Summary

This is a look at the Yes W Basic. (Previously the Yes Emoticon). This board has been a long time Good Ride Favorite and continues to deliver even after the name change. The W Basic is still the same board it has always been. It is a fun inspiring true twin board that can take you top to bottom, and through the park too. It has great edge hold on ice and comes with a 4/10 flex. This review covers the 2023 W Basic, but nothing has changes with the 2024 version. So this review is still relevant with the 2024 Yes W Basic as well

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Riding Style All Mountain Freestyle
Riding Level Intermediate - Expert
Fits Boot size (US) Women's
Manufactured in Dubai by SWS
Shape True Twin
Camber Profile Hybrid Camber
Stance Centered
Approx. Weight Feels Normal
Split No
Powder Average
Base Glide Good
Carving Good
Speed Good
Uneven Terrain Great
Switch Great
Jumps Great
Jibbing Good
Pipe Great
On Snow Feel

Stable

Turn Initiation

Fast

Skidded Turns

Semi-Easy

Flex

Medium/Soft

Buttering

Easy

Edge Hold

Icy Snow

Where To Buy

No obligation, but these links support the site.

Snowcountry.eu
YES W Basic 22/23
€ 429.95Buy it

Yes W snowboard review and written review Review by The Good Ride

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 rider’s perspective.

Size: 143
Days:  30+ (Steph owns this)
Conditions:  A variety of snow conditions as Steph owns this board.

Riders: Steph
Boots: Vans Luna (W 7.5)

Bindings:  Union Legacy (Size M), Union Ultra (Size Med)
Set Up: Centered 15 front -15 back 20.5″ wide

Sizes Available

143, 146, 149, 152

Yes W Basic Camber Profile

Camber Profile

The Yes W Basic comes with Yes’ CamRock profile. This is a mellow positive camber between the feet going to rocker on the nose and tail. This gives the W Basic a good connection to the snow and nice pop and edge hold. But it still has a forgiving and somewhat loose feel on the snow without feeling unstable.

Extruded Base

Base

The W Basic comes with an extruded base.

Speed

It’s not a bomber board and gets chattery at higher speeds. For an extruded base it keeps it’s speed well and doesn’t have to be waxed too much. Extruded bases are slower than sintered bases but extruded bases are tougher and don’t have to be waxed as much.

Butters and Flex

Flex

The 4/10 gives the W Basic a good mix of playfulness and stability. It is easy and fun to butter, ollie, and play on. But it has just enough stability to also be fun on groomers, steeps, off piste and more.

Kind of medium between the feet but pretty soft in the tip/tail.  It makes for buttering that is incredibly easy.

Approximate Weight

Feels Normal to bordering on light.

On Snow Feel

On Snow Feel

The Yes W Basic is stable like a camber board but catch-free.  It’s an easy board to one foot off the chair and easy board to get through long flat runs or cat tracks.

Yes W Basic Waist Width

Turn Initiation

Quick and easy edge to edge.  It’s a very easy board to turn. The waist width is only 237mm on the 143. Which helps keep it quick turning. The softer flex also makes twisting this board quite easy. This also helps with the fast turn initiation.

Sidecut View

Edge Hold

The side cut is unique.  It’s has two disruptions at each binding. It grips really well for it’s flex. At the same time, it’s not too grabby either in softer snow.

Powder

It does ok for being a true twin board. The rocker in the nose and tail helps with that. But if you see deeper powder days, it might be more fun to have a powder specific board on back up.

Euro Carve

Carving

So if it wasn’t for the softer flex this would be a great carver but it can still lay into a really fun carve that will take you back uphill. I have a lot of fun carving this board because it is so easy to lay over, that fast, small radius carving is super fun. However, you can’t push it too hard because of the softer flex.

Off Piste Turning

Uneven Terrain

Very easy to deal with the end of the day crowded resort snow.

Switch

Great for riding switch, or even learning switch. It’s a true twin, so you can ride with either direction and it will feel he same.

Yes W Basic Jump

Jumps

Nice springy ollies and it’s fun hitting kickers in the park or finding things to launch off on the mountain.

Riding Rails

Jibbing

Very easy jib board and it’s confidence inspiring. Good for more established jib riders, but also friendly enough to learn on.

Pipe

If you keep the edges sharp the W Basic is a pretty fun pipe board.  It’s really forgiving and has enough edge hold to for sure ride pipe.

Through The Trees

Overall

All in all, this is a very fun all mountain freestyle to freestyle board that has a soft and playful ride without being loose between the feet. It is friendly enough for an intermediate rider to get on and have a great time. But technical enough for more advanced riders looking for a playful board.

 

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Instagram: @altitude_snow

 
YES W Basic Past Reviews

2021

The Yes Emoticon took the Yes Basic and shrunk it down for women.  It’s got that same design as the men’s Yes Basic. That gives you a lot of all mountain to freestyle versatility at an affordable entry-level price. Not much changed from 2017 to 2021 with the Yes Emoticon. Except the reference stance width was narrowed a bit across the line with 2018. And the 2019 rocker/camber/rocker profile mellowed a bit from 4/4/4 to 3/2/3. It’s going to be a very subtle difference but overall, it rides very much the same as before.

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 rider’s perspective.

Yes Emoticon 2015-2019 Snowboard Review

The Yes Emoticon’s camber profile allows the board to ride the same way in every condition out there without changing its stability or overall personality on you.  That’s an intangible bonus that not many boards out there have in the hybrid rocker or rocker world.

Approximate Weight:  Feels Normal to bordering on light.

On Snow Feel:  The Yes Emoticon is stable like a camber board but catch-free.  It’s an easy board to one foot off the chair and easy board to get through long flat runs or cat tracks.

Turn Initiation: Quick and easy edge to edge.  It’s a very easy board to turn.

Flex:   Kind of medium between the feet but pretty soft in the tip/tail.  It makes for buttering that is incredibly easy.  It’s so easy that some might not like it and others will take a little while to get used to. It’s probably the only thing I wish they could fix.  It would be great if it was a little stiffer.

Edge Hold:   The side cut is unique.  It’s has two disruptions at each binding. So 4 waves per edge that grips really well for it’s flex. At the same time, it’s not too grabby either in softer snow.

Powder:   There is more volume in the nose and less volume in the tail so when you are in powder it has a better directional float.

Carving:   So if it wasn’t for the softer flex this would be a great carver but it can still lay into a really fun carve that will take you back uphill.

Speed:   It’s not a bomber board and gets chattery at higher speeds. For an extruded base it keeps it’s speed well and doesn’t have to be waxed too much. Extruded bases are slower than sintered bases but extruded bases are tougher and don’t have to be waxed as much.

Uneven Terrain:   Very easy to deal with the end of the day crowded resort snow.

Switch:   Pretty easy either way.

Jumps:   Nice springy ollies and it’s fun hitting kickers in the park or finding things to launch off on the mountain.

Jibbing:   Very easy jib board and it’s confidence inspiring.

Pipe:   If you keep the edges sharp and don’t jib the Emoticon is a pretty fun pipe board.  It’s really forgiving and has enough edge hold to for sure ride pipe.

All in all, this is a very fun all mountain freestyle to freestyle board that has a soft and playful ride without being loose between the feet.

 

Paige’s Perspective

The YES. Emoticon is an all mountain freestyle board that will boost your confidence in whatever conditions you are in and will inspire you to be creative in your riding.

This board made riding in sub-par conditions really enjoyable. The Underbite gives you confidence in hard and icy conditions but also provides a catch-free ride in softer snow. I was able to maintain speed and edge hold with ease while riding through ice patches. This side cut also helps you maintain precise control throughout each phase of your turn.

Although the Emoticon has a soft flex (4/10), it still manages to make carving feel pretty breezy. The soft flex also makes buttering almost effortless.

The combination of a true twin shape and a camrock profile create a board that is playful but also stable at higher speeds. Even when off-piste, the Emoticon manages to maintain stability and control.

Even though I demoed an Emoticon that was larger than my preferred riding size, it was still extremely responsive and easy to maneuver.

The Emoticon rocks an extruded base. This means you can feel free to go hard on those jibs, as scratches are easier to fix on this type of base. Extruded bases also retain wax more efficiently, making you able to quickly pick up and maintain your speed.

This is a great board for intermediate to advanced riders who are looking to push themselves in the park and all over the mountain. It will give you the confidence to try new things in your riding, but is forgiving enough to allow you to make mistakes along the way. Even in seasons without ideal conditions, you will still be able to have a great time on the Emoticon.

2017

 

 
YES W Basic Specs

 
YES W Basic Images

We try to get as many images of the YES W Basic, but forgive us if they're not all there.

2023

YES W Basic User Reviews

YES W Basic 2015-2024 Snowboard Review – Steph W SKU UPC Model

Very fun board to ride!

Jan 26, 2016 by Sandy
Ability Level: Intermediate to Expert • 
Riding Style: All mountain playing • 
Days You Ride A Year: 25 • 
Height, Weight And Boot Size (for Boards, Boots & Bindings): 163cm, 65kg, 39 EU 

This board is an upgrade to my older Ride, camber and stiffer board. I just loved every minute on it! It was so fun to ride, playful and hard enough when I wanted to push my turns and go faster. Very easy to flats, very easy to turn, nice catch to harder snow. I did my first butters on it. Generally gave me so much confidence when I wanted to go faster. It was pretty stable and never gave me up with unpredictable catch or swinging tale. The only cons I found on it was that it was running a bit deep off piste and wasn't very fast, but not significantly. All in all I had an amazing time with my new board. It felt so much positively different, stable and responsive than my previous board, that I would definatelly recommend it to someone looking for a board to have fun all day long on the ski resort!


5.0 5.0 1 1 This board is an upgrade to my older Ride, camber and stiffer board. I just loved every minute on it! It was so fun to ride, playful and hard enough when I wanted to push my turns YES W Basic 2015-2024 Snowboard Review – Steph W

Where To Buy

No obligation, but these links support the site.

Snowcountry.eu
YES W Basic 22/23
€ 429.95Buy it

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