Gnu Antigravity Snowboard Review

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

• User Reviews
• Past Reviews
• Product Specs
• Product Images
• Questions?

An In Depth Breakdown of the Gnu Antigravity For Average Riders

How The Gnu Antigravity Was Tested:

Precious Good Ride dollars were spent to buy and review the Gnu Antigravity.

Size:156 and 159
Days: Many with the newer version and many with the more pointy nose/squash tail but everything else was the same about the board.
Conditions:Everything from very hard PNW snow to good pow and even some Drifts before the lifts open time with Drift Board Bindings on Union Rovers
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10”, 185-195lbs). I’ve tested and compared 800+ boards and close to 1,000 if you count different versions of the same Model over the years.
Davey (Size 12, 240lbs, 6’4”)
Boots: Nitro Team TLS, Ride Deadbolt, Bataleon Acid BOA, Ride Torrent and many others over the years.
Insoles: Footprint Kingfoam Orthotic Elite
Bindings: Union Force, Union Atlas
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Skyline Fuse 3L Jacket, Skyline Fuse Light 3L 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: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant, Skyline Faze Pant, Jones Mountain Surf Pant, Skyline Faze Light 3L Pant, Burton AK Gore-Tex 2L Swash Pant, Burton Gore-Tex Ballast Pant, Jones Shralpinist Stretch Bib, Jones Mountain Surf Bib,
Helmet: Smith Method, Smith Scout, Smith Maze
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove, Drop Tahoma Mitt,

James’s Set Up

21-21.5” Wide. Stance Angles +18/-3, +18/+3, +18/-9. Close to Reference on groomers and Set all the way back in powder.

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same)

Korua Otto, Ride Algorythm, Ride Shadowban, Salomon Highpath, Yes Standard Uninc, Capita Black Snowboard Of Death, Jones Rally Cat, Cardiff Crane, Cardiff Lynx, Nitro Alternator, United Shapes Horizon, Lib Tech Dynamo, Lib Tech Lib Rig

Ethics Statement

I was not paid to do this review, and it comes from an honest, objective perspective with no brand oversight. If this review helped, we’d appreciate it if you support objective content by:

• Buy Through Blauer Board Shop in our Where To Buy Links – They are doing more than any other store to help us provide honest and objective reviews.
• If you can’t buy through Blauer Board Shop, buy through our other links. Please make sure we are the last click. Don’t use Loyalty/Discount/Coupon Toolbar/Chrome Extensions.  They steal my commission even if they don’t provide a discount.
• Please don’t use any Discount Toolbar Browser Extensions or Coupon Providers. They take the small commission we receive even if they don’t offer you a discount.
• If you can’t buy through our links it greatly helps if you donate via Paypal, Venmo @TheGoodRide
• Join Patreon as I offer early access reviews, free advice etc.
• Subscribe to us On YouTube & Follow us On Instagram

Approximate Weight

The Gnu Antigravity felt pretty normal bordering on light for this size/surface area which is great for this price point. (We don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores, there is no consistency in a board’s weight)

Sizing

I’ve ridden the 156 and 159 Gnu Antigravity. The 156 feels perfect for my preference of wanting control and quick turn initiation in all conditions. I can handle the 159 no problem either but it does feel slower/harder to manage in tight spots or uneven snow. It does feel faster, more stable and has more drive but the 156 never felt small for my boot size, weight and height listed above.

Gnu doesn’t have recommended boot sizes which is pretty old school and can lead to lots of bad decisions. At least they are very loose and open minded about recommended weight because they make a board that can handle weight very well. They also understand weight is very subjective too.

Here is my recommended boot sizing for the Gnu Antigravity which is very important. Sizing is all about balancing what fits your boot size (most important), weight (second most important) and height (third most important) for how you like to ride. Size down for more control and size up for more speed/stability/carving power. Most Brands, Including are very conservative with recommended weight and very liberal with recommended boot sizing Here are some ideal US boot sizes for these boards.

• The Gnu Antigravity has a bump in the waist because of the Magnetraction so it appears to be about 3-4mm wider vs the overall width of the board.

Antigravity Sizing
Size (cm)	Nose / Tail	Waist	Weight	Good Ride
	Width (cm)	Width (cm)	Range	Suggested Boot Size
			(lbs / kg)
150	28.8 / 28.5	25	100+ / 40+	7-8
153	29.2 / 29	25.2	110+ / 45+	7.5-8.5
156	29.7 / 29.4	25.5	120+ / 50+	8.5-9.5
159	30.1 / 29.7	25.7	130+ / 55+	9-10
162	30.3 / 30	25.8	140+ / 60+	9.5-10.5
159W	31.1 / 30.7	26.7	130+ / 55+	10.5-11.5
162W	31.3 / 31	26.8	140+ / 60+	11-12

 

If it comes down to boot size or weight, I would ensure it fits your boot first and then your weight a close second.

Shape / Set Back

The Gnu Antigravity is tapered and directional, but there isn’t much taper and it feels much less directional for having a -1” setback on sidecut which is pretty far back for most All Mountain to Freeride boards. What is interesting is there isn’t much set back on board and
if you do that, you’re only about 1.125in back from center of board. Then if you want to set it all the way back with full size discs, you can get 2.25in back from center of board at a 22.75in stance width.
So most people who own this 56 won’t be able to set it all the way back unless they’re really into freeing the taint.

Construction/Duruability

Mervin (Gnu/Lib Tech) is on another level when it comes to green construction. No other brand is close and there is no part of this board that is toxic or environmentally unfriendly. No other brand can say that and Mervin has been working on green tech for about 3 decades now as they didn’t want to create a toxic environment for their employees. They are light years ahead over literally every brand out there.

The Gnu Antigravity has a non toxic ABS like sidewall that wraps around the entire board and you don’t have metal in the tip/tail. It makes it lighter and what I found is more durable in many situations. I’ve dinged the nose/tail and it didn’t break the seal/get inside.

The topsheet is pretty unique and has a very grippy/durable feel to it. The only thing is it collects wax easy when you wax it or lay another board on top of it without bindings when you travel.

Under the Topsheet is a poplar and paulownia wood core with a triax/biax weave but no carbon strips.

Base

The Gnu Antigravity has a quasi extruded base that I actually don’t mind at all. It’s not super fast but even when not waxed it still keeps its speed well. I actually prefer it over the overly thirsty Knife Cut Base’s they have on the higher end Mervin (Gnu/Lib Tech) boards. Its very durable too.

Flex

There is a medium to medium-soft but dynamic and poppy flex with the Gnu Antigravity that feels softer than its flex rating on Gnu’s site. It feels somewhat continuous throughout.

Camber / On Snow Feel

The Gnu Antigravity full camber from tip to tail, with a passive bend in the middle so for all intensive purposes, this is full camber.

The Gnu Antigravity is soft so that is helpful but this still has a very technical, very catchy camber profile for beginner intermediates. It’s better for advanced to expert riders or committed intermediates willing to take some lumps when they catch an edge.

It does track very well and feel stable in all conditions.

I wish that Gnu used the same camber profile as the Lib Tech Lib Rig (same company as Gnu) that has early rise before the nose/tail. It would make this a much better beginner/intermediate board and also give it better float in powder.

Edge Hold

The Gnu Antigravity has a more aggressive magnatraction than most boards these days, with seven pretty pronounced bumps on each side It’s mellower mag than the old days and very similar to the Lib Tech Dynamo but I felt this was a little more effective and grippy in comparison.
But both are very good and both are a good step up from the Lib Rig, which has a much more mellow disruption, but it still holds really well in hard snow.

If you see a lot of hard snow and want a more mellower flex than the Dynamo this is a great choice.

Butters/Ollies/Air/Switch/Park

The Anti-Gravity for me has this really dynamic energy that is very easy to engage on an ollie. It still has a really solid pop even without any carbon under the topsheet. This tracks very well into small side hits as well as well as most size kickers in the park if you want to go there. I don’t but you might. It’s an excellent pipe board as well as not bad if you like to jib as well. The med/soft flex works well there. Especially when the Antigravity breaks in. Switch is way more doable than it looks like it would be.

It’s very easy to butter with and its got a great mountain freestyle personality for being a slightly tapered directional ride.

Uneven Snow

While the Gnu Antigravity has exceptional pop, it still does pretty well in hard, uneven snow and soft, uneven snow.

Turning/Initiation/Carving/Radius/Speed

This board can initiate a turn really quickly if you size it right and it went anywhere I needed it to go. I really liked how quickly this could turn in tight spots or on messy days and It never fatigued or scared me into overcompensating to not hit a tree or rock.
The Gnu Antigravity’s 8 meter side cut for the 56 has a very balanced turning experience that can do just about any kind of turn.

It’s not the dampest board, but you can point it and go straight, and the side cut isn’t going to fight you or make longer, drawn out down-the-line turns.
But if you like quick turns and across-the-groomer turns and circle carves, this can accommodate that as well too.
And the spring out of the turn is exceptional for a board with this kind of flex so it makes for a really fun overall turning experience even though it’s a little tortionally soft. If you want a stiffer tortional flex go with the Dynamo.

Pow

When you get the Gnu Antigravity in powder you’re not getting early rise like you would with the more forgiving, floaty Lib Rig that has almost the same shape but a different camber profile and stiffer flex. It’s about on par float-wise with the stiffer 56 Dynamo. Both are good for being almost full camber and I like the more recent version of the Antigravity vs. the older version with the nose that has less surface area. The moderate All-Mountainish set back combined with the little bit of taper does help but there are better boards out there with this shape and set back.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the Gnu Antigravity a very recommendable board for advanced expert riders or very committed intermediates on a budget who see a lot of hard snow and want a board that’s going to grip when all the others fail. It’s a very versatile do everything board as well and won’t let you down anywhere. You can do a lot worse than the Antigravity at this price range.