Amplid Soulmate Snowboard Review

A Detailed Breakdown Of How The Amplid Soulmate Rides And Who Its For Review by The Good Ride

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Amplid Soulmate Written Review

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How This Amplid Soulmate Review Happened:

I borrowed this for an extended demo and sent it back.
Size: 157
Days: 4
Conditions: Good groomers, uneven snow, ok pow with a block of snowment under it, and pretty good pow
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10”, 185-190lbs)
Boots: Ride Fuse, Burton Kendo, Nidecker Rift Lace
Bindings: Union Atlas
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Jones Mtn Surf Anorak, 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, Drop Tahoma Mitt,

Similar Boards (but not the same): Yes Pick Your Line, YES PYL Uninc, Burton Flight Attendant, Jones Flagship, Rossignol XV, Weston Backwoods, Season Nexus

James’s Set Up: 21.5” Wide. Sance Angles +18/-3, +18/+3,18/-9. Close to Reference on groomers and Set all the way back in powder.

How It Was Tested

I rode the Amplid Soulmate independently but often compared it against the Souly Grail, Singular.

Approximate Weight

The Amplid Soulmate feels pretty normal in weight, a little on the lighter side of the spectrum.

(We don’t put in the exact weight because, with wood cores, there is no consistency in a board’s weight)

Sizing

The 157 Amplid Soulmate is a little on the wide side for my boots, but the softer flex made it turn well enough. This light poppy construction didn’t feel good for my 185-190lbs. Going up to 161 will be wider/harder to turn, and often, with boards like these, I don’t get enough chatter reduction by sizing up, so I’ll stick with easier turn initiation.
Here are some ideal US boot sizes for these boards. You can, of course, go bigger or smaller depending on your riding style and boot’s footprint, but these work best for not turning the board slower than it should be and not having the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag.
149: 7-8
153: 8-9
157: 9-10
161: 10-11

I would stay well under the recommended weight if you plan to ride this in uneven snow.

Shape

The Amplid Soulmate is tapered and directional, but like so many Amplid boards, it doesn’t feel that way. This rides a lot more centered than its shape would lead you to believe.

Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

The Amplid Soulmate is full camber from tip to tail, but the softer flex makes it much more manageable/forgiving than it would be if it were much stiffer. Even though this is a lower price point board, it really isn’t for beginners and intermediates.

Flex Personality

The Amplid Soulmate has a medium flex, which is a good bit softer than most freeride boards in this shape. So, for a freeride board, this feels soft and has more of a mountain freestyle flex in a freeride shape. Even though it was full camber, it was easy to butter and very easy to pop on an ollie.

Uneven Terrain

The Amplid Soulmate is pretty much the opposite of the Souly Grail, which really surprised me. The Souly Grail is the epitome of dampness with pop, while the Soulmate felt very light and poppy but really far from damp. In uneven snow, it constantly bucked me out of my line, and on same-day/same-run comparisons, the Souly Grail stayed quiet and never bucked.

Edge Hold

In good conditions, the edge hold is very competent, but in hard, uneven snow, the edge bucks a bit, so keeping it set so it grips is hard.

Speed/Base Glide

The Amplid Soulmate isn’t ideal for going fast. It just lacks a sidecut or dampness to support a bomber of a rider.

It has an extruded base, which isn’t fast, but it’s durable and can do better than some sintered bases if you don’t wax a lot. It is very good for an extruded base, though.

Turning Experience/Carving

In good snow, I really enjoyed the Amplid Soulmate’s turning experience. It initiated a turn pretty easily for being so wide underfoot for size 9s. When I got it on edge, there was a pretty turny ride that liked tighter radius turns compared to the longer drawn-out turns that get closer to the straight-lining. There was pretty good spring out of the turn, and I could make front foot, center weight, or back foot weight turns. That’s pretty cool for having 9mm of taper.

Powder

I expected more from the Amplid Soulmate with a setback on board of -3.625” at a 22.5” stance width, but it didn’t have the float I’d hoped.  I couldn’t get as far back as I’d like with a 21.5” stance width, and it felt very centered in powder. For low-angle pow like I’m riding these days, it’s not very good, but if you ride steeper-angle terrain and more tail/landing gear for air, this will be just fine.

Another interesting thing is the front binding only has 5×2 inserts but 6×2 on the back. I’d like to see it reversed so I could set the front foot back more.

Switch/Pipe/Jumps

I enjoyed riding the Amplid Soulmate switch, and it’s fun overall.

Conclusion

Overall, the Amplid Soulmate isn’t going to be the best for low-angle pow riding and has a lot of chatter compared to many of its models, but it is poppy, has a very unique centered feel, and has a pretty softer flex in a tapered directional shape.