Amplid Surfari Snowboard Review

Amplid Surfari Snowboard Written Review Review by The Good Ride

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

Ethics Statement: We don’t get paid by the manufacturer to write these reviews, and this is our unfiltered opinion. 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.

A Breakdown Of How It Rides And Who It Is For

How This Amplid Surfari Review Happened:

Borrowed this for an extended demo and sent it back.
Size: 157
Days: 4
Conditions: Pretty deep, somewhat tracked pow, good but not great pow, good to uneven groomers, and perfect groomers
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10”, 185-190lbs)
Boots: Ride Fuse
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Atlas
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Jones Mtn Surf Anorak, Jones Shralpinist Stretch Jacket, Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Tusk Jacket, Volcom Guide Jacket, Burton Gore-Tex 3L Treeline Jacket, Jones Peak Bagger Jacket. Burton AK Helitak Gore-Tex Jacket
Pant: Jones Mountain Surf Bib, Jones Shralpinist Stretch Bib,  Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant, Burton AK Gore-Tex 2L Swash Pant, Burton Gore-Tex Ballast Pant
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): Gentemstick Mantaray 156, Yes Hybrid, Jones Hovercraft, Lib Tech Orca, Never Summer Harpoon, Gnu Gremlin, Ride Psychocandy, Telos Backslash, Korua Transition Finder, Salomon Dancehaul, K2 Excavator, Cardiff Powgoda, Jones Mind Expander, YES PYL Uninc, Nidecker Mellow,

James’s Set Up: 21.5” Wide. Sance Angles +18/-3, +18/+3, +24/+6, +21/+3 back. Close to Reference on groomers and Set all the way back in powder.

How It Was Tested

I rode this on its own but in pow compared it to the Jones Hovercraft and forgot to mention in the review the Rome Stale Fish. Then I compared it to the Jones Snowmelier, Morning Glory and Aloha Vibes.

Approximate Weight

The Amplid Surfari doesn’t feel heavy or light. Just down the middle.

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

Sizing

So I think the Amplid Surfari was a pretty good fit for my weight but only a touch big for my boot size. Still, it was more than manageable, and if they made a smaller size, I don’t know if I would be into it.

Here are some ideal US boot sizes for the Amplid Surfari’s. 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.

157: 9.5-10.5
161: 10.5-11.5

For weight I would stay close to Amplid’s recommended weight ranges. If it comes down to boot size or weight, I would make sure it fits your boot first and then your weight a close second.

Shape

The Amplid Surfari is pretty tapered and directional, but it doesn’t feel that way on snow. It feels more centered and is agnostic to how you want to weigh a turn, which is really cool. Many tapered boards need more backfoot weight on groomers to keep it from washing out.

Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

The Amplid Surfari has a lot of camber from the tail go, just a few cm before the nose. After the pretty aggressive early rise, the sides of the actual nose are lifted. I love the way they lift the sides because you only feel the smoother turning experience from the lift in powder and really soft snow. On groomers, it doesn’t feel washy, and you only have a normal camber feel. This means you get a pretty locked-in feel that isn’t washy like some boards with lifted sides or spoon nose tech. It is not that easy to skid a turn if you get off your game, but it tracks so well with one footing and flat basing.

Flex Personality

There is a medium stiff flex, but it also has a little bit of a rubbery flex that feels like you can’t break it no matter how hard you flex it. There is a lot of energy/snapback after the flex, so this is a really poppy ride.

I could butter ok, but it took some work. I thought getting this to pop on an ollie would be hard but it wasn’t that bad.

Uneven Terrain

What really surprised me is how incredibly damp the Amplid Surfari is in all conditions. If you ride all day and see everything from hard microbumpy snow to all kinds of softer, uneven snow this is an absolute champ. I’ve never experienced anything like it and can’t say enough good things about this vibration-dampening tech. There is no compromise between pop and dampness. It’s such a great all-conditions ride.

Edge Hold

The edge hold is very competent. It’s no ice specialist, but it keeps the edge so quiet in all conditions that it grips better than you would think for not having any disruption.

Speed/Base Glide

The base glide is very good, but in comparison to some of its competitors, it’s not quite as fast at this price point.

Turning Experience/Carving

The Amplid Surfari is an absolute joy to turn on. It’s medium-ish when it comes to turn initiation for my size 9’s, but it’s better than I thought. Once you get the edge committed, you can weight your turns any way you want, and it really drives well through a front foot-weighted turn. Center and back foot weighted are pretty good, too. The spring out of a turn is exceptional, and it pops so well out of a hard carve. The dampening really helps you carve at higher speeds without it bucking out if you hit a bump. You don’t feel the taper, and it almost feels like you are on a non-tapered board when turning.

Powder

So the Amplid Surfari is an absolute joy to carve, but I didn’t find it to float as well as I would have liked in low-angle pow. Don’t get me wrong, it floated pretty well in pow but felt a bit behind the Jones Hovercraft and the Rome Stale Fish that I tested it against on the same day. I felt that it was better than the Souly Grail but a good bit behind the Morning Glory and Aloha Vibes as well. I do think that this will kill it in medium-ish to steeper terrain, though, and it’s a great pow board for those that want a more centered feel for getting air.

With a 22” stance width, you can set it -4.75” back from the center of the board. That isn’t bad, but compared to the Jones Hovercraft, you are looking at -6.75” at a 22” stance width. Even the Rome Stale Fish, with only a -3.75” back at a 21.75” stance width, had a more set back feel than the Surfari, but I think that is because its more pin-like tail makes it sink more than the Surfari’s wider quasi-swallow tail. I would like to see 6×2 inserts per foot instead of 5×2. Even better, it would be good to see set-back inserts for full-size disc riders. I don’t think you would need it in steeper conditions, but it sure would make it better in low-angle pow.

Conclusion

So overall, I really enjoyed this Surfari. I wish they had more inserts for those that ride low-angle pow, but Its dampness and carving experience blew my mind. This is a great all-conditions directional daily driver.

If this review helped, we’d appreciate if you:

• Become a Patron and get early access to reviews well before they are published.  https://www.patreon.com/thegoodride
• Donate to https://venmo.com/TheGoodRide (@TheGoodRide) or https://paypal.me/thegoodride
• Follow Us: https://www.instagram.com/thegoodride​
• Like & Subscribe on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@thegoodridesnow