Borealis Botanica 2021 Snowboard Review

List Price US $359

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Borealis Botanica 2021 Review by The Good Ride

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The Botanica from Borealis is a beginner/intermediate all mountain snowboard that has a flat camber under the feet and a little reverse camber on the nose and tail. Delivering a consistent, stable ride all over the mountain.

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 rider’s perspective. 

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

Size: 146

Days: 4 +

Conditions: Some hard pack/icy conditions, normal groomer days.

Riders: Steph & Paige

Boots: Vans Ferra Pro

Bindings: Union Milan

Board Sizing: 146, 150

On Snow Feel: The Botanica has a flat camber between and under the bindings and a slight rocker on the nose, with a little less rocker on the tail. The flat camber gives the Botanica a somewhat loose feel, but also a stable and somewhat connected feel to the snow. It isn’t catchy, but it also isn’t loose like a reverse camber snowboard. So somewhere in the middle.

Powder: The Borealis Botanica is a twin snowboard, so you won’t get too much directional float, even if you set the bindings all the way back. But the flat camber, and wider waist width (244 mm) give it a nice amount of surface area for maintaining float in softer snow. It won’t be as good as a specific powder board, but should float ok in a medium amount of powder.

Turn Initiation: Paige and I both felt that the Botanica was medium fast to turn. This is probably due to the flat camber and the wider waist width. It may turn quicker for a rider with a bigger boot size, or someone who weighs a bit more.

Carving: The Botanica did ok at carving, but wasn’t super interesting to carve. I didn’t get much energy back from the board out of turns. It held a nice stable line when carving, but it took some effort to get it on edge sometimes.

Speed: It comes with an IS7200 Sintered Base, so the glide and speed were pretty good. It also had a stable feel when riding fast and didn’t get chattery at all.

Uneven Terrain: The Borealis Botanica has a very consistent feel across the whole mountain. It maintains its stability in uneven terrain, and is able to make some nice skidded turns through uneven snow.

Edge Hold: The flat camber zone provides nice contact with the snow, and feels nice and consistent in harder or icy conditions. There are no disruptions in the sidecut, so it does best in hard to semi-icy conditions.

Flex: We both felt like the Botanica had a stiffer flex. Like maybe a 7/10. It felt a bit stiff torsionally as well, this could be coming from the wider waist width, or the flat camber. So for us lighter riders, it sometimes felt a little too stiff. But would probably feel nice to a heavier rider with a bigger boot size.

Switch: It is a true twin, the camber profile is slightly directional but not enough to notice when riding switch. It rides switch great.

Rails/Jibs: Although the flex was a little stiff for my liking on jibs, the flat camber will provide a nice stable platform on boxes and rails. But it isn’t a super flexible, jib specific friendly board.

Pipe: The Botanica should ride pretty well in the pipe. It has a nice stable feel, and should feel consistent from wall to wall. I personally prefer my pipe boards to be a little more nimble, but it could be a good pipe dabbler.

Jumps: Again, the Botanica makes for a nice stable feeling ride. A good platform for jumping, and has stable landings. I felt like it had a medium amount of pop, but I also felt like I was a little too light to actually bend the board the way I would like when doing ollies and jumping. So maybe a heavier rider will enjoy it more in a jumping environment.

Overall: The Borealis Botanica likes to make skidded turns all over the mountain. It has a very consistent feel in most all snow conditions and terrain. It is pretty easy to figure out right away and get used to. The Botanica comes with a wider waist width, so could be good for a rider with a bigger boot size.

Paige’s Perspective

The Borealis Botanica is an all-mountain freestyle board perfect for the rider who enjoys mellow resort cruising. The flat base profile of this mid-flex true twin provides you with a stable and predictable ride.

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