Rome Tour Review by The Good Ride

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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 156

Days: 10+
Conditions: Moderate Powder (1ft) to snowment that was borderline icy.
Riders: James and Dave (Dave owns this)
Boots: Burton SLX, Burton Ion and Burton Imperial
Bindings: Now IPO, Burton Cartel, Rome Mob
Set Up- Centered 22 inches wide 15 front -15 back. Set Back 22 Wide 15 front -6 back.  Centered 23 inches wide 15 front -15 back.

The Rome Crail was a very good board.  It was light, snappy and fun board for intermediate to expert all-mountain riders at a reasonable price.  The one thing it really wasn’t was a good beginner to the intermediate board for this time.  This is why we are glad that Rome dropped this and introduced the flat to sort of rocker Tour to their line.  It’s no longer the advanced to expert ride that the Crail was but it’s an excellent beginner/intermediate ride for a wide variety of riding styles. It’s also a decent board for advanced riders.

On Snow Feel– The flat between the bindings that then leads to a point at the tip/tail and additional edge hold between the feet makes it a semi-stable catch-free ride for flat groomers and one footing off the chair. Many flat to rocker boards are more stable than the Rome Tour because it starts to lift the sides after the bindings and then the lifted area increases all the way to the tip/tail.  As a result, it makes it looser and it feels less like a flat to rocker board and a little more like a continuous rocker board underfoot.  The 2016 Rome Tour has the lifted sides start earlier/closer to the bindings than older models making it even looser than before. Conversely, it’s less catchy than before and very easy to skid a turn or spin out without crashing.   It’s a versatile ride for those that want to try everything from Jibs to jumps, to the pipe to mountain riding.

Powder: In powder, the Tour has a little less float than the K2 Raygun which makes it a decent powder board. That means its unique flat to rocker profile combined with a setback stance will be pretty for directional powder riding.

Turn Initiation– The Tour is easy to turn without being twitchy or too easy. It can handle short radius turns very well and it’s pretty fun with wider radius turns.

Carving– When you get into carving it’s flat profile going to lifted sides lacks something that many boards with some camber have that offer up a good spring out of the turn. Also the lifted sides give you a feeling like you have more flat underfoot but when you lay into the turn it wants to wash out.

Speed: This isn’t going to melt the snow but it can handle moderate speeds and doesn’t throw up a lot of chatter.

Uneven Terrain:  It’s very forgiving in all kinds of terrain and offers pretty good shock absorption when riding in less than ideal conditions.

Approximate Weight- It’s a pretty light board and easy on the feet when riding the chair.

Edge Hold: Even though the nose/tail are turned up at the sides and there is a flat to rocker profile the quick rip sidecut makes for edge hold that can handle all but truly icy conditions very well.  From snowment to powder you will always feel secure and this is the kind of edge hold that makes for a good all conditions ride.  It’s better than many camber boards out there that are much stiffer.

Flex: This flex is on the soft side of medium in between the feet. On the tip/tail, it seems softer, easy to butter, press and very forgiving.  It’s one of those boards that doesn’t offer much resistance any way you want to flex it.

Switch: The Tour has a true twin flex so you can center it up on groomer days and ride switch just like you would with a true twin.  The only thing keeping the Tour from being perfect is the stance width options are a little limited for centering it up to ride switch. If you can center it right with your stance it’s excellent.

Jibbing– The soft true twin flex makes for a pretty decent jib park ride and allows someone a little bit of a confidence boost with its forgiving tip/tail.

Pipe: It’s got the edge hold to ride the pipe in all conditions but it’s just not a dedicated pipe board.  Great for learning though.

Jumps:  It’s not a really poppy board when it comes to a carve but there is a nice snappy return when you want to ollie.  It has a nice stable approach to kickers that helps one build up a little confidence when launching.  It’s also pretty forgiving and catch-free when it’s time to land too.

This type of design covers a wide range of riding styles and is about as close as you can get to an all mountain ride for most curious beginners and intermediate riders. All in all the Rome Tour is a good board for those with a lot of park curiosity but still, want a board that can offer a good directional surfy ride in powder.