A Detailed Breakdown Of How the Rome Rene-Gade Rides And Who It Is For Review by The Good Ride

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Rome Rene-Gade Written Review

How It Was Tested:

I borrowed the Rome Rene-Gade for an extended demo and sent it back.
Size: 156
Days: 3
Conditions: Late spring mixed conditions
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10”, 185-190lbs). I’ve tested and compared 800+ boards.
Boots: Ride Torrent, Rome Bodega
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Rome Katana, Rome Vice
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Jones Shralpinist Stretch Jacket,
Pant: Jones Mountain Surf Bib, Jones Shralpinist Stretch Bib
Helmet: Smith Maze
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove

James’s Set Up: 21.5” Wide. Stance Angles, +18/-9, +15/-15. Close to Reference and on the set inside inserts.

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same):

Korua Otto, K2 Manifest, Yes Typo, Jones Frontier, Ride Algorythm, Ride Shadowban, Salomon Highpath, Yes Standard Uninc, Yes Basic Uninc, Capita Black Snowboard Of Death, Jones Rally Cat, Cardiff Crane, Cardiff Lynx,

Approximate Weight

The Rome Rene-Gade felt pretty normal and maybe a touch heavy for its size, but nothing to worry about either way. (I don’t put in the exact weight because, with wood cores, there is no consistency in a board’s weight)

Sizing

The 156 Rome Rene-Gade was great for my size 9 boots and felt really good despite being at the top end of their recommended weight at 185 lbs. With all this camber, it was nice to be heavy for this board. If I rode gnarly Camber every day instead of all these hybrids sent, I’d probably be more comfortable with the 159, but the 156 was fine.

Sizing is all about balancing what fits your boot size and your weight for how you like to ride. If your boot is too wide, you can’t turn it; if it’s too narrow, you get the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag. Your weight is a close second to boot size because it determines how the board will feel under your foot.  Height comes in a distant 3^rd. Some prefer control, so matching the boot size is the priority. Others prefer dampness over control and like to size up.

Here are some ideal US boot sizes for the Rome Rene-Gade. One weird ass thing happening is Rome isn’t publishing nose and tail width
153: 8-9
156: 8.5-9.5
159: 9-10
157w: 11-12
160w: 11.5-12.5

I would stay close to the brand’s recommended weight ranges, but if you are an average rider, you might like to be on the heavy side of this board. If it comes down to boot size or weight, I would ensure it fits your boot first and then your weight a close second.

Shape

Rome calls the Rene-Gade a directional twin, but it seems to be a touch more directional than that. It seems to have a slightly directional side cut to go along with the different nose and tail, but it still feels very centered on the board.

Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

This is a full-on on unapologetic camber. It’s not the marketing BS most brands do these days, which they call the board camber, but there is an early rise or lifted sides before the nose/tail. I cut my teeth on this in the 1990’s and 2000’s…yeah I’m old. This is for old-school rippers with good insurance policies or people who just don’t give a fuck if they break themselves.

Flex Personality

Rome calls this an 8 out of 10, but I didn’t feel that. The Rome Rene-Gade felt more like a 6 or 7, but maybe I had a softer demo. Regardless, it still took a lot to get it to butter.

It popped easier on an ollie, though.

Uneven Snow

I didn’t touch on this much in the video, so I’ll expand on it here. The Rome Rene-Gade is a poppy board, but it’s not overly bucky and bouncy for what it is. Especially if you compare it to many other twinish/directional twin rides out there, it’s no ultra-damp freeride board, but it’s good at absorbing hard or soft, uneven snow for what it is. I did get more dampness out of the K2 Antidote and Hypnotist that I had for the extended demo at about the same time, but I liked the pop on an ollie and spring out of a turn better on the Rome. It was a nice balance between being damp and lively.

Edge Hold

Nothing amazing, but more than competent if you occasionally see hard snow.

Speed

I forgot to mention speed in the video, but this is great for straight-lining a kicker of just about any size. It’s no Freeride bomber, but it’s very competent for what it is, and it never felt hooky.

Base Glide

I wasn’t that impressed with the base glide, but it’s far from a major issue. It has that clear base that often gets base burn pretty easily, and it would be good if it was well maintained.

Turning Experience/Carving

I really liked the way the Rome Rene-Gade turned. It had a medium-fast turn initiation but a really satisfying spring out of the turn. It has that balanced sidecut radius that allows you to make about any kind of turn without it being difficult and far from boring. I could front foot, center, or back foot weight turns, and they all shined. The damper K2 Antidote is better in uneven snow, but this had a better all-around carve. I didn’t feel I needed to pick up a lot of speed to get a satisfying turn.

I even set it up on the Set-Inside inserts at a 16.25” stance width, 5.25” narrower than what I normally do with a 21.5” stance width. It was super sketchy at first, but about halfway down, I started getting used to it. After the second run, I was having a time being over a much higher part of the camber. I’m not sure if I’d use this as my daily, but I would for sure use it on clean groomer days.

Powder

I’ve ridden many boards like this back in the day and don’t care to do so again. On the one legit pow day I had when these boards were here, I took out the Stale Fish instead and had zero regrets about not testing this old-school full-camber cartwheeled.

If you know how to ride old-school camber boards like this, you don’t need me, but if you want to know the setback on board, here it is. At a pretty narrow -20.25” stance width set all the way back, you can get -2.875” from the center of the board. That isn’t bad for many modern shapes with a more early rise, but with none on the Rome Rene-Gade and an old-school-shaped nose, this is a definite pass for me and most average riders.

Switch/Jumps/Pipe/Jibs

Very good either way. I liked the true twin feel of the Agent and Agent pro but it’s super easy to get used to. I used to take boards like these off moderately big kickers when my body was more resilient, and if I still did, this wouldn’t be a bad solution if it wasn’t for all the much more consequence-free boards out there these days.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the Rome Rene-Gade is a unique board for this day and age. It’s not an easy ride, but it’s definitely a fun ride.

Ethics Statement: This review has zero brand oversight. This is our best effort at an honest, objective review to help you, the consumer.
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