Borealis Marauder Written Review Review by The Good Ride

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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.

Turn Ons/Swipe Right: Floaty and fast for a 154
Turn Offs/Swipe Left: Shallow side cut only likes quick narrow turns. It fights you if you try to carve or make any other kind of turn.

How it rides and who it is for

How This Review Happened:

We borrowed this for an extended demo and sent it back.
Size: 156
Days: 5
Conditions: Hard snow, medium snow and a little bit of powder.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-190lbs) Nick (Size 10, 160lbs, 5’8”)
Boots: Burton Kendo, Burton Ion, Burton Tourist, Burton Imperial, Burton SLX,
Insoles: Sandsole Custom Insoles, F.I.T. Gamechangers, F.I.T. Gameghangers LP
Bindings: Union Atlas, Union Contact Pro/Union Superpro,
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, Smith Vantage
Goggle: Smith IO Mag, Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Guide Glove, Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Clutch Glove,

Similar Boards (but not the same):
Korua Dart, Moss Jellyfish, Gentemstick Mantaray 156, Jones Hovercraft, Lib Tech Orca, Never Summer Harpoon, Niche Pyre, Lib Tech Lost Quiver Killer, Yes Hybrid, Cardiff Powgoda

Set-Up: 21.5”,  Wide. 21 front +3 back, 24 Front +6 back, 18 Front -3 Back.  Close to Reference and Set all the way back.

Approximate Weight:

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

The Borealis Marauder isn’t heavy or light. Felt very in the middle.

Sizing

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.
154: 9-10
The 154 Borealis Marauder felt like the right size for my specs. Even though I was a bit overweight at 195+ pounds at the time I rode this.

Shape/Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

There is a good bit of taper with the Borealis Marauder and you can feel it. With the big wide nose and short shallow side cut you really ride this on the back half of the board. The camber is mellow from the front foot to the tail but for some reason it is not easy to skid a turn. I think it is the shallow short sidecut but whatever is happening makes it best for advanced to expert riders.

Flex Personality

The Borealis Marauder has a pretty stiff flex between the feet but it is a good bit softer in the nose and to a lesser extent the tail. You can butter pretty easy in the nose tail.

Speed

Borealis makes fast bases and the Marauder has good glide. Especially for a 154. It got me through a few traverse mistakes. For a 154, this is pretty damp and fast. It can point it pretty well for a 154. Yeah the nose clown shoes a bit but it doesn’t get down to the bindings. It also surprised me that such a narrow bottom half of the board was so stable with such a wide/big nose.

Uneven Terrain

I had some messy to micro bumpy snow on some days I tested the Borealis Marauder and it wasn’t bad. You can ride this all day but I wouldn’t like to ride this in bumps where I had to make hard turns. The sidecut isn’t friendly to that kind of turning.

Edge Hold

The grip of the Borealis Marauder is good but nothing like the Drakkar. It doesn’t grab in soft snow though.

Turning and Carving

The Borealis Marauder can start a turn pretty quick but once you hit that short shallow sidecut nothing happens from there. The first few runs I kept leaning into the sidecut in different ways thinking I would figure out how to carve this like other boards. It didn’t work. The Marauder only likes one kind of turn. A narrow down the line kind of S-Turn. Everything else it doesn’t like and it tries to stop you from doing it. Peter would love this kind of turning experience but Nick and I were not into it.

Powder

The float with the Borealis Marauder is up there with the best and the turning experience gets a little more diverse and turny. There is good float and there are lots of inserts per foot to set it way back.

Conclusion

So if you ride like narrow quick semi-slashy s-turns and doing them in deep powder then the Borealis Drakar might work for you.