The snowboard gear we love this season!
Rob Kingwill’s Shaper Summit Board Test is held annually at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort. A motley crew of shredders assembles for three days and tests hundreds of boards. This event is the proving ground for our Rated Radical board recommendations. We sift through the results after the test to find boards that stand out. We keep the riders’ opinions in their own words, so you get an unvarnished take on what’s Rated Radical this season.
Women's Rated Radical
Rossignol XV Sushi
TESTER
Valerie Black
SIZE
144
“My first impression of this board was that it would be too big for me and I shied away from it previously for that reason. It is a little heavier than the others, but I LOVED it. It rides like a surfboard; it has zero wobble and snaps tight turns. It’s perfectly suited to both tree-riding and wide-open groomers. There is a noticeable dampness and shock absorption to the ride. I would love to know what this is like in a powder situation, I bet it’s funnnnn...”
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Never Summer Lady FR
TESTER
Kelly Collado
SIZE
147
“Super playful and had great maneuverability and responsiveness with my turns. I honestly want this board in my arsenal. Had a great feel on the snow. Was able to hold my edge no problem. Had awesome pop and was light, making jumping super fun. Decently stable in uneven terrain for the size. Moderately fast. Awesome surf shape.”
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Pallas Epiphany
TESTER
Rebecca Hail
SIZE
151
“This board is a stable table, baby. It will never let you down and you can dance on it if you want to with the peace of mind every party girl needs. It’s like if your best friend was turned into a snowboard. You know they’ll always have your back no matter what! Wide, long, and big– not what you’d expect to love but what you need to love. Can pop but also can lock and drop it.”
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Rossignol After Hours
TESTER
Jen Fox
SIZE
153
“So playful and fun for spring and low tide. I love this board. Great stability at high speed.”
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Igneous Dark Star
TESTER
Valerie Black
SIZE
148
“It’s PERFECT. Not only do I have the time of my life on the Dark Star, people bigger than me and way smaller than me have the time of their lives on this board. I am fearless on this board! It is poppy and stable; it’s so dense and shock absorbing, it’s like flying with absolutely effortless steering. I want to borrow this one for a really deep day.”
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Franco Sabina
TESTER
Jenelle Linn
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SIZE
147
“I only got one run on this beauty, but it will live in my memory for a long time because it was so fun to carve. This board is super responsive, even to the most subtle of movements. It wasn’t too stiff which I personally love. I could plough through deep, sticky slush with no problem. Very damp, very fun. Rated radical for sure!”
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Men's Rated Radical
Winterstick Arkane
TESTER
Knut Carter
SIZE
155
“The Ark is one of my favorite boards to ride. For me, the Arkane made hard snow even easier to ride. For the icy conditions we had in the morning, this board was on point. Hard bumps had less jolts to my knees than most boards. The dampness was amazing while keeping control.”
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Burton Family Tree Straight Chuter
TESTER
Michael Ingersoll
SIZE
162
“This board ticks all the boxes for me: traditional camber bend (Burton’s directional camber is only a slight rise in the nose), good amount of taper (18mm), and 8.1m side-cut for those good turns (not too short, not too long). A very similar feel to past Burton tapered/freeride shapes i.e. Malolo, Piranha, Landlord, Dump Truck, etc. If you loved any of those shapes I just listed, it’s likely you will love the Straight Chuter too.”
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Telos Ranquet
TESTER
Rob Kingwill
SIZE
156
“This is a powerful free-ride charger snowboard, designed by one of the most unique characters in snowboarding. The shape on this board is just about perfect, and the construction and urethane sidewalls allow it to ride like a true smooth operator. The graphics are a throwback and call out to the old days and the history of Mike Ranquet. Overall just a damn good snowboard!”
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Jones Ultra Mind Expander
TESTER
Eric Doyle
SIZE
158
“This board has been dialed to perfection. The addition of camber and the carbon build add to an already great shape and flex to make a solid, fast, fun little rally car of a board. Could easily ride this 80% of the time, just leave it at home when you want to get jibby.”
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Never Summer Proto Synthesis
TESTER
John Reed
SIZE
160
“I really love this shape. My son has this board and I’ve compared it all around. I like the camber and long sidecut better than my Westbound. I know it might not float as well, but I’d prefer a directional version of this with early rise keeping the tail and sidecut from this board.”
