Capita Indoor Survival 2023 Snowboard Review with Davey

Capita Indoor Survival Written Review Review by The Good Ride

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Capita Indoor Survival Review- How it rides and who it is for

How This Review Happened:

Borrowed this for an extended demo and sent it back but would love to own a 156.
Size: 156 & 158
Days: 4
Conditions: Firm but mostly fair groomers in Mammoth, decent to uneven groomers, and wet spring powder at Mt. Bachelor
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-190lbs), Davey (Size 12, 240lbs, 6’4”)
Boots: Burton Kendo, Burton Ion
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Atlas, Union Force, Union Ultras
Jacket: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Tusk Jacket, Volcom Guide Jacket, Burton Gore-Tex 3L Treeline Jacket, Jones Peak Bagger 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 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove,

Similar Boards (but not the same): Korua Otto, Lib Tech Terrain Wrecker, Capita Mercury,YES NSB, Endeavor Pioneer, Jones Mountain Twin, Endeavor Ranger, K2 Manifest, Yes Typo, Jones Frontier, Ride Algorythm, Ride Wild Life, Borealis Tundra, Tahoe Labs Directional Twin, Yes Basic Uninc, Cardiff Lynx,

Set-Up: 21.5” Wide. Sance Angles +18/-9 in powder, +15/-15 on groomers. Close to Reference and Set as far back as I could.

How It Was Tested

I often tested the Black Snowboard Of Death, Mercury, Mega Mercury, YES Basic Uninc, and Jones Mountain Twin on the same day.

Approximate Weight

The Capita Indoor Survival felt on the lighter side of normal but not full-on ultra-light. (We don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores, there is no consistency in a boards weight)

Sizing

So the 158 felt good, but the 156 felt just right for my boot size, 185 lbs, and my 5’10” frame. The little extra bit of width worked well for me, and it didn’t make it harder to manage. If anything, the extra surface area added a little dampness and stability.

Here are some ideal US boot sizes for the Capita Indoor Survival. 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.
**The Death Grip/1.5mm extension on each side cut makes the waist look about 3mm wider than it actually is, so it won’t actually be as wide as you think.**
150: 7.5-8.5
152: 8-9
154: 8.5-9.5
156: 9-10
158: 9.5-10
160:10-10.5
155w: 10-10.5
158w: 11-12
161w: 11.5-12.5

For weight, I would stay close to Capita Indoor Survival’s recommended weight ranges on their site, and I would not follow other sites’ recommendations. If it comes down to boot size or weight, I would make sure it fits your boot first, and then your weight, a close second.

Shape/Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

The Capita Indoor Survival has a true twin shape, but with a slight sidecut setback as well as on the board. It feels very centered on board, and you can weight your turns however you please. Front foot, back foot, or center weighted all work with this ride.

The camber profile is almost full camber, but there is a little flat with a pretty pronounced early rise before the nose/tail. It creates a semi-locked-in feel that is more than most hybrid camber boards, like the Mercury, but less than many full-camber boards. It likes a more technical rider who understands full-camber boards but wants something a little mellow, thanks to the early rise.

Edge Hold

The Capita Indoor Survival has a really competent hard snow grip. I love how the Death Grip (1.5mm bump in the middle of the board on each side) really helps in hard snow. The way the sidecut transitions out of death grip towards the inserts seems to create a slight disruption over the bindings, which creates more grip there as well. Whatever is going on really improves the grip. Usually, I want to put Capita boards away in hard snow, and I still would on icy days, but now I’m comfortable on them.

Flex Personality

The overall flex of the Capita Indoor Survival is medium for sure. Buttering is way easier than I thought it would be with a healthy amount of camber. I think it’s because that healthy kick right before the nose/tail gives you a little more leverage.

When it comes to pop and ollie power, it was one of the highlights of our season. This thing just pops so hard, and what is even cooler is that it is easy to access that pop if you are an average rider like us.

Base Glide/Speed

So there is a lot of structure with the Capita Indoor Survival, and in good snow, it felt a little grabby. It will kill it in wet snow, but I wish there were less structure. This is a demo board, though, so production might have less structure overall. I think with a good wax that will get rid of some of that structure, though, for sure. There is above-average glide for sure, too, and it kept its speed well.

When it comes to pointing it, I thought it wouldn’t be as damp, but the Capita Indoor Survival surprised us. It’s no BSOD or Mega Merc, but it is very competent and feels close to the Mercury. The sidecut doesn’t fight you on a straight line either.

Uneven Terrain

The Capita Indoor Survival performed well on hard, micro-bumpy, and soft, semi-bumpy wet snow. I have had trouble in the past with Capita boards like the Mercury and Asymulator in really late spring snow. They bucked and bounced you around to the point it wasn’t fun to ride, whereas other boards were fine on the same day tests. It seems like Capita made some tweaks to fix this, but I can’t say with 100% certainty.

Turning Experience/Carving

So this new design really changed up our take on the Capita Indoor Survival. This was the biggest surprise of our Capita testing. There was such a good spring out of the turn. It doesn’t have that gnarly torsional stiffness that many hard carvers need but it sure was satisfying to mellow carvers like Davey and I.

The overall turning experience was very balanced as well. It wouldn’t balk at any kind of turn you wanted to make.

Powder

So Davey didn’t get it in pow, and I didn’t get it super deep with the Capita Indoor Survival, but I was lucky enough to get about 8” of thick spring powder to give it a go. I just kept hiking the cone all day and tested it against a lot of boards. For Capita’s non Spring Break line, the Navigator was the winner, 159 BSOD 2^nd, 157 Merc/Mega Merc 3^rd, and the 158 was behind the Mercs.

I think this could be better, though, if the setback on board was better configured so the stance isn’t as wide set all the way back. You really free your taint at a 24.25” stance width when you set all the way back to get the 1.75” setback on board. That is a joint breaker for most. The 156 has a narrower reference stance, so it should be better, but not by too much.

So overall, it isn’t bad for a mostly camber twin in powder, and there is more setback than most twins, but it is no YES Basic Uninc or other twins like it with setback inserts. Most don’t pop as hard, though.

Switch/Pipe/Jumps

I loved the Capita Indoor Survival riding switch and hitting kickers. I did ride this for fun a few days, with the camera off for personal sanity, and stopped in the pipe. It was great there, and it had enough grip on the shady/hard wall that day. I think the Indoor Survival is going to be a little technical for most average jibbers, but it really shines for Jump and Pipe riders.

Conclusion

So the liveliness without feeling super light and chattery is really appealing. Other than a really wide setback on board for those who like to set it back, it is hard to fault this super poppy mountain freestyle to all-mountain twin.

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