Positives

  • Light And Poppy
  • Forgiving
  • Centered Feel For A Tapered Directional Ride

Negatives

  • Not Much Set Back On Board
  • Bucks in Soft Uneven Snow

Summary

The 2024 Capita Navigator kept the shape but changed up the camber profile to make it more forgiving than past years. That does come at the expense of some spring out of the turn. It appeals to those that want a centered mountain freestyle feel on a tapered directional ride. It bucks and bounces in uneven snow but has a pretty stable poppy overall ride. We found the Navigator to be more floaty than all the other capita boards like the BSOD but massively far from keeping up with the Capita Spring Break boards.

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

Stable

Turn Initiation

Medium/Fast

Skidded Turns

Semi-Easy

Flex

Medium

Buttering

Semi-Easy

Edge Hold

Medium Snow

Where To Buy

No obligation, but these links support the site.

Snowcountry.eu
Capita The Navigator 22/23
€ 499.95Buy it
Snowcountry.eu
Capita The Navigator 21/22
€ 367.96Buy it

Capita Navigator 2024 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

Capita Navigator 2024 Review - The Good Ride

How The Capita Navigator Review Happened:

Borrowed this for an extended demo and sent it back.

How it was Tested

Size: 161 & 164
Days: 10+
Conditions: Some powder and some groomers.  Drift Boards & Union Rovers
Riders:
 James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-190lbs), Davey (Size 12, 240lbs, 6’4”)
Boots: Burton Kendo, Burton Ion, Ride Fuse, Burton Tourist
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Atlas, Union Force
Redunancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Jones Mtn Surf Anorak, Jones Shralpinist Stretch Jacket, Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Tusk Jacket, Volcom Guide Jacket, Burton Gore-Tex 3L Treeline Jacket, Jones Peak Bagger Jacket. Burton AK Helitak Gore-Tex Jacket
Pant: Jones Mountain Surf Bib, Jones Shralpinist Stretch Bib,  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, Drop Tahoma Mitt,

Similar Boards (but not the same): Yes Pick Your Line, YES PYL Uninc, Burton Flight Attendant, Jones Flagship, Rossignol XV, Lib Tech BRD, Weston Backwoods, Season Nexus, Cardiff Bonsai, Prior Spearhead, Burton Cartographer, Burton Instigator, Never Summer Hammer, Cardiff Powgoda, Jones Mind Expander,

James’s Set Up on the 161: 21.5” Wide. Sance Angles +18/-3, +18/+3, in powder and set as far back as I could +18/-9, on groomers and close to reference stance.
Davey’s Set Up: 23” Wide. Sance Angles +21/+3, Close to Reference on groomers and Set all the way back in powder.

Most days I compared it to the Mega Death and Kazu with the same boots and bindings but also compared to other boards as well.

Approximate Weight

The Capita Navigator felt pretty light for it’s length. (We don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores there is no consistency in a boards weight)

Sizing

Capita Navigator Sizing

So the 164 fett pretty good for Davey with his reduced footprint Burton Ion 12’s but he likes his boards to be small.

The 158 I tried in the past fit my boots really well but I felt a little heavy for it. Mainly because it was a light poppy board and they just don’t work well with my boot size to weight ratio. I chose the 161 this year and it worked better but sizing up didn’t totally compensate for its lighter poppy nature. I was surprised that I could turn the 161’s wider width as easy as I could. It wasn’t ideal but it was doable for sure.

Here are some ideal US boot sizes for the Capita Navigator. 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.
147: 6-7
151: 7-8
155: 8-9
158: 9-10
161: 9.5-10.5
164: 10.5-11.5
167: 11-12

Due to the Capita Navigator’s poppy nature I would stay on the lower to middle end of the Brands recommended weight ranges. If it comes down to boot size or weight, I would make sure it fits your boot but you can go a little wider with this ride to better match your weight and still be able to turn it ok.

Shape/Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

Shape

The Capita Navigator has a tapered and directional shape but with a more centered stance on board.

Camber

Then you throw in the new camber profile that is slightly directional but very similar to what the Mercury and Mega Mercury have. There is a slightly set back camber between the inserts going to rocker after. So you now have a good bit of rocker before the tail as well as the nose. Before it was a lot of rocker before the nose, then camber to well past the back foot and then a little flat to rocker right before the tail.

This shape and camber profile makes the Capita Navigator feel very forgiving and not as tapered as you would think. It isn’t very set back on board either so you don’t get as much a washy feel out of the tail as you do with many similar boards that have 12mm of taper. Just about any ability level can ride this. It tracks well one footing or flat basing and skids a turn easy too.

Flex Personality

capita navigator flex

The Capita Navigator has a very easy flex to it for a tapered directional ride. It feels more like a mountain freestyle twin than a tapered directional freeride board. The flex personality is a great balance of being flexy and rubbery but still very poppy. Especially for not having a lot of camber. The extra rocker before the nose makes the buttering feel a lot more symmetrical than before when it was much easier on the nose than the tail.

Capita Navigator Tail Butter

There is a lot of lively pop on an ollie. It’s no Mega Death but about on par with the Mercury and other similar hybrid camber boards in their line.

Capita Navigator Ollie

Uneven Terrain

Uneven snow

This rubbery/poppy flex does pretty well on hard micro bumpy snow but it isn’t perfect by any means at absorbing vibrations. In soft thick messy uneven snow I found this a little too bucky for my taste. Even going up from a 158 to a 161 didn’t help much. Thick messy snow seems to be Capita’s Achilles heel these days with most of their boards.

Edge Hold

Edge Hold

Even without their death grip bumps in the middle the Capita Navigator the edge hold was competent. I’d give it a 3-3.5 out of 5 and it held well enough in some hard patches I encountered.

Speed/Base Glide

Base Glide

Not a bomber but competent enough for a mellow straight line or two.

It’s not the fastest base in the line but bases of Capita’s line are ever improving and I like how well the Capita Navigator glided. It’s no Megadeath but man it keeps its speed well. I like that it has a little less structure than some boards in their line.

Turning Experience/Carving

Carve

Turn initiation is pretty fast and I like how easy it was for me to turn this 161 with size 9 boots. If I had size 10 ish boots this would turn super fast. When I got it on edge the turning experience was a little on the turny side of balanced. This is very good for those that like to make all kinds of radius turns but there wasn’t a ton of spring out of them with the mellower camber. Still, it wasn’t bad but just not as dynamic as many similar boards with full camber.

Powder

In Deep Pow

Davey and I both got it in a decent amount of powder this time around. It is very far from floating like many of it’s freeride peeers but it floats better than all the other non-Spring Break Capita Boards.

Pow Set Back

With a 22.75” stance width on you can get 2.875” back from center of board. It’s not bad for an all mountain board but you don’t get the set back on board most Freeride boards have but you do get a good bit of rocker. So this isn’t bad vs. most Capita boards but its still more for those that like a more centered stance ride in powder and want to ride switch more than most on a tapered directional board. Many freeride boards like this from other companies are closer to -3.5” back.

Switch

Switch

Very doable switch and I was surprised at how well it rode switch.

If this review helped, we’d appreciate if you:

 
Capita Navigator Past Reviews

Update 2023: The Capita Navigator has had minimal changes since 2021 so this review still stands. 

Turn Ons/Swipe Right: Buttery in the tip/tail. Dynamic poppy flex. Very unique tapered directional mountain freestyle.
Turn Offs/Swipe Left: Edge hold lacks in harder snow. Not for those looking for a traditional freeride shape.

Summary

The Capita Navigator has a mountain freestyle flex put it into a tapered directional shape that isn’t set back too much. It’s best as a softer snow 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.

Capita Navigator 2021 Snowboard Review- How it rides and who it is for

Capita Navigator 2021 Snowboard Review

How This Review Happened:

We spent our precious Good Ride dollars to buy this and review it.
Size: 158
Days:  3
Conditions:  Some stormy but good groomers, some sunny hard groomers and and an some Knee High pre-season slackountry powder time with Drift Boards.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-190lbs)
Boots: Burton Kendo, Burton Tourist
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers, F.I.T. Gameghangers LP
Bindings: Union Atlas, Union Strata, Union Contact Pro/Union Superpro, Union Expedition

Similar Boards (but not the same): Yes Pick Your LineBurton Flight Attendant, Never Summer West Bound, Rossignol XV, Lib Tech BRD,

Set-Up: 21”- 21.5” Wide. 21 front -6 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)

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.

147: 6-7
151: 7-8
155: 8-9
158: 9-10
161: 9.5-10.5
164: 10-11

Shape/Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

Capita Navigator 2021 Camber

 

 

 

 

The directional camber profile of the Capita Navigator is a little more on the locked in side of medium but still pretty forgiving when you need to skid a turn. The older model was easier but this isn’t bad.

Flex/Pop/Buttering

Such a great flex. The tail is more buttery/playful than between the feet and the nose is even more so. The Capita Navigator also pops pretty hard and it doesn’t take a lot of strength to make it happen. Capita is doing great things with their flex personality these days. I feel its a great balance between being flexy/rubbery and poppy.

Speed

The base has good glide for this price point and the structure is great for any kind of snow. You can point Capita Navigator for a short straight line but it isn’t really a bomber.

Uneven Terrain

The Capita Navigator has a flex personality that is non-fatiguing when it comes to all day riding. It can’t power over chunder at high speed but it does a great job at bending over all types of uneven terrain without passing up much or any chatter into your joints.

Edge Hold

I wish the Capita Navigator had a little more grip. It lets go pretty easy in harder snow so you need to do some torsional twisting to get it to grip better in hard snow.

Turn Initiation

The Capita Navigator is pretty quick edge to edge even with more mellow bindings like the Union Contact Pros.

Turning Experience/Carving

The change from flat to rocker to more of a directional camber makes the Capita Navigator a lot more fun to turn on soft groomers. There is a good bit more pop and spring out of the turn over the older model I tried a few years ago. You can play around with just about any radius turn and it’s a pretty balanced turner.

Powder

There is decent float but not amazing float. The Capita Navigator felt on par with a lot of good all mountain boards but it would be shelved on a deep day in a heartbeat if I had just about any Spring Break Powder ride.

Conclusion

So the Capita Navigator is going to be a great call if you generally ride in softer snow and want the soul of a dynamic flexing mountain freestyle board in a tapered directional shape.

The Capita Navigator is basically an evolved Charlie Slasher which is a board I used to own years back.  It’s a great powder board for those looking to quiver up on a budget.

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: 155
Days:  4
Conditions:  Soft wet spring conditions and almost 1.5′ of powder in some places.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-195lbs), Grant (Size 11 6’ 160lbs)
Boots: Adidas Tactical ADV, Vans Implant, Vans Infuse
Insoles: Sandsole Custom Insoles
Bindings: Union AtlasUnion Superpro
Set Up
: 22-22.5” Centered 15 front -15 back

Approximate Weight: Felt light but it was a 155.  I bet the 158 would feel normal.

Flex: On snow, the board felt Med/Stiff between the feet, pretty easy flex in the nose and felt a little stiffer off the tail.

Sizing: The 158 would of been great for my weight and height but the 155 was fine for my boots.

On Snow Feel: It’s very stable and feels pretty directional for a Capita board.  Capita often leans more towards the twin to double ender feel.  Other than their spring break division boards this is probably the surfiest in their line.

Edge Hold: Probably it’s one weakness but hard to fault the Capita Navigator too much here because it will mainly be ridden in powder.  Just be careful if you encounter an icy route to the deep deep.

Turn Initiation: Pretty quick and I’d have no problem weaving quickly through the trees on the 155 or 158 Capita Navigator.

Turning Experience:  It needs a little extra weight on the tail for a turn but it’s pretty fun for the kind of board it is.

Carving: Doable in soft snow but kind of boring.  It’s not bad for what it is.

Speed: Pretty decent mountain speed and you can point this.

Uneven Terrain: Capita has come so far when it comes to making boards that handle uneven terrain of all kinds.  It’s going to be a champ in that micro bumpy shit on groomers, can handle crud pretty well and will jam through bumps. The only place it’s not exceptional is powering through a traversing area and it can get a little bucky.

Powder: This is what the Navigator is made for and it’s not a bad powder board.  I have this feeling that based on how it performed in 1.5′ of snow the Capita Navigator might be a bit of work in the really deep stuff. It’s not going to be a rear leg burner or anything like that but you will have to work on it a bit.  Still, with over 5″ of set back on boards, a decent amount taper, a good bit of rocker in the nose and a smaller tail it will do a good enough job for this price point.  Also if you are someone that doesn’t want a 100% directional ride the Navigator does take it switch pretty well for the tapered directional shape so that’s definitely something to factor in.

Buttering: Pretty easy off the nose but the tail is a bit more work.

Switch: It doesn’t feel super awkward switch and can be easily ridden both ways.

Jumps: The Capia Navigator pops well off the tail and it seems to help with getting some decent directional air.

So all in all the Capita Navigator is a good powder board for the price and steps up your powder game.

 
Capita Navigator Specs

 
Capita Navigator Images

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

2024

2023

2021

2020

2019

2018

Capita Navigator User Reviews

Where To Buy

No obligation, but these links support the site.

Snowcountry.eu
Capita The Navigator 22/23
€ 499.95Buy it
Snowcountry.eu
Capita The Navigator 21/22
€ 367.96Buy it

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