Positives

  • Soft Playful Poppy Flex
  • Solid Grip
  • Better Float Than The Older Model
  • You Get Allot For The Price

Negatives

  • Slow Base
  • To Technical for Beginners

Summary

The Gnu Antigravity now has the shape of the 2024 and earlier Dynamo but with a softer flex. Other than a slow base and a little too technical ride for beginners and most intermediates, this has the same poppy/playful directional all-mountain ride as before but with better float.

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Riding Style All Mountain
Riding Level Advanced - Expert
Fits Boot size (US) 8-10, 10-12
Manufactured in USA by Mervin
Shape Tapered Directional
Camber Profile Mostly Camber
Stance Setback over 20mm
Approx. Weight Feels Normal
Split No
Powder Good
Base Glide Average
Carving Good
Speed Good
Uneven Snow Good
Switch Good
Jumps Great
Jibbing Good
Pipe Great
On Snow Feel

Semi-Locked In

Turn Initiation

Medium/Fast

Skidded Turns

Semi-Hard

Flex

Medium/Soft

Buttering

Semi-Easy

Edge Hold

Icy Snow

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Gnu Antigravity – An Honest Breakdown of How it rides and who it is for Review by The Good Ride

Gnu Antigravity 2024-2025 Written Review

Gnu Antigravity Review - The Good Ride

How It Was Tested Happened:

I just took a few laps at the demo with the new Gnu Antigravity but had the older model (same everything but the nose/tail) and tested it extensively in everything from 1.5 feet of thick pow to pretty hard snow.
Days: 1 with the new model and many with the older model.
Conditions: Some firm but mostly fun snow with some micro bumpy spots.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-190lbs
Boots: Burton Kendo
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Atlas
Jacket: Jones Mtn Surf Anorak,
Pant: Jones Mountain Surf Bib
Helmet: Smith Maze
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt

Similar Boards (but not the same): Korua Otto, K2 Manifest, Yes Typo, Jones Frontier, Ride Algorythm, Ride Shadowban, Salomon Highpath, Yes Standard Uninc, Yes Basic Uninc, Cardiff Lynx, Lib Tech Dynamo, Lib Tech Lib-Rig

James’s Set Up: 21.5” Wide. Stance Angles +18/-9, Close to Reference

Ethics Statement: This review has zero brand oversight. This is our best effort at an honest, objective review to help you, the consumer. If this review helped, we’d appreciate it if you:

Approximate Weight

The Gnu Antigravity is pretty normal, bordering on light, but far from being ultra-light. (We don’t put in the exact weight because, with wood cores, there is no consistency in a boards weight)

Sizing

Antigravity Width Over The Inserts

Here are some ideal US boot sizes for the Gnu Antigravity 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.
150: 8-9
153: 8.5-9.5
156: 9-10
159: 9.5-10.5
162: 10-11
159w: 11-12
162w: 11.5-12.5

Gnu isn’t bad for recommended weight, and they don’t really have a max—within reason.

Shape

Gnu Antigravity - Old Shape vs. New Shape

The Gnu Antigravity has 3-4mm of taper, but you don’t feel it. This does feel directional and a good bit set back on the sidecut/board, but it still rides pretty centered. I thought the reduced surface area in the tail and extra surface area in the nose would make this feel much more directional than the older model, but it’s pretty close.

Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

Gnu Antigravity - Camber

The C3 camber seems to run almost completely from tip to tail, making it hard to skid a turn even though it has a softer flex. You still have that tip/tail that is still pretty catch-and-edge friendly. It skids a turn easier than the Dynamo but is still pretty unforgiving. It’s very stable, with one footing and flat basing.

Flex Personality

There is almost a medium soft flex happening here. The Gnu Antigravity is noticeably softer than the Dynamo and Lib Rig. It butters easily, engages on an ollie easily, and has a fun, playful mtn freestyle feel for how directional it is.

Uneven Terrain

You can for sure ride the Gnu Antigravity all day.

Edge Hold

Antigravity Edge Hold - Magnetraction

The Gnu Antigravity has .5MTX, which is not their full-on magnetraction, but it’s still very competent in hard snow. Something about the softer edge and serrated disruption in the sidecut makes for a board that seemed to grip better than the Dynamo on same-day tests.

Speed

The sidecut is pretty balanced for going straight but mainly for tracking into a jump. The flex isn’t there to back up the sidecut, and it’s best for only moderate straight lines.

Base Glide

They just don’t have an easy gliding base on the Gnu Antigravity. Gnu/Lib Tech/Mervin doesn’t have fast bases compared to most of their peers.

Turning Experience/Carving

The turn initiation on the 156 was perfect for me. It was not super fast, but it would go where I wanted it to and when I wanted it to. When I got it on edge, the turning experience was very balanced and good (but not great) with just about any radius turn. If you are a medium-speed carver like I am, this is super fun and has great spring out of the turn. If you want to make higher-speed carves, go Dynamo.

Powder

Gnu Antigravity Pow Set Back vs. Set Back On Sidecut

The Gnu Gnu Antigravity’s new nose with more surface area and tail with less make this almost full camber ride float better. You don’t get much more setback on board vs. sidecut for directional float in pow, but it’s pretty competent for an all-mtn board. With a 22.75″ stance width, you can get -2.25″ back from the center of the board. That’s almost the same as the Dynamo I got in 1.5′ of powder, which did well.

Switch/Pipe/Jumps

It’s more doable switch than the shape would leave you to believe. This is soft enough to jib with, but the passive bend in the middle might feel weird compared to flat to rocker or normal camber. The Gnu Antigravity can hit kickers well, too. You can go moderately big but not massive.

Conclusion

Overall, you don’t get a fast base but a fun riding board at a very reasonable price.

 
Gnu Antigravity Past Reviews

Gnu Antigravity 2019-2023 Snowboard Review

You have arrived at the Gnu Antigravity Snowboard Review where it was tested in everything from groomers to pow. 

Update 2023: The Gnu Antigravity has changed very little or at all since this review. 

Turn Ons/Swipe Right: Very poppy. Good spring out of the turn. Great grip in hard snow
Turn Offs/Swipe Left: Catchy full camber feel. It’s not a great floater for its design.

Summary

The Gnu Antigravity has a lot of universal appeal to it, and other than having the almost full camber catch to it, the rest of the ride feels pretty mellow. If you understand camber but don’t want something super stiff/aggressive, then this could be a fun ride for those who like a moderately tapered directional board that can easily ride tail first. This ride hasn’t changed over the years, so I re-organized and updated the review a bit to better help.

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 rider’s perspective.

Gnu Antigravity Snowboard Review

How This Review Happened:

Borrowed this for an extended demo and sent it back.
Size: 156 and 159
Days:  6+
Conditions:  Everything from somewhat hard snow to about 1.5′ of wet thicker powder.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-195lbs), Grant (Size 11 6’ 160lbs)
Boots: Adidas Tactical ADV
Insoles: Sandsole Custom Insoles,  Footprint Insole Technology Gameghangers Low Profile
Bindings: Union Atlas, Union Strata, Union Falcor
Set Up
: 22” 21 front 0 back set all the way back. 18 front -9 back close to reference stance.

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,

Approximate Weight

The Gnu Antigravity feels pretty normal, bordering on light.

(We don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores, there is no consistency in a board’s weight)

Sizing

If I bought one, I would own the 156 Gnu Antigravity. The 159 felt better for my weight of 185 lbs, but the 156 was much easier to control for my size 9 boots.

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.
150: 7.5-8.5
153: 8.5-9
156: 9.5-10
162: 10-10.5
159w: 11-12
162w:11.5-12.5

Gnu is pretty liberal with their recommended weight compared to most brands and they handle heavier riders pretty well. Still, 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 Gnu Antigravity has about 5mm of taper, but it doesn’t feel that tapered at all. It feels more like a non-tapered all-mountain ride than a tapered directional set-back freeride board. There is pretty much full camber happening from tip to tail with only a little passive bend in the middle. There might be a CM or 2 of early rise before the nose, but it feels more like full camber.

Flex Personality

I was surprised at how well the Gnu Antigravity buttered for being C3. Usually, a medium-ish flexing board like this with almost full camber is harder to butter, but they gave it enough of a playful flex in the tip/tail to make this work.

Speed

So the base glide of the Gnu Antigravity is good but not on par with a lot of bases in this price point. That is typical with Gnu. It’s great, though, if you don’t wax a lot because their bases don’t have those low lows if you don’t wax, but they also don’t have those high highs if you wax a lot.

Edge Hold

The Gnu Antigravity doesn’t have that full-on mag, but it does have a very competent mellow mag. It grips pretty well in harder snow and doesn’t grab as much in softer snow as full mag.

Turning Experience/Carving

If you like really stiff boards for carving the Gnu Antigravity won’t be for you. If you are ok with a softer torsional flex for carving you might really like it like we did. I found the 156 was medium to medium fast edge to edge and when you were committed into a turn it was a very balanced turning radius. It let you do anything you wanted well without fighting you too much.

Powder

So there is a little setback on board, but at a 22.75″ stance width set all the way back, you can get about a 2.25″ setback on board. That is pretty good for all mountain, but not having any real early rise in the nose takes away from the float compared to many non-tapered mountain boards, with some happening there. In 1.5 feet of thick PNW powder, the Antigravity was struggling compared to the Mullair I compared it against and even more so with the Lost RNF. So there are better all-mountain boards out there for directional/set back float in powder

Switch/Pipe/Jumps

Very doable switch for a board with a little taper and you have a pretty centered feel when you aren’t set all the way back. This would be fun in the pipe and this is a very poppy energetic jump board. Not that we are going big but it could for sure be glorious going medium.

Conclusion

So overall, the Gnu Antigravity offers up a technical but very poppy and easy to butter do anything type of ride.

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

 
Gnu Antigravity Specs

 
Gnu Antigravity Images

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

2024

2021

2020

2019

Gnu Antigravity User Reviews

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