Ride DH 2014 - 2010 Review by The Good Ride

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The Ride DH is a cambered ride that will make a lot of technical hard charging all mountain freestylers happy.  If you are looking to go big the DH is what you want. It’s a step above the pretty aggressive hybrid camber Buck Up or the Machete GT but it could make a camber loving aggressive rider very happy.

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: 157
Days: 3
Conditions:  Pretty hard but not sheet ice one day and softer snow the other day.
Riders: James
Boots: Burton Ion
Bindings: Flux SF45
Set Up:  23″ Wide Centered stance 15 front -15 back

On Snow Feel: Very locked in. This has a very aggressive and unforgiving ride when you compare it to most hybrid shapes. It takes a rider who is more technical or pretty strong to ride this board well but there are many out there that fit this description. So if you aren’t into hybrid or rocker shapes you still have a good all mountain freestyle camber board in the DH.  It’s all about good carving regular or switch, speed, pipe, and kickers.  With many hybrid camber boards, you forget to de-tune the edges because they are so forgiving but this one needs it.

Powder:  I didn’t get any powder but even in some soft snow off piste you could tell that it’s not easy to stay afloat. An old school camber rider won’t mind but it’s not going to be as easy as many riders out there.

Turn Initiation and Carving: The DH’s camber profile is very springy and it’s really fun to transition from edge to edge. Short radius turns can be quick but you have to be on your game and know what you are doing. Medium to wide radius turns is springy and fun. It’s a very fun twin when it comes to carving and it seems like the side cut runs a bit deeper than other ride boards.  It’s a solid hard carving twin. Yeah, I said hard carving twin and that is a rare thing.  Really fun.

Speed:  Ride makes a snowboard that feels damper than others for its flex and riding style.  The DH has that feel too. Some complain that their dampening techniques give it a dull feeling where others like this type of construction and feel.  It’s up to you to decide.

Uneven Terrain: The DH has a very damp feel but it also does better than you would think in harder uneven slow speed crappy snow. You would think this would be awful but it’s not that bad at all.  A crowded Saturday afternoon is doable.

Edge Hold: It’s got a pretty solid grip that can handle most conditions you want to ride in.  If it is not tuned correctly it will lose it and just become good.

Flex: Pretty stiff here but when you flex it there is some pretty good spring going on.

Switch: The same either way.

Jibbing: I’m not a good jibber so I didn’t even think about it.

Pipe:  It’s even not bad in the pipe either. There are good grip and a solid drive wall to wall. You would have to preserve your edges very well compared to other boards with a little something more in the sidecut but if you can it will hold well.  A really solid pipe rider will enjoy this but if you don’t know what you are doing it could fuck you up.

Jumps: It’s not very easy to generate your own air but a good rider can really make this board spring.  It’s all about hitting kickers of all sizes.  You have to know what you are doing though.

All in all, this is a fun ride for those that like a hard-charging technical camber twin but it’s not going to appeal to a wide variety of aggressive to semi-aggressive riders like many of the hybrid camber shapes will do. I felt like I needed to be on my game at all times riding it. Even though I can handle a board like this I’d rather be on something like the Buck Up or the Machete GT for day in day out riding. So if you are the wright rider then the DH could work for you.

2008 and 2009 Best in the park Good Wood Award Winner.