Endeavor Live Series - 2012

Snowboard Review:

Endeavor is a brand that stands-out in an industry full of ‘cookie cutter’ brands. It’s not that Endeavor is pioneering the use of space age materials or whacky shapes and profiles, far from it. Endeavor is almost as traditional as a snowboard brand can be, preferring simple camber options and proven materials. It’s just what they do make oozes quality and more importantly, from my experience rides good too.

The Live is probably the longest serving board in the Endeavor range. It’s a twin shaped no-nonsense snowboard designed to perform all-over the hill, from powder to the park. The fact that testing happens in the epic snowfields of Whilstler’s backcountry suggests Endeavor’s R&D is up to scratch. The feel of the Live is very familiar; it’s nice to return to a cambered snowboard after a week of testing all manner of rockers and hybrids. The Live feels very planted and stable on the snow, the flex through the board is medium around a 5-6 out of 10 and feels fairly consistent through the board’s length, meaning the tips and waist feel about the same flex. As usual Endeavor has paired the Live’s medium flex with a fairly aggressive sidecut which makes the Live feel responsive and enjoyable through all types of carves. The Live also feels fairly damp, it doesn’t have a problem with powering through soft choppy snow and in the icy pipe it made short work of any re-frozen slush or patches of glass-like ice. Another design feature I liked about the Live Series was the blunted radius in the kicks. The Live happily carved through deep sugary slush without the kicks digging in too hard and I can imagine in powder they would provide plenty of float and plane nicely above the snow not dipping too much in hard carves.

I enjoyed riding the Endeavor Live, it was like coming home to your Mum’s cooking after spending a year travelling the globe tasting all sorts of exotic delights. Sure it’s not the most exciting snowboard on the market right now but it performs extremely well and does everything you could ask of it without breaking a sweat. For those riders who want the planted feel of camber, a medium flex and want an almost twin shaped board that is versatile on all terrain and in most conditions the Live is a hearty delight.

Highlights:
Solid on-edge and flatbase feel of camber
Nice nose and tail geometry planes well in soft snow for a cambered twin
Damp feel on sketchy snow conditions
7500 sintered base
The usual stunning graphics and quality finish you expect from Endeavor
Nice responsive sidecut

Letdowns:
Not quite as exciting as other boards in the Endeavor line
Could do with losing a bit of weight in the tips

Posted by Rich Ewbank in • Endeavor