Summary

The Capita Charlie Slasher is a flat to rocker board we have been riding for years. There aren't many powder boards in this price range so it's not a bad pick if you are on a budget. So for 2017, it's still the same ride but it can be split if you want to without being exposed thanks to rubber down the center.  Also, over the years we have seen the flex of the board soften up while still retaining its dampness.  So even though the specs are very similar from 2010 to 2017 the feel underfoot is far better in the later models. They aren't the planks they used to be in 2010.

Where To Buy

No obligation, but these links support the site.

No Results Found

No Results Found

No Results Found

Riding Style Powder
Riding Level Advanced - Expert
Fits Boot size (US) 8-10, 10-12
Manufactured in Austria by The Mothership
Shape Tapered Directional
Camber Profile Flat to Rocker
Stance Setback -20mm
Approx. Weight Feels Normal
Split No
Powder Good
Base Glide Average
Carving Average
Speed Good
Uneven Terrain Good
Switch Average
Jumps Average
Jibbing Poor
Pipe Average
On Snow Feel

Stable

Turn Initiation

Medium/Fast

Skidded Turns

Moderate

Flex

Medium/Stiff

Buttering

Moderate

Edge Hold

Hard Snow

Where To Buy

No obligation, but these links support the site.

No Results Found

No Results Found

No Results Found

Capita Charlie Slasher 2017 - 2010 Review by The Good Ride

Ethics Statement: We don’t get paid by the manufacturer to write these reviews.  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.

Size 158 and 164

Days: 10+

Conditions: Mainly powder from 1 foot to 3+ feet and some groomer days with mainly good conditions.
Riders: James, Jimbo, and a few others not on the site
Boots: Burton SLX, Burton IonBurton Imperial
Bindings: Burton Cartel, Flux SF,  Union FactoryUnion Force

Set Up: About 23″ wide set back 15 to 18 front and 0 to -6 back.

Approximate Weight: When the Slasher first came out it had a borderline heavy feel to it but the last couple of years it has lost some weight.

On Snow Feel:  The Slasher is made for pow riding so it’s made to be stable and pretty fast.  The feel underfoot is very flat and stable without being very catchy.  It feels very aggressive though.  Even though it’s tapered it doesn’t have a wash in the tail kind of feel. The slasher is a directional pow board above everything else but also handles clean groomers pretty well.

Powder:
 The Charlie Slasher’s flat to rocker floats well and it’s a good powder board. Not a great powder board but good for the price. The flat instead of rocker in the tail has some positives and negatives. It’s great for landing on the back seat after a jump or getting a little more snap out of an ollie but conversely, it doesn’t wheelie up/tail butter as easy as boards with some rocker in the rear in the deep stuff. It was a little more work on the back leg than other powder boards I’ve owned where many have no work at all.  Also, it doesn’t have spring out of a turn like boards with camber do. Still, it’s got good float when set all the way back and it’s a fun ride.  I personally liked the ride of the 158 better than the 164 and felt it had more slash ability, control, and playfulness for my specs. Sometimes on the 164 I didn’t feel as much like I was in control of the ride but the 158 was easy to slash in and out of the trees no problem. This wasn’t for Jimbo as he likes Twins or Twinish boards in powder because he likes to ride switch a lot.  For me who likes to surf as well as snowboard this definitely had a surfy feel while not feeling too washy off the tail when getting back to the chair.

Flex: This board is very stiff in the center.  There is almost no give. The 158 has a little more give.  Once you get to the tip and tail it softens up considerably.  It is a little less stiff when you give a torsional flex.  This pays off when you hit the chop.  It is stable and smooth but it’s not a super easy butter board. Not super easy to tail butter but doable for sure.

Turn Initiation and Carving– Even the 164 which was a little too big for me wasn’t too slow but the 158 felt much better for my size 9 boots. Short radius turns to wide radius turns are doable but not dynamic and snappy.  There isn’t any real resistance going into the turn and no spring out of the turn.  However, it’s still doable to go out on a groomer day, make some turns and slash around.  When it comes to a carve it’s just not that special.  Like riding groomers it’s doable but not special compared to many boards with some camber in the profile somewhere.

Skidded Turns: Pretty easy to skid turns and it’s not that scary for a more novice turner.

Speed: The newer sintered base is much better than the older base and it helps keep the glide going.  It’s still a damp board and can bomb well.

Speed on The Old Extruded Base– This stiff beefy board should perform really well but we were worried about the extruded base.  Extruded bases are usually for park boards that never pick up any speed, hit the street and hit rails all day.  That being said we were really surprised to see that this thing held its speed and this is one of the fastest extruded bases we have ever experienced.  Still, its an extruded base and that’s a big drawback.  What makes this board so fast is also the damp and stiff build.  We haven’t found a speed where the board makes us feel unsafe or unstable.  It is also sturdy as hell.  There have been many rocks hit so far and there isn’t a single mark on the base.  So it is tough and pretty fast.

Uneven Snow– So this can bomb through mostly tracked out powder and handle some uneven terrain but when it becomes rutted and mogul filled it’s a little more work than you would think for a tapered board. It’s not bad for its flex but it can get a little bit cranky in the end of a tracked up day.  The 158 was much more fun to weave in and out of moguls better. I personally had more control with the 158 with less work.

Edge Hold: Not going to light the edge hold world on fire but it can get you from hard snow to the powder without being too sketchy.  I did find a few days with Icy patches here and there at the top of the mountain and it held better than I thought for a tapered board with a more or less standard sidecut.

Switch:  Capita claims that this board can hang switch but we aren’t seeing it. The Charlie Slasher was not a dream riding switch with any of the riders who rode it. It’s not terrible and you can land a jump switch but it isn’t a joy like many twinish pow boards out there.  However, there are many other boards out there that will ride in the Pow switch like the Rome Notch 1985 and K2 Gyrator.  If you aren’t concerned about riding switch in pow but might like to on occasion then this will be better than many boards in the pow category but don’t get it to ride like you would in the park.

Jibbing- No thanks.

Pipe: This isn’t a pipe board but you could slash some pipe walls if you really wanted to.

Jumps:  There is decent pop off the tail and also it is pretty good for landing in the back seat after a launch off a natural feature. It’s all about a method but not really stomping it switch for us.  I know Capita in the past has mentioned you can stomp stuff switch and Jimbo could but he’s a really good rider.  The average rider, like me, won’t really feel too stoked landing switch on the narrow flat camber tail compared to the wider rocker nose.

So all in all the Capita Charlie Slasher is a good choice for those looking for a surfy powder board on a budget. Yeah, we’ve tried better powder boards and find the flat, even in powder, a little boring compared to camber boards we rode but again it’s hard to get really critical at this price point.  If you are into Capita, want something really good in powder and can swing the higher price you might prefer the Black Snowboard of Death. It’s a more well-rounded ride and a little better if you are ok with some chatter in the tip/tail.

 
Capita Charlie Slasher Past Reviews

 

In 2011 the Slasher dropped their extruded base for a sintered base which makes the 2011 model much more recommendable.  Capita also added another model that is called the Party Shark but its just the Slasher with different graphics and the extruded base from last year. For 2012 Capita dropped the party shark and but the Charlie hasn’t changed much from 2011 except for a few minor tweaks and the addition of a 154 to go with the 158 and 164. The 2013 and 2014 Capita Charlie Slasher is pretty much the same board as 2012 but with different graphics.

Our first impression is this board is a beast!  Its thick,  pretty heavy for a 164, has a very tough base and crazy graphics.  This can be good or really bad.  Even though the Charlie Slasher is $200 or more less than the average pow board it still sucks when you take a core shot or deep gash when you ride it so it’s nice to see a strong base.  We can really like heavy and thick for a pow board because that means when you hit tracked out lines or crud it will plow through it like a tank through a trench.  It also usually means it’s damp and will function well at high speeds.  It has 2 deceptive cm’s of taper that is hard to tell from your first look. It also looks like the board is set back about 20mm to 30mm which isn’ t all that much for a pow board.  Another interesting thing is when we set the Charlie Slasher next to the 166 Salomon Burner we were surprised to see the Charlie Slasher seem to be taller. The Flat camber with a bit of rocker makes the Charlie Slasher ride bigger than a cambered board of it’s size or a few cm taller.

 
Capita Charlie Slasher Specs

 
Capita Charlie Slasher Images

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

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

Capita Charlie Slasher User Reviews

Capita Charlie Slasher 2010-2017 Snowboard Review SKU UPC Model

cool slasher

Feb 13, 2013 by Gavin
Ability Level: Advanced • 
Riding Style: All mountain/freeride • 
Days You Ride A Year: 30 

I've had my slasher for a couple of years now, I have the 2011 (sintered base) model. As usual everything in The Good Ride review is pretty bang on. Maybe except the weight, the review is of the old extruded version which might have been heavier because my 164 is really quite light.
The lighter weight doesn't effect the way this board handles rough conditions or high speeds though, it is so much fun to straight line runs on this and the board is so stable in any conditions you can bomb through anything.
The first season riding the slasher i rode it heavy on the tail trying to force the float like on a camber board, rear leg burn was pretty severe. I found if I just let the board do the floating it became much easier on the legs and that big nose just kept ploughing thru and pushing me up. With the unique shape of the slasher you can ride it on powder almost like you ride a groomer and you'll love it, I've done it even through 3 feet of fresh Japan dry powder.
The stability is also there landing jumps, I probably would have given it one more star than The Good Ride for jumps. You think it's going to suck and be too big for jumps but clearing gaps or cracks is a breeze. It's obviously not a freestyle board but big straight airs are fun.
Switch - The Good Ride 100% right, don't go switch.
The board is super stiff, so stiff that I would definitely recommend some decent stiff bindings. My first few days on my Charlie Slasher I had burton mission bindings and it was hard work, putting a stiff pair of ride bindings on it made a huge difference.
I've seen some forums where people claim they use the Charlie Slasher as their one, do everything board. I wouldn't go that far, it still rides like a big board at times and other boards would be better for that.
I love this board though and wouldn't want Capita to add rocker to the tail, it would ruin the way it rides and big power carves wouldn't be anywhere near as much fun. It's a bit of a freeride beast too, pick a crazy line and just hammer each turn. Great through trees too.

The only negatives I've found are the topsheet, my mission bindings left small depresions on the board when they haven't on any other boards, not deep and not effecting the ride but they're there. The other small thing to watch is the surface on the edges. My edges went dull real quick from new and when I went to tune them I saw why, the factory grind on the edges was quite course. Maybe it was just a quality issue missed on my board but worth checking. A board this shape needs good edges for any edge hold on firmer snow.
I give it four stars but if four and a half was an option it would get it.


4.0 4.0 1 1 I've had my slasher for a couple of years now, I have the 2011 (sintered base) model. As usual everything in The Good Ride review is pretty bang on. Maybe except the weight, the re Capita Charlie Slasher 2010-2017 Snowboard Review

Where To Buy

No obligation, but these links support the site.

No Results Found

No Results Found

No Results Found

No Results Found

No Results Found

No Results Found

Other ways to support our free reviews: