Arbor Sin Nombre Snowboard Review

An Honest In-Depth Breakdown of How The Arbor Sin Nombre Rides Review by The Good Ride

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

Overview

How It Was Tested

I rode the Arbor Sin Nombre with Union Force bindings and Nitro Team BOA boots

Size: 156 & 159
Days: 3
Conditions:

Unfortunately, I only got this for three days right at the end of a horrible season. There were two days with two inches of thick, nasty, wet powder. One day on top of hard, uneven snow and the other on top of soft uneven.

Then I got one goodish day right before the season ended. The groomers had lots of divots and weren’t perfect but it was soft and edgeable at least.

Compared Against

I compared the Arbor Sin Nombre against the Armada Sicko, the Burton Time Thief and the Burton Full Nelson.

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, +18/-9. Close to Reference on groomers and Set all the way back in powder.

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same):

Korua Otto, Capita Black Snowboard Of Death, Jones Rally Cat, Cardiff Crane, Nitro Alternator, Telos DST, K2 Commonwealth, Ride Moderator, Never Summer Proto Type 3, Gnu Antigravity, United Shapes Horizon, Lib Tech Dynamo, Lib Tech DPR

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Sizing

How it Fits Me

I rode the Arbor Sin Nombre in a 159 and a 156. The 156 just felt too small for me. I felt like I was over-flexing it a little bit for my weight, and it wasn’t as hard to turn as I thought it would be for my size nine boots.

But when I sized up to the 159, it worked perfectly.

This is just my take to give you context for the review. If you need help with sizing, click through to the full review at TheGoodRide.com, where I put together a detailed sizing breakdown so you can figure out what works best for you.

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. I found the Arbor Sin Nombre’s easy flex can handle a smaller boot than most boards this width. It can also handle a bigger boot with the Grip Tech Bumps over the inserts as it adds a few mm of width.

153:7.5-9.5
156: 8.5-10.5
159: 9-11
162: 9.5-11.5
158w:10-12
161w: 11-13

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. With the Arbor Sin Nombre the flex doesn’t handle heavier guys as well as many of their other boards I don’t see suggested weight but I’d say a fair estimate is keep it under 210lbs.

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. With the Sin Nombre I’d keep the height more in line with a normal all mtn board or on the shorter side of most freeride boards you ride.

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. Arbor makes a very usable stance range so this should work with most stance widths on reference and 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. With the Sin Nombre you can size up a bit and still get really easy control.

Design

Base Glide/Construction

The base has pretty good wax retention and decent glide as well. Not amazing, but very good for this price point.

The edge and sidewall construction is really well done. My only complaint with the Arbor Sin Nombre is this matte top sheet is quite prone to scuffing and scratches.

It’s a reasonably light board for the price point. Your’s could be heavier or lighter though as wood is really far from being consistent board to board.

Shape & Setback

When it comes to shape, this is tapered and directional, but it’s a very mellow taper at only five millimeters. There is a big difference in terms of surface area between the nose and the tail.

While the setback on sidecut or contact length is only 15mm, there is a decent amount of setback on board.

If you want to go all the way back, you’re not in that freeride world of setback, but you’re more set back than a lot of all-mountain boards out there.

Camber/On Snow Feel

When it comes to camber profile, this is kind of new for Arbor. This is almost full camber. No Fender Tech, no lifted sides.

So it feels very stable one-footing and flat basing in all conditions, where the old lifted tech stuff didn’t. It could feel very edgeless and washy.

There is a touch of transition before the nose and tail, so it takes a bit of that full camber bite away. But your camber is still really far away from where your feet are.

Even though it’s very soft and easy to initiate a turn, it can be very catchy, especially if you mostly skid your turns. I’d say advanced to expert riders are going to be the happiest with this. However, a commited intermediate could do this as well if they are willing to take some lumps here and there.

Flex Personality

Let’s talk Arbor Sin Nombre flex. This is medium overall. In the tail, it’s definitely stiffer. The nose is a good bit softer.

This is the 156, but both are very poppy and very easy to ollie. They’re also very easy to butter in the nose and the tail.

On Snow Performance

Edge Hold

When it comes to edge hold, this slightly mellowed-out Offset Grip Tech does a really good job at helping this camber profile grip more, but also not grab too much in softer snow.

It did a great job in the hard snow that I rode this in, and it can even handle an icy day or two.

Uneven Snow

When it comes to uneven snow, this Arbor Sin Nombre does a great job at absorbing that hard, micro-bumpy snow, especially for having such an easier flex and a thinner top sheet.

There are definitely better boards out there, but it’s not bad at all.

Then in softer, thicker, uneven snow, this can buck and bounce around. But it’s a manageable, predictable buck that I got used to pretty easily. I think a lot of people will be more than okay riding this all day.

Switch / Air / Park

I could take this switch pretty well, and it’s very doable.

This was really easy lining up side hits that often have a complicated path into them. If you want to go into the park or launch off stuff off-piste, this is going to be very good for that small to medium range and okay for going bigger. It’s just a little soft for that.

If we had a pipe open, I would have enjoyed it in there. This would be doable for jibs just because of the softer flex, but it’s not ideal. There are a lot of other better boards in Arbor’s line.

Turning/Carving

Turn Initiation

Let’s talk turning. I was really impressed at how quickly this 25.9cm waist initiated a turn for my size nine boots. I felt like it could go wherever I needed it to.

This is the kind of board that you can take in the trees.

Carving/Committed Turns

When you get this edge committed, it’s not a high-speed, really committed carver.

But if you’re somebody like me who just loves fun, medium to slow speed carves, this is going to be really fun.

It’s easy to twist. It can front foot, center and back foot weight turns equally well. It’s just got a fun feel to it in and out of a turn.

Turning Experience/Sidecut

It can circle carve very well. It can across-the-groomer carve very well. It really lights up for those medium-radius turns.

But it can also make longer, drawn-out, down-the-line turns pretty well for a softer-flexing board.

Speed

If you want to point it, there are better boards, but this sidecut isn’t going to fight you.

Powder

When it comes to powder float, you can set the Arbor Sin Nombre back if you want. I think for a mostly camber board, this is going to feel really good.

If you’re more old school and you know how to ride full camber in powder, you’re going to really like this.

Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

Overall, this Arbor Sin Nombre is a really fun board. I had a really good time on it.

I love the grip. I just love the way this pops and springs out of a turn.

So, really great for the price point. There you have it.