Positives

  • Solid pop
  • Very versatile mountain freestyle feel in a tapered directional ride
  • Full Camber but Forgiving

Negatives

  • Can feel edgeless and washy in harder snow
  • Not as floaty in powder as some peers

Summary

The Arbor Clovis looks pretty tapered and directional but feels more like a tapered mountain freestyle ride. Even when set all the way back.

Update 2024: The Arbor Clovis Camber seems to be the same board we rode in 2022 so this review is current. 

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Riding Style Freeride
Riding Level Beginner - Expert
Fits Boot size (US) < 8, 8-10
Manufactured in Dubai by SWS
Shape Tapered Directional
Camber Profile Mostly Camber
Stance Centered
Approx. Weight Feels Normal
Split No
Powder Good
Base Glide Good
Carving Good
Speed Good
Uneven Terrain Great
Switch Good
Jumps Good
Jibbing Average
Pipe Good
On Snow Feel

Stable

Turn Initiation

Medium/Fast

Skidded Turns

Semi-Easy

Flex

Medium

Buttering

Semi-Hard

Edge Hold

Hard Snow

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Arbor Clovis Review- How it rides and who it is for Review by The Good Ride

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.

Arbor Clovis Review

How This Review Happened:

Borrowed this for an extended demo and sent it back.
Size: 157
Days: 4
Conditions: Some wet pow that was pretty fun (camera malfunction though) and a lot of groomer time in hard to spring conditions.
Riders:
 James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-190lbs)
Boots: Burton Kendo
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Atlas
Jacket: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Tusk Jacket, Volcom TDF Infuse 3L Gore-Tex Jacket, Burton Banshee Gore-Tex Jacket
Pant: 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 IO Mag, Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Guide Glove, Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Clutch Glove, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove,

Similar Boards (but not the same): Yes Pick Your LineBurton Flight Attendant, Jones Flagship, Burton Cartographer, Burton Instigator

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

How It Was Tested

I compared this to the Jones Project X, Arbor Coda, Arbor Single & Never Summer Proto Fr on the same day I rode the Arbor Clovis. All had Union Atlas on and Burton Kendo’s.

Approximate Weight

The Arbor Clovis feels on the heavy side of medium. (We don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores there is no consistency in a boards weight)

Sizing

The Arbor Clovis 157 fit really well for my boot size and weight. I felt like I had the right size. I could make a 159 work well too but I felt right at home with the 157.

Here are some ideal US boot sizes for these boards. You can of course go bigger or smaller but these work best for not turning the board slower than it should be and not having the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag.
149n- 6-6.5
152n- 6-7
157: 8.5-9.5
159: 9-10
161- 9.5-10.5

Shape/Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

The tapered directional shape of the Arbor Clovis doesn’t feel that tapered or directional. You don’t feel that 8mm of taper like you do with some boards that even have less. Its camber profile is full camber from tip to tail but with a small lifted area near the end of the effective edge at the tip/tail. This takes all the catch out of this full camber profile and anyone can ride this. This does feel a little edgeless and washy though in harder snow and it takes a little getting used to when one footing just turning. Overall, it has a tapered mountain freestyle feel when centered and set back.

Flex Personality

The Arbor Clovis has a pretty mediumish flex leaning a little on the medium stiff side. You can feel the extra wood in the topsheet make the board feel more damp but you feel like you have a lot of wood happening in the construction. It isn’t good or bad but all about personal preference. It takes a little extra work to make it pop but it sure pops hard when you do. I found that a flat base ollie is better than loading it on the edge. If you load it up from the edge it can feel a little washy in harder conditions. You really get a lot of full camber pop though. I could see how some riders could get really used to this type of flex personality as it does well in all conditions.

Speed

The base glide is above average but not at the easy gliding top of the class. It’s far from a slouch though when well waxed. The Arbor Clovis isn’t bad on when it comes to speed. I don’t push it but you could feel it did better than you would think for it’s flex.

Uneven Terrain

I think the way the Arbor Clovis handles Uneven terrain is pretty good all around. It’s not the dampest when it comes to hard micro bumpy snow or messy snow but it’s’ very good. You can power over or turn through messy snow without too much kick back.

Edge Hold

Love the grip tech (bumps near the bindings) and it makes the Arbor Clovis grip really well in harder snow. I found that if I put a lot of pressure between the feet and commit a little more than I normally do I can get past the lifted sides (Uprise Fender tech) and get that edge to commit. It took some getting used to but it was like riding hybrid rocker for the first time back in the day. Some will adjust and like it and some wont.

Turning Experience/Carving

Pretty quick and good for getting where I wanted to be when I wanted to be. Once on edge in good conditions the Arbor Clovis turns well and felt pretty balanced. You could make long shallow down the line S-Turns well but also circle carve well. It doesn’t shy away from whatever turn you want to make.

Powder

I rarely loose video footage due to user error but I did this time. I got this in about 1’ of wet sun affected spring pow. I got in untracked and some tracked up powder. I set it all the way back and found it to be little more work on the back foot than I though it would in 1’ of wet snow. You can get -4.25” back from center of board at a 21.25” stance width. That is pretty far back but somehow it still feels more centered on board than it is. It isn’t quite there with some of it’s peers but if you like riding full camber in powder this will be more than adequate.

Conclusion

So if you are looking for camber pop without any catch and want a tapered board to ride a little more like a mountain freestyle twin here you go.

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

 
Arbor Clovis Past Reviews

The Arbor Clovis started out in 2017 as a weirdish directional twin with centered on sidecut but the tail felt like it was a lot more volume than the nose leading you to think you set it up too far forward.  Then in 2018 they added set back inserts to give the board a more directional ride but we didn’t try this.  Then the 2019 model was completely redesigned to be the board it probably always should have been. It’s now a little bit wider, has a shorter tail than nose, has 10mm of taper and even though it’s centered on sidecut there is a lot of setback on board. The 2019 Arbor Clovis is now a recommendable ride for those that like having full camber from tip to tail but want it to be considerably less catchy than traditional camber.

Ethics Statement: We don’t get paid by the manufacturer to write these reviews.  No one is perfect and we do make money from the “Where To Buy” links below, but this is our best attempt at an honest and objective review from an average riders’ perspective. 

How This Review Happened:  We borrowed this for an extended demo and then returned it.

Size: 159
Days: 3 
Set Up
: 22” Centered a touch wide of the reference stance 18 front -6 backs
: 3+
Conditions:  Early season, not well-groomed groomers to really well groomed early season groomers.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-195lbs), Grant (Size 11 6’ 160lbs)
Boots: Adidas Tactical ADV
Insoles: Sandsole Custom Insoles,  Footprint Insole Technology Gameghangers Low Profile
Bindings: Union Atlas, Union Strata

The Arbor Clovis is an interesting board that threw us all off.  It’s a twin with a different tip/tail and the tip seems smaller than the tail. It made us all feel like we were riding too far forward.

 

 

 
Arbor Clovis Specs

 
Arbor Clovis Images

We try to get as many images of the Arbor Clovis, but forgive us if they're not all there.

2023

2022

2019

2018

2017

Arbor Clovis User Reviews

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Snowcountry.eu
Arbor Clovis 22/23
€ 699.95Buy it

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