Here is a quick summary of how we rate the Snowboard Reviews, Binding Reviews, Boot Reviews, and Clothing Reviews. Remember this isn’t an exact science but just a general guideline so you can get an idea of what might work best for you.

About The Snowboard Reviews

What is in new is in red.

HOW IT RIDES
On Snow Feel	Locked In	Speed	Excellent	Flex	Stiff	Jibbing	Excellent
	Semi-Catchy		Great		Medium/Stiff		Great
	Stable		Good		Medium		Good
	Semi-Stable		Average		Soft		Average
	Loose		Poor		Noodle		Poor
Powder	Excellent	Uneven Terrain	Excellent	Carving	Excellent	Pipe	Excellent
	Great		Great		Great		Great
	Good		Good		Good		Good
	Average		Average		Average		Average
	Poor		Poor		Poor		Poor
Turn Initiation	Super-Easy	Edge Hold	Excellent	Switch	Excellent	Jumps	Excellent
	Easy		Great		Great		Great
	Moderate		Good		Good		Good
	Challenging		Average		Average		Average
	Difficult		Poor		Poor		Poor

Approximate Weight- This is probably the least important category and the only time it’s truly important is if you have knee or ankle issues because you would probably prefer a lighter board on the chair.  Because I can’t weigh these boards and the manufacturers don’t really care much about the weight unless it’s their ultralight model I can’t give you an accurate rating here any way. I know that many of you like to know the weight so I will let you know if it feels heavy, feels normal or feels light. I’m removing this from the “How It Rides” section but it is still on the page above the summary.

On Snow Feel- This is to determine the general personality of the board between the feet when riding around the mountain and park. One rating isn’t better than the other but instead it’s more about personal preference.  Loose means it doesn’t track well on snow when one footing or flat basing at any speed but it’s very catch free and really fun to butter/press. Semi-Stable means it can feel stable on softer snow but in harder snow it can start to feel loose between the feet. Stable feels stable between the feet at all times but isn’t very catchy.  Semi-Catchy means it’s stable but can be catchy in certain situations if you aren’t careful so its usually more for more technical riders. Locked In means it feels like the board is on a rail and you have to be a very technical rider because it’s pretty easy to catch an edge if you aren’t on your game. 

Powder- How well does the board ride in the fun stuff? This is rated mainly on the boards ability to float and how much it reduces rear leg burn. So this rating is really important for those that ride in thicker snow like you find in Tahoe, Baker or Whistler but it gets less important if you ride in light fluffy snow like you find in Colorado or Utah. We mainly ride these boards in some of the thickest pow out there so if we say it floats here it floats everywhere.

Turn Initiation- How fast and easy does your board turn? Can you transition from edge to edge without too much of a lean? It’s all personal preference on how you like to turn. Some people like a board that has an edge that locks-in and takes a lot of effort/lean to initiate the next turn. Some love it to turn on a dime. Most beginners want easy to super easy turn initiation but it’s up to your riding style after that.

Edge Hold- How well does your board hold its edge in all types of snow conditions? For example “excellent” is best for ice and “great” is great for hard pack or what we like to call snowment and a good all conditions grip because most don’t ride in ice. Good means it will hold well in most conditions but when you start to get on snowment it starts to lose it’s grip. Average is fun in good conditions but looses it’s grip rather easy and poor means prepare to slide everywhere.

Flex- How does the board bend when you are flexing it edge to edge and length wise. Is it easy to butter or press?

Speed- Does the board ride well at high speeds?  Is it damp and stable when you pick up speed or does it chatter or feel squirrely like a skate board with loose trucks. Often times speed comes at a price.  Think of a super fast board as like a race car.  Race cars are usually meant for perfect tracks and have very stiff shocks.  When you take them off the race track they usually go into a trailer for the ride home.  If you drive it home it’s a pretty rough ride.  You have seen the too fast too furious cars have a shitty time trying to get over a 4 inch speed bump in a parking lot. Some really stiff fast boards can be just like this.

Uneven Terrain- Often times Speed and a stiff flex comes at a price and this is why I created this category to help you understand how a board handles less than ideal conditions. Some people ride only when its good but many don’t have that luxury.  They want to know how the board will handle when you have to slow down for bumps, rutted up groomers, and other rough terrain. Boards that handle Uneven Terrain well are often like the soft riding SUV’s or Cross Over’s you see on the road today.  Their lifted frame and soft shocks are awesome in the parking lot or handling a rough road but suck when it’s time to pick up speed or power through a turn. 

Switch- Does your board ride well with either the nose or tail forward?  Can it turn well and does the tip and tail flex the same on a butter/press.

Carving- We usually lump this into turn initiation in our “review” but it is something unique to turning. A lot of people think that edge hold is all that matters and that isn’t true. The main components are how does it hold in a carve and then how does it return that energy you built up to put the board into that carve. If the board’s primary contact points give out (washes out) in a carve it’s not going to be a good carving board.  If the board doesn’t spring out of a turn it’s not going to be as fun either.

Pipe- How comfortable does it feel climbing the pipe walls to get you into the air, and more importantly, how easy is it to come back down? Does it drive well from wall to wall when you are in the flats?  Is there sufficient edge hold to feel comfortable in an icy pipe wall.

Jibbing- Can the board handle an extra beating to the base and rails? Will you feel comfortable on rails, boxes and other features in the park?

Jumps- How well does a board ollie, hit small jumps, medium jumps and big jumps? Is it easy to spin and even more importantly how does it land.

 

About The Good Ride Snowboard Binding Reviews

What is new is in red.

How It Rides
Flex	Stiff	Comfort	Excellent	Tip-Tail Response	Excellent	Ratchet System	Excellent
	Medium/Stiff		Great		Great		Great
	Medium		Good		Good		Good
	Soft		Average		Average		Average
	Noodle		Poor		Poor		Poor
Adjustability	Excellent	Heel-Toe Response	Excellent	Boot Support	Locked In	Shock Absorption	Excellent
	Great		Great		Firm		Great
	Good		Good		Supportive		Good
	Average		Average		Some Support		Average
	Poor		Poor		Loose		Poor

Flex- How stiff is this binding in the high back? Also how firm is the base plate?

Adjustability- How much can you make this binding work for your size boot and your riding style – however quirky it may be? How well does the forward lean, toe strap, ankle strap, base plate & high back adjust? Is it tool-less or does it require a tool? If it requires a tool, do you need just one?

Comfort- Does it have pressure points or take a long time to break in?

Heel-Toe Response- How well does this binding help you to initiate turns and transition from edge to edge?

Tip-Tail Response- How easy is it to flex the board length wise for butters, presses, Ollies and Nollies.

Boot Support- Do you have good range of motion to grab your board how you please or are you locked in place.  Some like to be locked in place and some like it loose with a lot of freedom.

Ratchet System- How well does the binding’s ankle and toe straps go on and come off.  Do they stick or come undone or do you forget they exist they work so well?

Shock Absorption- Does it have a lot of padding to handle hard landings or rough runs and make your board more damp? Will it help keep your knees intact?  Will it help your board handle speed better.

Approximate Weight- It’s not super important for most but some like to know the weight.  We can’t weigh all the bindings and most companies won’t disclose the weight so we just tell you how it feels in our hands when we are playing around with them.  I’ll just tell you if it Feels Light, Feels Normal or Feels Heavy. This will be back up in a few weeks when the designer get’s back. 

About The Good Ride Snowboard Boot Reviews

How It Rides
Flex	Stiff	Upper/Lower Adjustability	Excellent	Traction	Excellent	Heel Hold	Excellent
	Medium/Stiff		Great		Great		Great
	Medium		Good		Good		Good
	Soft		Average		Average		Average
	Noodle		Poor		Poor		Poor
Comfort	Excellent	Ankle Articulation	Excellent	Sole Cushioning	Excellent	Response	Excellent
	Great		Great		Great		Great
	Good		Good		Good		Good
	Average		Average		Average		Average
	Poor		Poor		Poor		Poor

Flex- How stiff is this boot? You can get excellent response from boots that aren’t stiff but some prefer the support that stiffer boots provide.

Comfort- Does it have pressure points or take a long time to break in?

Heel Hold- Does this boot hold your heel in place and keep it from lifting up. Some people become obsessed with this and others don’t care.

Upper/Lower Adjustability- How well does the upper and lower lacing system work to provide separate tightening points.  Some love a completely separate lower and upper while others don’t care so much.

Ankle Articulation- Ankle Articulation usually tells you a couple of things.  It helps the boot flex more naturally at the ankle and often times improves the turn initiation and more importantly it preserves the flex so the boot doesn’t break down as fast.

Response- How well does this boot help you to initiate turns and transition from edge to edge?

Traction- Can this boot keep it’s traction in any condition from ice to soft snow.

Sole Cushioning- Does it have a lot of padding to handle hard landings or rough runs? Will it help keep your knees and hips intact?