which is far mellower than the previous Park Rocker profile and similarly to a zero camber profile tapers-off at the main contact points on the board. As-well-as the new rocker profile the Jussi has been given a triaxle fibreglass laminate and carbon i-beam for added torsional rigidity and pop. Finally, like last years deck the Jussi has Burton’s channel (EST) binding system which allows the board to flex more freely underfoot and enable the rider to find the perfect binding position. All this technology means that you get a board which is fun to jib on rails due to its mellow rocker shape and slightly softer longitudinal flex but is more than happy to be ridden fast in the backcountry and at big jumps in the park, due to firmer torsional rigidity and a good amount of dampening underfoot.

Rossignol – One Mag

All mountain performance in ‘One’ snowboard. With snowboarders like Swiss uber guru Jonas Emery choosing to ride the ‘One Mag’ for pretty-much every type of terrain he encounters, you can be sure this board will stand up to whatever terrain you chose to throw at it. Loaded with Magnetraction and reinforced with both carbon and kevlar this Rossignol offers uncompromised grip and stability in all snow conditions. Rossignol have also given the ‘One Mag’ a three different flex patterns longitudinally along the board; a softer nose for better float in powder and ease into tighter transitions, a fairly stiff flex between the bindings for better edge hold in turns and in the pipe, and a stiff tail for added pop and support on big landings in the park and backcountry.

Salomon – Official

The Salomon Official has been in constant development by Salomon and freestyle legend David Benedeck over the past few years and is finally being recognised for the great all-rounder that it is. This seasons Official has been named by Transworld Magazine in their recent Good Wood Awards as one of this years top Pipe Snowboards. Nevertheless, the Official isn’t a one-trick-pony; it eats-up the icy morning pistes thanks to its Equalizer sidecut, which combined with a slightly softer torsional flex means that initiating turns on steeper slopes isn’t hard and the edges still hold really well on crud and when you decide to turn-up the pace. Jibbing around the slopes is also surprisingly easy, especially when you consider the Official’s stability and pop. This mix of playfulness and stability been achieved by Salomon’s ‘Popster’ core profile which helps generate more pop from the board and give a more consistent flex. If you’re a beginner looking for a board to last for the next four or five seasons then you’ll do well to have a look at the Official because no matter how good you get you’ll still find this board rewarding. The great thing about the Official is that it isn’t too aggressive for a beginner and isn’t so stiff that it’s going to stop seasoned riders from hitting rails or jibbing around on the flat.

Endeavor – BOD

If you’re looking for a board to ride at your local indoor slope or hit street rails on then steer well-clear of Endeavor’s ‘Board of Directors’ because it won’t be much fun. If on the other hand you’re looking for a board that loves being ridden at Mach 10 into large jumps and transitions then this could be an inspired purchase. Endeavor have constructed the BOD out of some seriously high-end materials (including a Quaruba and Poplar core) it’s unlikely that you’ll find many snowboards with more carbon and Kevlar reinforcement. In short, the BOD has been designed for advanced riders who are looking for a board that can push them harder, faster and higher; we feel that the stability, pop and torsional rigidity of the BOD offers exactly that.  Finally, it goes without saying that in true Endeavor style the graphics on the BOD are second-to-none, although your girlfriend might disagree and want you to keep it locked in the garage.

Unity – Ultra Light Series

Ever heard of Unity? Most riders haven’t so don’t start worrying that you’re out-of-touch with the industry. Unity is a small brand out of Colorado that has been building high-quality bomb-proof snowboards for the past 15 years. This year Unity went to town with their R&D and developed the Ultra Light Series which is the most technologically advanced board that they’ve ever built. To significantly reduce the weight of this board Unity introduced the use of a space-age material called Vectran. Vectran is an ultra-light composite which is five times stronger than steel and has great dampening qualities; in fact its so high-tech that NASA use it in their space-suits. Other characteristics of the ULS include a very fast base, a poppy vertically laminated Aspen and Poplar core and P-tex sidewalls for added durability. All these features leave you with a board that takes its place alongside the K2 Zero and Ride Concept UL; ridiculously powerful and stable but responsive edge to edge, poppy and unbelievably fun when you open up those turns. Unfortunately the likelihood is that you won’t find these boards at your local retailer but check the Unity website for retailers, distributors and test-days.

Posted by Tom Ewbank in Features.

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