Arbor A-Frame Snowboard Review

A Breakdown of How The Arbor A-Frame Rides Review by The Good Ride

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

Overview

How It Was Tested

So I rode this with my Union Force bindings and Nitro Team BOA boots. I got this out in some good groomers, some firm groomers, and then a decent amount of powder.

But we had a really rough season, and it was not the kind of powder day I was hoping for, but better than most of the powder days I’ve had.

I borrowed the Arbor A-Frame for an extended demo and sent it back but would love to own a 162

Size: 166
Days: 3
Conditions:  and some early morning Slackountry pow time with Drift Boards & Union Rovers
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: 21.5” Wide. Stance Angles +18/+3, +24/+6. Close to Reference on groomers and Set all the way back in powder.

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same):

Weston Japow, Gentemstick Barracuda, Soul Shift, Nidecker Beta, Nidecker Beta APX, Korua Pintonic, Jones Storm Chaser 2025, Stranda Tree Surfer, Salomon Wolle Nyvelt Fish, Burton Smooth Operator, Korua Pencil, Amplid Time Machine, Amplid Surfari

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Sizing

How it Fits Me

This 166 is the biggest in their line. I thought it might be a little big for me, but it was much more manageable than I thought.

And of course, this handled my 190 pounds like an NFL linebacker giving a baby a piggyback. The 162 would probably be the board I’d get but if I was well off I’d get the 162 for a daily and 166 for perfect morning groomers and perfect pow.

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 easily with mid-response bindings/boots and not boot-out with the Arbor A-Frame. So one thing to consider is boards like this with a lot of taper, a very deep/turny sidecut and an easier flex turn a lot quicker than you would think by just looking at the waist width. If you want to carve hard don’t get this board if you are a bigger boot.

158: 7-9
162: 8-10
166: 9-11

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. Arbor doesn’t have a recommended weight range that I can see on their site but this can handle people 200+ without issue.

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 definitely want to ride this longer than you normally would most All-Mtn and many Freeride boards.

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.

Stance Width

Check your stance width against their reference and/or the set back stance to see if it fits you.

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

Construction/Base Glide/Durability

Base glide is very good. I think there’s good wax absorption and wax retention. There are some faster bases out there, but it’s not bad.

Going from base to edges to sidewall, the construction is excellent. For a 166, this doesn’t feel very heavy.

This pretty light for such a wide 166 so very managable for most people.

This gloss-like top sheet is prone to scuffing, but it’s only cosmetic.

Shape & Setback

When it comes to shape, this has 20mm of taper. It’s very directional and very set back.

This feels much more like true snowsurf versus the older non-swallowtail model that I tried a few years back.

Camber/On Snow Feel

The Arbor A-Frame is old-school full camber from tip to tail. And while there isn’t a huge bow of camber, you really do feel this.

It’s more technical, more locked in. It’s not like a lot of their boards that have lifted tech at the end of the effective edge that are much more forgiving, but also can have this edgeless, washy feel.

This feels the same underfoot in all conditions. It tracks really well.

Edge Hold

When it comes to edge hold, the way this blended sidecut grips, if you’re out riding truly icy snow, there are better boards out there.

But this is going to grip well when it’s hard and not grab when it’s soft.

Flex Personality

Let’s talk A-Frame flex. This has a medium flex to it. Way more mellow than I thought it would be based on how it felt on snow.

The tail is pretty stiff, but it’s a swallowtail, so if you lean into one side, there’s a lot more give than if you engage both.

Then between the feet, there’s a little give here, and the nose is very soft. It has the most give.

On Snow Performance

Uneven Snow

When it comes to uneven snow, the Arbor A-Frame can handle hard, micro-bumpy, uneven snow very well. They made a pretty damp board here.

Then soft uneven snow, this is going to be very good as well. If you see thick, wet powder like we often do out on the West Coast, this is going to be a great board for that.

Switch & Air

This is not very doable switch, but if you have to, you can.

And being so set back on board, it’s not going to be great for getting air. But after a little while, you can get used to this.

So if you want to get some air on a powder day, this should work okay.

Turning/Carving

Turn Initiation

When it comes to turning, I was really impressed with how quickly it initiated a turn for being a 166 for my specs.

And if I size down, this would be great in really tight tree lines.

Carving/Committed Turns

When I got this on edge and really committed to a turn, I was a little worried that this snowsurf shape wouldn’t have that powerful carve that the really old, all-camber, no-lift A-Frame had years ago that I used to really enjoy.

This is still a great carver, just from a more surfy perspective. Back-foot-weighted turns really shine.

And I never really felt this board get washy on me, no matter how I weighted my turns.

Turning Experience/Sidecut

This really is a turny board, so it definitely likes across-the-groomer-to-circle carves. Medium-radius turns, of course, are super fun as well.

More down-the-line, higher-speed S-turns, this wasn’t bad at all. And it didn’t feel hooky, which I thought it might.

Speed

And speaking of just pointing it, there are better boards for this for sure, but it’s not bad, especially in terms of chatter absorption and stability.

Powder

When it comes to powder float, the Arbor A-Frame is pretty special for being full camber.

This floated really well and felt very slashy, turny, and fun. I really did feel like I was surfing in the ocean when I was on this, and I didn’t feel like I had to fight on my back leg to keep this up.

I wouldn’t call it a really special low-angle powder board for a 166, but this is going to be great for medium-angle powder.

When I did set it all the way back, it wasn’t like a lot of swallowtails I’ve tried where the tail sinks too much. This didn’t feel like that.

Final Thoughts

James’ Final Thoughts

Overall, the Arbor A-Frame is a really fun board. It’s the kind of board that just lights it up on groomers despite its snowsurf, powdery look, but also can hang in powder despite having so much camber.

It’s the kind of board I wouldn’t mind having in my quiver, and it’s going to be a board I’m recommending a lot.

Joe’s Take

What’s up, guys? I was here to give you a small guy’s take on the Arbor A-Frame snowboard.

How Joe Tested It

I’m five foot six, 125 pounds, and wore a size 7.5 Deeluxe Edge Pro boot. I rode this in the size 166.

The large width was quite a bit for my 7.5 boots. I still had so much fun riding this that I am considering getting a smaller size.

I rode this with Union Force bindings and a little bit of fresh snow. On the day we didn’t have any fresh snow, I mounted my ultra-responsive Rome Katana FullWrap bindings with the ankle straps cranked all the way up, allowing me to use my shins to leverage the board to test its carving performance on groomers.

This thing really locks in on a carve. The board was a lot of fun to turn. While I would size down for my personal quiver, this board’s ability to carve groomers was certainly a big selling point for me.

Being so small for this board, it did favor bigger turns. But based on the specs, I think this would be much turnier if I was on a smaller size.

This board did not have any trouble in choppy snow.

All in all, I’m definitely considering buying this as my powder board moving forward and something that I won’t shy away from taking out on those days where there’s no fresh powder in the forecast.