Amplid Soulmate Snowboard Review

An Objective Breakdown of How the 2027 Amplid Soulmate Rides Review by The Good Ride

• User Reviews
• Product Specs
• Product Images
• Questions?

Overview

How It Was Tested

I rode the Amplid Soulmate with Union Force bindings and my Nitro Team BOA boots.

I borrowed the  for an extended demo and will either send it back or due to shipping costs sell it for Amplid and send them the money.

Size: 157
Days: 2
Conditions:I got this on some good groomers and got this in a little bit of thick, wet powder on top of a block of snowment.
Riders: James (Size 9 E, 5’10”, 185-190lbs). I’ve tested and compared 850+ boards, 200+ bindings, and 120+ boots
Davey (Size 12, 240lbs, 6’4”)
Boots: Nitro Team BOA, Nitro Team TLS
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Force, Union Atlas Step On
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Skyline Fuse Jacket, Jones Mtn Surf Anorak
Pant: Skyline Fase 3L Bib Pant, Skyline Faze Pant, Jones Mountain Surf Pant
Helmet: Smith Method, Smith Scout
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag Low Bridge Fit
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove

James’s Set Up: 21” Wide. Stance Angles +18/-3, +18/+3. Close to Reference on groomers and Set all the way back in powder.

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same):

Amplid Souly Grail, United Shapes Cadet, Jones Flagship Pro, Burton Counterbalance, Weston Gnarnia, Nidecker Megalight 2026 or later, Stranda Descender Evo, Lib Tech Son Of Birdman, Lib Tech Ejack Knife

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Sizing

How it Fits Me

This 157 is the right size for me. It’s a little wide for my boot size at nine US, but it’s not bad at all and it was very manageable. It handled my weight no problem.

But I think this would be perfect for somebody who’s a size ten and my specs.

Sizing is very subjective, so if you want to learn more about how to size the board properly for your specs and personal preference, go to the review at TheGoodRide.com and check out my breakdown there.

How It Might Fit You

Sizing is highly subjective and personal, and many factors come into play when choosing a board. I rarely use “all caps to emphasize something, but NEVER TRUST ANYONE who just references their height and weight. Here are all the factors to consider

Boot Size

You should always start with your boot size first. If your board is too wide for your boot, you can’t turn it; if it’s too narrow, you get the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag. This is the most important part of sizing a board, which is why so many snowboards come in various widths, such as Narrow, Normal, Mid-Wide, Wide, and Ultra-Wide.

Most brands don’t include a recommended boot size because it’s very complicated and time-consuming.

Here is the sweet spot to turn the Amplid Soulmate easily with mid-response bindings/boots and not boot-out. You can go wider if you carve really hard or have very responsive bindigns/boots.

149: 7.5-8.5
153: 9-10
157: 9.5-10.5
160: 10-11

Weight

Your weight determines how the board flexes underfoot, giving you more or less pop, speed, etc. An easier-flexing board can also be easier to turn. Amplid is pretty fair with weight so if you want the board to flex and pop as stated in this review or better stay close to their recommended weight range.

Height

The length of the board determines the swing weight/control. If it’s short, it’s easy to spin, and if it’s longer, it floats better and can help with speed. You want to size the Soulmate like you would an All Mtn-Freeride board. Not too long but not short/wide and volume shifted either.

Boots and Bindings Response

Always factor in your boot and binding’s responsiveness to determine how well you will be able to turn/control a board. The Soulmate doesn’t need a lot of binding and boot to turn this if you size it right but keep it medium response or faster for most. The Soulmate is pretty receptive to more responsive boots/bindings so if you are a smaller shoe size and lighter weight rider you can size up if you have really responsive boots and bindings.

Stance Width

Check your stance width against their reference and/or the set back stance to see if it fits you. The Soulmate starts with a good stance width on reference for most of the sizes but goes really wide if you want to set it back in pow so make sure you have the stance width to match this board for pow days or it won’t float as well set back.

Personal Preference

Some prefer control, so matching the boot size to the board width is first, with weight second. Others prefer speed over control, so they size up to a wider/longer ride and have very responsive boots/bindings.

Design

Base

This has very good glide and wax retention for being an extruded base. But at a board that costs a little over $600 US at the time I’m doing this review, I would have hoped it would have had a sintered base, like most boards do at that price point.

There’s good structure in the base as well, so it’s going to work pretty well with a wide variety of conditions.

Construction / Weight

When it comes to edges and sidewalls, Amplid does such an amazing job with construction. This was done really well. I’m not seeing any flaws from my end.

Then this matte topsheet has a little grit to it, but it’s very durable and the binding marks are minimal left from mounting my Union Force on these.

So overall, very good construction. Amplid knows how to build a board. There’s no disputing that.

Shape & Setback

When it comes to the shape of the Amplid Soulmate, this has nine millimeters of taper, and it’s pretty directional.

There’s a decent amount of setback on board, but not a lot, making this a very traditional freeride type of shape.

Camber/On Snow Feel

When it comes to camber profile, there’s little to no early rise here. It doesn’t feel super technical and catchy, but I still think this is better for advanced-expert riders.

A committed intermediate might be able to get on this, but with the nose and tail so far away from your feet, it’s going to be harder to skid your turn when you get off your game, and you’re probably going to catch an edge a lot.

So I just want to warn you, but this tracks super well one-footing, flat basing, and it has that great same feel underfoot in all conditions.

Edge Hold

When it comes to edge hold, there is good grip with the Amplid Soulmate. It’s very good for not having really aggressive disruptions in the sidecut.

There are better boards for real icy snow, but you’re not going to have to dial back your turns too much in hard snow.

Flex Personality

Let’s talk Soulmate flex. There’s a pretty medium flex overall, maybe touching on medium-soft down at the tail. It’s a good bit stiffer between the feet. It’s got some give, more than the tail, but still more medium-ish.

Then the nose is a good bit softer than everywhere else, and it seems to flex further into the active camber area than many other boards out there.

What you get from this flex personality is a board that’s very easy to butter in the tail and the nose. It just pops so high. It’s got such a flexy, easy-popping, dynamic feel underfoot that I really enjoyed.

On Snow Performance

Uneven Snow

When it comes to uneven snow performance, yes, if you can spend the extra money, get the Souly Grail. That’s a much better ride in uneven snow.

But this time around, this Amplid Soulmate didn’t feel as bucky and bouncy and unruly as the older model did in hard, micro-bumpy snow.

Not the best, but very good, and then manageable in soft, thick, wet, uneven snow as long as you don’t want to charge through it.

Switch/Air/Park

While this is a board for more directional riders, you can throw this around and ride it switch, especially if you’re set up on reference stance. This is great for getting air.

This is the kind of board I feel comfortable with on those tricky side hits where it’s hard to track into them because of ruts and what have you.

If you want to hit bigger jumps, launch off bigger stuff off-piste, the Souly Grail’s better for that, but this Soulmate isn’t bad for what it is.

I wouldn’t mind taking this through the pipe if it was open for more directional pipe riding.

Turning/Carving

Turn Initiation

When it comes to turning, the turn initiation was fast for size nine boots. If you had ten, it would be even better.

If you’re set back as far as you can go on this, it should turn through trees, even when it’s slightly tracked up and uneven, pretty well, as long as you slow it down a little bit so it doesn’t buck and bounce too much.

Carving/Committed Turns

When you get this edge committed into a harder turn, the spring out of the turn is really fun. I just loved how this weighted and unweighted.

It’s a really fun board to carve with, as long as you’re not trying to drive super hard, high-speed carves. If you want to do that, you want to look towards the Time Machine. You want to look towards the Souly Grail. Those will handle that better.

But this was really fun for my style of carving, kind of medium-speed turns. This just had great spring out of the turn. I could front-foot, center-of-weight, or back-foot weight my turns no problem.

Turning Experience/Sidecut

I think a lot of you will have a really fun time carving this. The 7.4m sidecut feels a little bit more on the turny side for a board like this.

I really had fun making across-the-groomer carves. This can circle carve if you want to play around with that, too. Medium-radius turns are super fun.

Then longer, drawn-out, down-the-line turns aren’t bad as long as you’re not really pushing it too hard.

Speed

If you want to straight line, the sidecut isn’t going to fight you. But there are much better boards for those who live to go straight and to go fast.

This is more for those turny riders like myself out there.

Powder

When it comes to powder float, I didn’t get this Amplid Soulmate in powder because it was a horrible season. But I have gotten the old Soulmate, in almost the exact same shape and camber profile, just different construction, in a decent amount of powder.

While I feel it’s a good floater, it’s not a great floater in comparison to a lot of freeride boards out there. I felt like I was more centered on board. There isn’t a lot of early rise to really give you that easy float, but this tail, with a lot less surface area, especially as you get towards the end of the tail, does sink very well.

If you like that more centered feel stance-width-wise, it could be a good floater. They have one set of five-by-two inserts here, then another set of five-by-two with one extra powder setback insert.

I’d love to see one more on the front foot to match it up so I could get the same stance width as my reference stance if I want to set it back in powder, instead of widening out my stance and hurting my hips and straining my taint.

But the argument from Amplid is that if you do that, it takes you out of the sweet spot, and so you’re not going to be able to turn and pop this as easily.

If you’re like me, you might not like this. But if you’re somebody who knows how to keep an almost full-camber board floating in powder, this is going to be fine for you.

Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

Overall, I really, really liked this Amplid Soulmate. This is a great board.

I had such a better time on it than the previous model. I’m going to be recommending this board a lot for those advanced-expert riders who want a mellow, poppy, dynamic, fun board that’s pretty versatile in most conditions.

So there you have it.