Ten of the Best - Halfpipe Snowboards

Speed along the flat bottom of the pipe, grip up the walls, lightening quick response, plenty of pop off the lip and weightless airtime are qualities that you need from a snowboard if you want to push you abilities in the pipe. Snowboard Review had a look at 10 of the best offerings for the 09/10 season.

Burton Vapor – Lighter than a bag of feathers with more space age technology than a NASA shuttle, the Vapor is Burton’s flagship pipe board. At twice the price of other brands top of the range snowboards, the Vapor may not be affordable to most especially as you’ll have to buy Burton bindings too, but if you’re serious about halfpipe then it may well be a worthwhile expense.

Atomic Alibi – Refined snowboarding doesn’t have to come with an extravagant price tag. The Alibi has all of the build quality that Atomic’s become renowned for, in a responsive and lively freestyle package with a medium flex. Don’t just confine this board to the pipe, it’s at home in the park and all over the mountain too.

Burton Operator – Shaun White’s stick of choice. If you need a board to attempt those back-to-back 1080 double corks then you might want to consider the board of a pro who’s got them as a stock trick in his competition run … need I say more?

Head Team I. – A versatile little number from Head. The Head Team I. has all the features you’d expect to find on a smokin’ pipe ride like Carbon and Kevlar reinforcement, a high grade sintered base and honeycomb inserts. But not content with making a great pipe board the engineers at Head have included Intelligence fibres which react to the increased vibrations experienced riding at high speeds so the faster and more aggressively you ride, the more the flex stiffens up. The perfect snowboard for those who want to ride the same board on the buttery park boxes that they ride in the pipe.

Ellis Supreme – Ellis have been kicking around the LA snowboard scene for a couple of seasons now. This year the lads at Ellis have got hold of some serious technology to fill their boards with. Aluminium honeycomb inserts and carbon reinforcement make the Supreme extremely light and poppy and Ellis’ progressive ‘Dip n Grip’ tri-radial sidecut will provide plenty of edge hold up transitions.

Lib Tech Dark Series – The dashing graphics on the Dark Series are like a well cut tuxedo on a body builder. C2 banana rocker keeps the pop in the rock and the underfoot power plates make sure that all that pressure your putting through your feet is ending up through the Magnetraction edges. Not cheap but more tricks than a magicians top hat.

Capita Quiver Killer – If the name hasn’t given it away, Capita reckon the Quiver Killer is pretty versatile. Transworld magazine think the Killer’s pretty good in the pipe too, the test crew voting it as their 3rd favourite halfpipe snowboard this year and in the top 5 last year. A pedigree performer that won’t break the bank.

Amplid HiDef – Looking for one of the lightest boards on the planet with telepathic response and more grip in a pipe than a plumber’s vice? You may well have found the answers to all your prayers. Peter at Amplid didn’t skimp on the materials or on design on the HiDef. Featuring tip and tail Nomex inserts and Hex Mat pre-preg glass laminates the HiDef is leaner and far better looking than Madonna, add to that a 7700 grade sintered base and the mathematically correct CAD designed Bezier sidecut and you’re talking about a board that’s weightless in the air with uncompromising grip up the pipe walls and rocket speed along the flat bottom.

Omatic Celebrity – When Louis Vito isn’t driving grannies wild all over the States with his spandex costumes and rhythmic hip thrusting on Dancing with the Stars he’s one of the best halfpipe riders on the planet and his board of choice is the Celebrity. The Celebrity is a fast, smooth, responsive and ridiculously light board with tons of snap, crackle and pop, and really impressive edge hold, especially as it’s a true twin shape. No gimmicks just damn good.

Rossignol JDub – Rossignol’s freestyle powerhouse, the JDub isn’t for the weak and feeble. Under the bizarrely shaped tip and tail lies a stiff longitudinal and torsional flex an aggressive sidecut and Magnetraction edges courtesy of Rossi’s friends at Mervin. The JDub tears up pipe walls and pops like a stick of dynamite thanks to the Carbon and Kevlar reinforcements. A bit of an animal, but rewarding for those, man enough to ride it.

Posted by Rich Ewbank in Features.

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