2020 Ride Berzerker Review

The Ride Berzerker 2020 moved from being a double-ender to a tapered directional board this year and it felt a little less hookey than it used to. It’s a pretty stiff, damp ride that is really tapered to Jake Blauvelt’s needs which is usually far from ours.

Ethics Statement: We don’t get paid by the manufacturer to write these reviews.  We do make money from the “Where To Buy” links, but this is our best attempt at an honest and objective review from an average riders’ perspective.

How This Review Happened:  We borrowed this for an extended demo and then returned it but also took it out in some powder at a frantic manic demo dash.
Size: 159 both times
Days:  4
Conditions: About 1.5 feet of eastern PNW snow off-piste that wasn’t too fluffy but not too thick, and then decently groomed snow on the way back to the chair but not great at Mission Ridge. Then back at home some pretty good groomers at Mt Bachelor.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-195lbs), Peter (Size 8, 5’11” 185lbs)
Boots: Adidas Tactical ADV
Insoles: Sandsole Custom Insoles,  Footprint Insole Technology Gameghangers Low Profile
Bindings: Union Atlas, Union Strata and Ride LTD

Similar Boards (but not the same):
Yes Pick Your Line,  Burton Flight Attendant, Gnu Mullair, Jones Flagship, Never Summer West Bound, Rossignol XV, Lib Tech BRD

Set-Up: 22” Wide. 21 front -6 back. On Reference Stance.

Approximate Weight: Feels pretty normal but weirdly normal. You look at this thin board and think it’s going to be a featherweight kind of ride and then it actually feels really dense for its thickness but overall it evens out to be pretty normal.

Sizing: The 159 felt pretty good for Peter and I and I think we could ride the 162 as well.

Flex/Buttering: The overall flex of the Ride Berzerker is pretty medium-stiff but the nose feels a little more on the medium. It’s not a super easy board to butter and it takes a pretty strong leg to make it happen. Over the last few years, Ride has changed up to the personality of the overall flex and core with many of the boards we have tried. It still has that dampness that soo many people like about Ride but it has been mellowed out a bit to give it a more lively energetic feel reminiscent of the old UL (Ultra-Light) tech from years past like the Highlife UL. It doesn’t have the shape though…just similar flex/core tech. It needs a strong rider to access all that it can give though.

On Snow Feel/Ability Level/Skidded Turns: The Ride Berzerker has a long somewhat low bow of camber starting almost at the tail that goes a little bit pas the front inserts and then it has a mellow rocker up from there. It gives it a semi-locked in feel that doesn’t skid turns as easy as you would think. The older model we rode did not track well one footing or flat basing and had this hookey feel underfoot if it wasn’t on edge turning. The newer tapered directional Ride Berzerker still has that thing going on in the sidecut but it’s not as pronounced as it used to be or at least it wasn’t in the conditions we rode it this time. It might have this personality because the sidecut has a pretty short/deep radius where it starts after the tip/tail but then mellows out as you get to the middle. There might be other factors like the stiffer flex too but it’s hard to say for sure unless we had some geek time with the designer.  This could be a turn off for some and others might like it but at least it mellowed out a bit since when we tried it a few years ago.

Edge Hold: There is pretty good edge hold here that borders on being pretty competent in harder snow but it doesn’t shine there.

Turn Initiation: So fast edge to edge. The Ride Berzerker one of the fastest boards we tried this year. It initiates a turn super fast and then doesn’t stop.

Turning Experience/Carving: So after comparing this directly on snow to my Burton Flight Attendant one day (hard carver) and Yes Pick Your Line (mellower carver) the next day it came right in between them. It has more pop and drives in/out of a turn than you would think for this somewhat mellow but long camber. We thought we would feel more of the taper in the tail and have to put more back foot weight there to keep it from washing but it didn’t need as much as we thought. It is less inclined to slash and more inclined to keep that edge driving through the snow.

Powder: So even though we were on reference stance and not set all the way back on the powder day you could feel the rocker working to keep us up and if it was set all the way back it could do even better. With a 22.75″ stance width set all the way back you can get a 4.5″ difference between nose and tail, or a 2.25″ setback from center of the board. With mini-discs, like all Ride bindings have, you can set it back a little further too. That isn’t massively back in comparison to many freeride boards in its peer group but it is a step above most all-mountain boards out there. Factor in that 8mm of taper in the 159 we had and the Ride Berzerker sinks a lot better than it used to.  One thing to mention as well is the Ride Berzerker didn’t feel very hookey at all in powder…just super turny.

Speed: The Ride Berzerker doesn’t feel like the old ride boards but it still is super damp and fast but that deep hookey sidecut scares me a bit when it comes to really pointing it. Just not sure if my insurance policy is beefy enough to fix this semi-old and broken body.

Uneven Terrain: So the name is appropriate on how this board takes on the uneven snow we encountered.

Switch: Less doable than before but better than you would think.

Park: The sidecut, narrower waist and general fast turning personality of the Ride Berzerker was pretty fun in the pipe for my specs and I like how quick you could turn as well as how it tracked from wall to wall in the pipe. I wouldn’t try to jib with it. It can get big air but the way it could track in certain conditions going into the jump could make it feel sketchy.

So it was fun to get on the Ride Berzerker in some different conditions and we personally liked it better than before, but even after the redesign, the Ride Berzerker might not be for all riders. As it stands now, the Ride MtnPig is probably the better call for those looking for a freeride board from Ride.

2016 Ride Berzerker Review

The Ride Berzerker had a little tune-up in 2016 with a different shape and some extended camber.  It’s a quick turning poppy aggressive ride. We loved the little extra camber and new nose/tail design but felt the side cut was a bit hookey. It seemed like it always wanted to be engaged in a turn and didn’t like to go straight.  The 2019 Ride Berzerker still seems to be pretty much the same board as the 2016 model we tried so the old review still stands.

Ethics Statement: We don’t get paid by the manufacturer to write these reviews.  We do make money from the “Where To Buy” links, but this is our best attempt at an honest and objective review from an average riders’ perspective.

Size: 159
Days:  1
Conditions: Perfect Sierra Groomers after a wet storm.
Riders: James, Peter, Jimbo
Boots: Burton SLX, Salomon F3.0, Burton Fiend LTD
Bindings:
Set Up: Set back a bit 23″ wide 15 front -6 back

Approximate Weight: felt normal

On Snow Feel: We all liked the 2016’s ride better than the older models mainly because the extra camber extended further past the front binding towards the nose and got rid of that washy feeling. The only issue was all of us felt it was a little hookey and didn’t really like flat basing or going straight too much.  It felt like it always wanted to be engaged in quick short to medium radius turns. That was probably the only reason it didn’t make the favorites list because some will like that feel and some won’t. Maybe a little detuning of the edges might help but not 100% sure that would fix the issue. Still, it’s a mean quick turning hard carving all mountain ride.  If they just dialed back the side cut a bit this would be an amazing aggressive one board quiver.  As it stands now some will love this and some won’t.

The Ride Berzerker is a very similar ride in specs and feel to the Ride Highlife UL which means it’s the same board without Ride’s ultra light technology.  This is a good board for the rider that likes to carve groomers and bomb hills but uses the same board when it dumps.  If you can’t afford the Ride Highlife UL which is a better board this is going to be the next best thing. The 2013-2015 Ride Berzerkers are pretty much the same ride.

Size 160

Days: 3
Conditions: Pretty good snow to some ok snow with harder patches here and there.
Riders: James & Jimbo
Boots: Burton Ion, Burton SLX, Burton Imperial
Bindings: Burton Cartel,Burton Diode
Set Up: Just a bit set back (not the full 20mm), 23″ wide 18 front -9 back

There is a decent amount of rocker in the nose that leads to a very long but not very high camber that goes almost all the way to the tail.  Many hybrid camber boards are not like this and usually have a lot of camber between the bindings and equal rocker at the tip/tail. It’s definitely unique so here is our take on how it rides.

On Snow Feel: We found the Berzerker to be a typical mid level ride board.  It was damp, stable and predictable but not to lively like the High Life UL. Its stable between the feet for one footing and flat basing.  It is forgiving compared to a straight camber board but you still have to be on your game.  A technical rider that loves camber but would like a little bit less severity if they aren’t on their game most likely will like this ride.  It’s for that guy who lives for powder but on groomer days doesn’t like to turn much and bomb the mountain.

Powder: This is definitely one of the best qualities this board has and we can tell this even though we didn’t get a chance to ride this in any powder.  You can tell by the rocker that starts quickly after the front binding inserts that goes all the way to the nose, the good set back and the longer lengths will be borderline excellent when it comes to powder.  It’s one of those boards that many riders will really enjoy in powder.

Turn Initiation and Carving– The Berzerker has a bit of a sluggish feel when it comes to making quick transitions from edge to edge. When making longer/wider radius turns this was more fun and you could feel a bit of the camber helping you spring out of the turn. We were a bit disappointed when it came to carving. We thought this would be excellent like the High Life is but the board rode more like a board with a minor taper.  We think this was because of the rocker that starts at the front binding.  It would kind of wash out if you didn’t initiate the turn more from the back seat but after a little time you get use to it.  I think with a little more time and setting up the board more set back over the camber would make it better.

Speed: The Berzerker has a pretty good base and a very damp design so if the base was faster it would be excellent at high speed.  The typical ride ultra damp feeling was in effect.  To us it felt like the board was 1.5 times thicker than it was.  Some love this and some aren’t into this feeling.  If you are into straight lining then this will be a fun board.

Uneven Terrain: It’s on the stiffer side of the flex world so you would think that it’s going to be worse but ride has something going on in the build to create a barrier between you and the bumpy snow beneath you.

Edge Hold: We had varied conditions of snow but most of what we experienced was hard to medium pack with some chewed up spots in the traffic areas. We thought the edge hold would be better than it was.  We found it to be fine in the better snow but there were some areas where we didn’t feel comfortable laying into a carve in firmer condtions and held back.  We would say that this is on the average side of good and we wouldn’t want to rely on this edge in icy or very hard conditions.

Flex: This is a medium to stiff flex that makes for a semi easy board to flex but it isn’t very easy to butter around on.  The nose is a little easier than the tail because of the rocker but this ain’t no jib park board.

Jibbing– This will be ok in the jib park but far from ideal.  We didn’t even bother taking it in there.

Pipe: This isn’t much of a pipe board either.  It was ok but if you like to lap the pipe there are many better boards out there.

Jumps: We fount the Berzerker to be middle ground when it came to generating your own air.  It doesn’t have the spring that many boards do but its not lifeless either.  This will be fun hitting a natural jump at higer speeds and keeping it simple off the kickers in the park but there are many better jump boards out there.

All in all we had mixed emotions about the overall ride of the Berzerker.  It missed a bit on edge hold, carving and turning but made up for it in powder and speed. So if you are the kind of rider who likes to bomb the hill, ride powder and get out when the conditions are good then you will really enjoy the Berzerker.