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Gentemstick Independentstick 2017 - 2016 Review by The Good Ride

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The Gentemstick Independentstick could be a perfect all mountain ride if it just had a wider stance.  It maxes out at 22″ which is pretty narrow considering many boards this size can max out at 25″ or more.  If it wasn’t for the narrow stance it probably would have made the favorites list because it’s a fun quick turning every day all mountain ride.  It does everything well and nothing bad which is all you can ask for an all mountain board.

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: 157.5
Days:   1
Conditions:  Good spring conditions that are great for testing.  Hard snow in some areas, good snow in others and softer wet snow in others.
Riders: James, Matt, 
Boots:  Burton AMB,, Burton Rover
Bindings:  Burton Cartel,
Set Up: Set back but using the widest stance possible to get 22″ which kind of sucks because most companies can go as wide as 25″. 15 front -15 back.

Approximate Weight: Felt normal and well built.

On Snow Feel: It’s got that kind of stability that’s perfect. Feels like camber but doesn’t feel catchy like camber.  It one foots well off the chair and flat bases great.  Everything about the Independent stick says all mountain.  It reminds me a lot of a Slash Brainstorm but with more camber and pop.  If it had a wider stance width by a few inches it would be a board I’d want to own and ride a lot.  As it stands now that is the biggest problem with the board because it’s max stance width 22″ is about the common stance width of US riders for this size board. That means not many people can center it or set it back and that’s what you want out of an all mountain board.

Edge Hold: Really great grip and it felt good in harder snow.  We never felt like the edge was going to let go as long as we didn’t over commit on a harder turn.

Flex:  Great flex that feels medium to medium stiff in the middle but medium to medium soft towards the tip and tail.  Easy to butter.

Turn Initiation:  Very quick edge to edge and super fun to snap quick turns. Wide radius turns are good but not as fun as tighter turns. It always tracks well on any turn.

Skidded Turns: Easy to slide out if you get off your game.

Carving:  It carves really well for a board of this type and it was a lot of fun.  I had a little more fun on the more surfy shapes from Gentemstick like the Ray series boards but still, you can lay it out pretty hard.

Powder:  No powder to speak of but based on this super narrow stance width I wouldn’t be able to set this board back like I could with every US all mountain board with a -20 mm set back.

Speed: Nice fast and stable without any chatter in the tip/tail

Uneven Terrain: It’s a fun board to ride in the bumps.

Switch:  Very comfortable switch but again the narrow stance width wouldn’t allow me to center it so it could be better.

Jibbing: Felt a little too stiff for me to want to jib with it.

Pipe: had a blast in the 16′-18′ pipe with this and its the kind of board that can make if fun for mellow riders like me or even aggressive riders that really want to go big there.

Jumps: Really nice pop.  It’s a board that can have a great time of natural features as well as the park.

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