Positives
- Damp For Capita
- New Camber Profile Is More Forgiving
- Better Switch than before
- Rides Very Centered for a Tapered Board
Negatives
- Does Not Ride Set Back Like Many Freeride boards
- Not as good carving as the older model
- Less Pop on an ollie vs. the older model.
Summary
The Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro takes a medium stiff tapered directional ride but gives it a centered big mtn freestyle personality. This isn’t for those that want a traditional set back freeride board. The new camber profile really changes the ride as well. Update 2025: Other than a very minor upgrade to the base, the Capita Kazu has remained the same, so this review still stands.Where To Buy
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Riding Style | All Mountain |
Riding Level | Intermediate - Expert |
Fits Boot size (US) | 8-10 |
Manufactured in | Austria by The Mothership |
Shape | Tapered Directional |
Camber Profile | Hybrid Camber |
Stance | Setback -20mm |
Approx. Weight | Feels Normal |
Split | No |
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On Snow Feel | |
Turn Initiation | |
Skidded Turns |
Flex | |
Buttering | |
Edge Hold |
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Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro Written Review Review by The Good Ride
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.
A Breakdown Of How It Rides And Who Its For
How This Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro Review Happened:
Borrowed this for an extended demo and sent it back.
Size: 157
Days: 3
Conditions: Really good groomers, decent groomers & some mixed pow. Some places were pretty good and others shallow with hard uneven snow below.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-190lbs)
Boots: Ride Torrent, Ride Fuse, Ride Deadbolt
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Atlas
Redunancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Jones Mtn Surf Anorak, Jones Shralpinist Stretch Jacket,
Pant: Jones Mountain Surf Bib, Jones Shralpinist Stretch Bib
Helmet: Smith Maze
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove, Drop Tahoma Mitt,
Similar Boards We Like (but not the same): Amplid Souly Grail, K2 Alchemist, Burton Skeleton Key, YES PYL Uninc, Weston Backwoods, Cardiff Powgoda, Jones Mind Expander Korua Otto, K2 Manifest, Yes Typo, Jones Frontier, Ride Algorythm, Ride Shadowban, Salomon Highpath, Yes Standard Uninc, Yes Basic Uninc, Cardiff Lynx
James’s Set Up: 21.5” Wide. Sance Angles +18/-3 and set all the way back in pow. +18/-9, and Close to Reference on groomers.
How It Was Tested
I often rode this same day as the Mega Death, Aeronaut and Navigator. All had the same bindings on. There is no better way to know how a board performs than to test it against others.
Approximate Weight
The Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro felt pretty normal if not a touch on the light side of the board. (We don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores there is no consistency in a boards weight)
Sizing
I wouldn’t change up the sizing on the Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro 157 I tried. This would be the size I would buy. My size 9 boots and 185-190lbs could easily control it. It matched well with my 5’10” frame as well too.
Here are some ideal US boot sizes (most important) for the Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro boards. You can of course go bigger or smaller depending on your riding style and boot’s footprint, but these work best for not turning the board slower than it should be and not having the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag.
151: 7.5-8.5
154: 8-9
157: 9-10
160: 9.5-10.5
For weight I think this and the BSOD can handle capita’s recommended weight ranges better if you are on the higher end. 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
You have 9mm of taper with the Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro but it has a very centered stance for being this tapered.
Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level
The Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro’s new hybrid camber profile with early rise before the nose as well as the tail makes it more forgiving but also makes it feel less tapered. With the older model’s camber to the tail it was less forgiving but also more washy and needed more back foot weight to not feel all that taper on groomers. Now that the camber ends well before the more tapered nose it doesn’t feel as washy. It still tracks well one footing and flat basing though.
Flex Personality
There is a pretty medium stiff flex with the Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro but the early rise in the nose/tail helps it butter a lot easier than you would think. There was still pretty good pop/ollie power even though it was missing some camber in the tail but those that liked the older model with camber to the tail might miss it.
Uneven Terrain
The Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro was the best of all the directional Capita boards I tried this year. This and the BSOD from last year do very well in all kinds of uneven snow. It might be because they share a similar fake wood topsheet but whatever it is I like it. Especially in thicker uneven snow. Most Capita boards get very bucky but this isn’t anywhere near as bad.
Edge Hold
Not a hard snow specialist but felt a little better than past years models.
Speed
This damp personality and balanced sidecut lets this straight line pretty well. It’s no powerful freeride straight liner but is better than most Capita boards.
Base Glide
Capita really stepped up their base glide game over the last 3-5 years and I really like what they are doing with the Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro as well. The structure is a bit much for me but it didn’t bother me as much as in past seasons tests. Sometimes an overly structured base can grab too much and make it hard to turn.
Turning Experience/Carving
So the older Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro was a better carver but this new hybrid camber version wasn’t bad. Even coming off the Mega Death, a pretty competent carver, I didn’t feel the Kazu lacking when it comes to spring out of the turn.
I could initiate a turn pretty quick and when I got it on edge the turning experience was pretty balanced. I could to everything from a narrow turn to a circle carve. I think the Kazu needs more back foot weight on a harder carve than some rides just because I’m more centered on board and there is 9mm of taper but I could get away with center weighted and front foot weighted carves as well.
Powder
The Capita Kazu Kobu Pro didn’t have the directional float I prefer for lower angle or deep pow but it did well for a more centered ride. It’s not there directional float wise as most freeride boards but instead more like an average to good all mountain board.
So with a 22” stance width I could set the Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro back -2.375” from center of board. That is a noticable improvement over the old model which was -1.75” @ 22.5” but still far from most freeride boards out there that range in the -3.25” range and up. So if you like to set your board as far back as possible in pow this isn’t the one. Especially if you ride low angle pow like I do. This is for those that like a centered feel in steeper terrain so you can get big air and not feel light on the tail.
Switch/Freestyle/Park
I think the Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro rode switch well for all this taper and this is a good board for kickers. Not as much for pipe but doable for sure.
Final Thoughts
So the Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro isn’t for directional set back freeriders. It’s for those that want a freeride shape but with a big mountain freestyle personality.
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Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro Past Reviews
2017-2029 Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro Review
The Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro is a board we had a shit ton of requests to review but we had a hell of a time getting a hold of it. Thanks to Gravity Sports at Mt. Bachelor I was finally able to demo it. Then got an extended demo a little later from Capita as well. It’s nothing like the specs and its look would make you think and not your typical freeride board. Despite its taper and directional camber it’s got a very mountain freestyle twin kind of feel underfoot.
The 2019 Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro is very similar to the 2018 model except it’s got a little tweaking under the hood to slightly improve the flex and feel underfoot but the overall ride is very much the same. That’s why Capita didn’t send another demo this year and the 2018 review still stands.
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.
How This Review Happened: We borrowed this for an extended demo and then returned it
Size: 157
Days: 6+
Conditions: A little snow on the ground but not a lot with some pretty hard snow underneath. Some stashes had enough snow to resemble the beginning of a powder turn here and there.
Riders: James
Boots: Adidas Superstar
Bindings: Union Atlas,
Set Up: A bit set back, approx 23″ wide 15 front -9 back.
Approximate Weight: Felt normal bordering on light.
Flex: A snappy medium-stiff flex that likes to pop but isn’t that easy to butter. Even off the nose with the early rise isn’t that easy but it’s doable.
Sizing: Feels like the 157 was best for a size 9-10 boot.
On Snow Feel: The Kazu was a big surprise for us. I thought it would be this kind of surfy freeride board but it almost feels like a double ender twin-ish aggressive all mountain type of ride. It likes to point it, feels almost like a camber board and really caters to that aggressive all mountain style rider.
Edge Hold: The edge hold of the Capita Kazu Pro kind of likes to let go when it’s challenged with a little hard snow.
Turn Initiation: Not super quick edge to edge despite the fact I was on some less than responsive boots. It likes slower turning and straight lines more than quick slashy turns.
Skidded Turns: Not ideal for skidded turns mainly because of all that camber. The Capita Kazu Pro has some consequence if you catch your edges.
Carving: In softer snow, this was a fun carver but it didn’t elate me when it came to carving for all the camber it had. I think the sidecut had something going on that made it less than I thought it would be. So it’s fun to lay out a hard carve but just not as fun as I thought it would be.
Speed: So it’s got a pretty good personality for speed but it’s not an uber damp bomber for those that point everything no matter how steep but it’s pretty good for its flex. I personally like that the core and flex aren’t super stiff/damp because it gives the ride more personality underfoot.
Uneven Terrain: Pretty good but not the board I’d pick first out of Capita’s line when dealing with the end of the day messy resort snow.
Powder: So I didn’t get the deep deep, but had a few tastes of what it could be like. Overall I was kind of surprised at how little the set back on board was with the Capita Kazu Pro. It was only 1.75″ all the way back on board with a 22.5″ stance width which is as much as I have seen on many All Mountain boards. I expected more here but I guess if you want more set back on board you could go with the BSOD. It doesn’t give me the confidence for riding the deep deep, that we can often encounter on West Coast.
Switch: So riding switch on the Capita Kazu Pro is much easier than I thought it would be for a tapered directional board.
Jibbing: Nah…..
Pipe: This could be a great spring pipe board or if you sharpened the edges really well it might do much better in the pipe.
Jumps: Very good pop off the tail. It’s got a nice snap to it that makes it easy to ollie.
So all in all the Capita Kazu Pro was not what I expected. That’s not a bad thing unless you want more of a traditional Freeride board. If you want more of a tapered twin-ish feel with a little more directional float than your average all mountain freestyle ride then this could be a good thing.
Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro Specs
Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro Images
Capita Kazu Kokubo Pro User Reviews
Kazu Kokubo Pro 2017
This board is a ripper in powder if you're looking for something fun to freestyle with in the BC. This board can hold its own in the resort but what it really is suited for are those deep powder days where you want to freestyle. I'm 72kg and ride a 154 and it floats like a dream. The taper is really noticeable when you're in the deep stuff and the large nose just effortless floats on top of the powder.
This board was perfect for me as I was looking for a shorter powder board that I can use to ride in the BC.
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