Amplid Time Machine Snowboard Review

An In Depth Breakdown of How The Amplid Time Machine Rides Review by The Good Ride

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

How The Was Tested:

I got the Amplid Time Machine late spring in some really good conditions, but in the absence of any real powder. This happens sometimes. I was hoping to try these boards mid-winter, but amplify and I both got busy, and by the time they got the boards out to me, it was too late.

I borrowed the Amplid Time Machine for an extended demo, but I liked it so much I asked to keep it (only do this with favorites).

Size:155
Days:5+
Conditions:  and an early morning slackountry time with Drift Boards & Union Rovers
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10”, 185-195lbs). I’ve tested and compared 800+ boards and close to 1,000 if you count different versions of the same Model over the years.
Boots: Nitro Team TLS
Insoles: Footprint Kingfoam Orthotic Elite
Bindings: Union Force
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Skyline Fuse 3L Jacket, Skyline Fuse Light 3L Jacket
Pant: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant, Skyline Faze Pant
Helmet: Smith Method
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove, Drop Tahoma Mitt,

James’s Set Up

21.5” Wide. Stance Angles +18/-3, +18/+3, +18/-9. Close to Reference on groomers and set all the way back in powder.

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same):

Gentemstick Mantaray,  Jones Hovercraft 2.0, Korua Transition Finder, Rome Stale Fish, Cardiff Powgoda, Jones Mind Expander, Yes PYL Uninc,

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Construction / Durability / Weight

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

Sizing

This 155 fit me really well, despite being a little heavy for its recommended weight. I would say, though, that the recommended weight is often just a general guideline, and I’m always trying to balance my boot size, weight, and height. This Amplid Time Machine was the best balance. I didn’t boot out with my size nines on this 55. The turn initiation was great in all conditions, but I would love the 60 if I were more about going fast. Bigger carves, wide open terrain, and I saw less uneven snow than I did. That board could work perfectly for me, too. It’s just going to turn a little slower and be a little harder to manage for my size nine boots.

Amplid is pretty good with publishing all the specs (including width underfoot) to help you understand what will work best with your boot, but they don’t do recommended boot sizes.

The Good Ride’s Conservative / Safe Boot Size Recommendation For the Amplid Time Machine

These are sizes that will keep you from booting out (super bad) or being too wide to turn quickly in critical situations.

155: 8.5-9.5
160: 9.5-10.5

There is often more than one size that will work for your specs and your riding style. Size down for more control and size up for more speed/stability/carving power.. If it comes down to boot size or weight, I would ensure it fits your boot first and then your weight a close second.

Shape and Setback On Board

Now, when it comes to shape, this is a tapered directional board, but it only has three mil of taper. It’s got a more centered stance on board with only ten millimeters back on side cut. On the reference stance here, it’s only 1.5in back from center of board with a 21.25in stance width. If you want to set it all the way back, let’s say for a powder day or just a more directional feeling ride, you can only get 2.375in back from center of board again at a 21.25in stance with. So for a board of this shape, there is very little setback on board and on side cut.

Camber / On Snow Feel

We have a mellow camber. It doesn’t feel super technical but it’s a little more on the technical side. I would say committed intermediates can go for it, but you’re probably going to catch an edge here and there, but I would say for most people this is an advanced expert snowboard. But you can skid your turns pretty easy if you size it right when you get off your game. It tracks super well. One footing flat, basing all that jazz. One thing to point out is this Amplid Time Machine doesn’t have that lifted tech like the Surfari did in the sides here, but it does have a unique curve up that starts mellow and then really starts to tweak up at the top in the nose.

Edge Hold

I’m not seeing any real disruption in the side cut. But whatever they did with the way they shaped the radius of this side cut and whatever technology they’re using inside the core to help this edge get more leverage into the snow is pretty good. I rode this on a lot of firm but fun days, and I felt it had more than competent grip. This anti-phase dampening technology seems to really help keep the edge quieter than you would think for how light and popping this is.

Flex Personality

It’s not as stiff as you would think and runs more on the medium side. There’s a little easier flex in the middle of the board. So that’s where you get your flex. There’s a little easier twist, edge-to-edge. And it makes it easier to twist torsionally and engage in turn, but it also butters pretty well.

Butters and Ollies

So I found that this was pretty easy to butter in the nose and tail. And when it comes to pop, even though this has a mellow camber, the construction under the hood here allows for a lot of pop, and it was very easy for me to Ollie with this board, and it tracked really well into side hits. It never felt awkward for me. Launched off them well and landed well. Lots of tail here. You’re very centered on the board, so it’s a great board for those of you who like to get air around the mountain.

Switch

And it can land switch and ride pretty well. There’s not a lot of rise and kink up in the tail, but you’re very centered on board, and I found myself riding this switch a little more than I thought I would. It’s still not amazing, but it’s a lot better than the Surfari in that aspect.

Uneven Snow

When it comes to uneven snow performance, that’s one of the reasons why you get Amplid with their centrifugal series. And their singular boards have a similar dampening technology, but not the same. This Antiphase technology is legit. They’re just putting in these dampening properties that really reduce nose and tail chatter in that area where there’s a little bit of early rise that feels light. It feels poppy, but not chattery. That’s an amazing thing. I wish more boards did that. And as you know here, I don’t like getting too much into the tech. It’s more about how it rides because so much of that tech can be smoke and mirrors or marketing bullshit, but this Amplid Time Machine has truly legit properties that I can feel on snow.

And I compared this to many boards…

Especially when I do same-day comparisons to other boards as I did with this. For example, I compared this against the K2 excavator, the K2 almanac, the stranda biru. All or a little shorter, a little wider, but this just out dampened them by a lot. And when I compared this against other boards in the future shapes line like the kill switch, the Ohana vibes, the mood bender, this was just so much damper when I got off those and got on this. So I really like how this handles all kinds of uneven snow, everything from hard to micro, bumpy on up to soft, thick, uneven, messy snow. You’re never going to have a bad day with this.

Yeah, it will still buck and bounce around a little bit for what this flex is, but in comparison to almost any other board with this same flex personality and pop, they’re going to buck and bounce around a lot more.

Turning

The Amplid Time Machine initiated a turn really quickly for me because it was matched up really well for my size nine boots. It’s not the kind of board I’d like in the trees, because I don’t like a lot of tail behind me when I’m turning in uneven snow in the trees, which is mostly what you see there. You rarely get perfectly untracked snow in the trees, so it’s not perfect there, but in terms of initiation, it was medium fast for sure, maybe almost bordering on fast. And I just love that feeling.

And when I got it on edge and committed to a harder turn, I really loved the way this held through a carve and popped me out of it and set me up for the next turn. I always felt in control. But I never felt like I could find its speed limit and carving limit. And speaking of, I just love this side cut and this centered feel. I felt like I could front foot, center foot, or back foot weight my turns any way I’d like. And the turning radius that came with this was really fun. It’s on the turning side of balanced. So circle carves for fun across the groomer carves really fun. That was my favorite part. And then medium-radius turns, and carves were really fun too, but I really liked how I could make longer, drawn-out down-the-line turns without this side cut fighting me.

Speed

If I wanted to straight-line it and pick up some real speed and point it, I was amazed at how fast this little 155 could go. I mean, the 160 would be to the point where I’d have to make speed checks a lot when I was turning and picking up a lot of speed. But if that’s what you’re into, then yeah, you could size up and go on 60 and have a blast. For me, this Amplid Time Machine was all I needed. This was well beyond my ability level, and an insurance policy cannot handle it. So really fun Turner and really good going straight for this kind of side cut.

Base Glide

I’m never a fan of die cut. But they did it really well. I can barely feel it. So not bad. The base is pretty fast upper end, but not the fastest to fast. And when well waxed, it’s going to keep its speed and do a great job. I had no issues with the base. There are faster out there, and that would be nice to have; it’s not a slouch in any way, shape, or form.

Powder

This isn’t the board I want to be on in powder. This isn’t my style. This isn’t what I’m about. I love to set my stance back as far as I can and get the easiest directional float that I can. This Amplid Time Machine has less setback on board than some other mountain boards, and it’s just not the kind of board I personally want to ride in powder. Now, if you like a centered feel on your board and you ride a lot of steeper terrain and you love getting big air and you want to be centered on the board to have a lot of landing gear, this could work for you. If you’re like me, you might want to have a different board for a powder day.

Final Thoughts

So overall, I absolutely loved the Amplid Time Machine, despite the fact that it isn’t the kind of board I want to ride in powder. It’s still the kind of board I want to ride in all other conditions. This is just such a fun, smooth, consistent performer that really just tickled my taint when it came to riding good groomers. Firm but fair groomers. This was just so much fun. It’s a board I’d love to have in my quiver. And well, I do miss those more setback directional aspects of the Surfari, it’s fun to have this more centered directional ride as well.