Gnu Banked Country Snowboard Review

An In Depth Objective Breakdown of the Gnu Banked Country For Average Riders Review by The Good Ride

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

How The Gnu Banked Country Was Tested:

I straight up bought the Banked Country 2022 and extensively tested it. However, I only had a few runs on the 2026 at the demos which is the best I could do with the budget I have. Shortly after Altimont bought Mervin (Lib/Gnu) they gutted the company and I lost all my marketing contacts. Even worse, the nearest rep is 9hrs away from where I live so it’s been a nightmare reviewing their gear.

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Pertinent Specs

Size:162 & 159 in the past with a slightly different Tail but Everything else is the same.
Days: 1 On the 162 and many on the 159 as I owned it.
Conditions: Firm but fun on the 162 and all conditions on the 159 including some and an early morning slackountry time in great pow with Drift Boards & 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.
Boots: Nitro Team TLS on the 162. On the 159 I used the Ride Torrent, Ride Fuse and a few others
Insoles: Footprint Kingfoam Orthotic Elite
Bindings: Union Force on the 162, Union Atlas on the 159
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Skyline Fuse 3L Jacket
Pant: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant
Helmet: Smith Method
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt

James’s Set Up

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)

Amplid Souly Grail, K2 Alchemist, United Shapes Cadet, Ride Algorythm, Ride Shadowban, Capita Black Snowboard Of Death, Cardiff Lynx, Nitro Alternator, United Shapes Horizon, Gnu Antigravity, Lib Tech Dynamo

Approximate Weight

The Gnu Banked Country is far from being heavy but no ultra light either. It’s a good weight for its surface area. (We don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores, there is no consistency in a board’s weight)

Sizing

The 162 Gnu Banked Country works for my specs posted above but I prefer more control and manuverability over speed/drive. So for me, the 159 is my ideal size. It never felt too small or not able to handle my weight while still being able to turn all day. If you are similar to my specs and prefer speed/drive over a shorter/easier board to turn go 162.

Gnu is pretty loose with recommended weight as they realize that it is recommened weight is very subjective and they build a good board. I would pay attention to the minimum recommended weight and then follow these recommendations for boot size. You can of course go bigger or smaller but these are the sweet spots when it comes to not having any toe/heel drag (can get you hurt if you do) and having enough control (can get you hurt too if you don’t)

Banked Country Sizing
Size	Nose / Tail	Waist	Weight	GR Suggested
	Width (cm)	Width	Range	US Boot
		(CM)	(lbs / kg)	Sizes
155	29.4 / 29.2	25.3	130+ / 55+	7.5-8.5
159	29.6 / 29.4	25.4	140+ / 60+	8.5-9.5
162	29.8 / 29.6	25.5	150+ / 65+	9-10
160W	30.8 / 30.6	26.5	145+ / 60+	10.5-11.5
163W	31.2 / 31	26.8	150+ / 65+	11-12
The MTX Bumps make the waist seem to be about 3-4mm wider than it actually is

Shape

The Gnu Banked Country doesn’t have much taper but is pretty directional. It still sits more on the directional side of All Mountain vs. Freeride just because the setback on board is not much in comparison to the pretty healthy set back on sidecut of 1.5”. Their is a much more centered feel on board than you would think. It only has a 2.25” set back on board all the way back at a 22.75” stance width where most with this much setback on sidecut have much more set back on board.

Construction

The Gnu Banked Country has the same super eco construction that really is on another level vs. any other brand. They have been doing green decades before many even started so there is really no other choice if you want a fully green snowboard.

How is it actually built? It has an Aspen Palonia Wood Core with some carbon surrounded by UHMW Sidewalls that wrap all the way around the tip/tail where most brands have steel edges. I found it to be more reliable. The Top is Poly and while it scuffs easy is pretty reliable.

Base

The one area of Gnu’s construction I find lacking is the Sintered Knife Cut Base. It’s got good enough glide when well waxed but it’s soo thirsty and needs constant waxing…like every day. I’ve tried giving it a base grind and waxed it over and over for several days without riding it to see if I could get the wax way down into this sintered base but nothing worked. The wax is stripped after a day of riding and it can be really slow/frustrating if you forget to wax.

Camber / On Snow Feel

The Gnu Banked Country has pretty much full camber from tip to tail but with a very mellow passive bend in the middle.

So you put this shape/stance location, construction, flex, camber profile all together you have a very stable but technical feel underfoot. It tracks super well one footing/flat basing and has that old school camber feel that I liked on the old Billy Goat from many years back that Temple Cummins’s made but with a little modern tweak.

Best for Advanced to Expert riders. Intermediates will most likely catch an edge and take some lumps as it’s not easy to skid a turn.

Sidecut / Edge Hold

There is a very unique sidecut here that starts out very mellow almost like there is almost no MTX but as you get more towards the tail the MTX gets much more aggressive. It’s also an 8.3M sidecut for the 159 and 8.4 for the 162 in the specs but there is a lot more to the side cut than that based on what I described above. The Gnu Banked Country grips like a champ and is an excellent board for hard to icy snow. It can feel a little grabby near the back foot in softer snow but it’s not bad and very easy to get used to.

Uneven Snow

And other than being somewhat grabby in soft snow the personality never changes as conditions change. It stays stable and predictable without becoming too bucky and bouncy in soft uneven snow or chattery in hard uneven snow. It’s a great all day all conditions ride.

Flex Personality

You have a medium bordering on medium/stiff flex that has upper tier pop. It’s not unreal pop but it’s very good.

Butters/Ollies/Air/Switch/Park

The Gnu Banked Country isn’t easy to butter for average riders like me but stronger/technical riders can handle it. The Pop on an ollie is upper tier. It’s a perfect balance between being poppy but still damp and not bucky.

This loves getting air and it can land switch or just ride switch well because it’s much more centered on board vs. sidecut. I liked riding the Banked Country 159 in the pipe for old man directional wall carving but a good pipe rider would be fine with this.

Turning/Initiation/Carving/Radius/Speed

The Gnu Banked Country is very quick edge to edge if sized right. It’s a great billy goat board and very good in the trees for quick turns even though you have a decent amount of tail behind you.

When you get this on edge and really commit to a turn it has exceptional pop/spring out of just about any turning radius you want to make. It does nothing exceptional but everything very well from Circle Carves to down the line carves.  The varied MTX grips a little harder on a back foot weighted turn on hard snow but in all other conditions it is pretty neutral for any kind of weighted turn.

Pow

I liked the older tail that has less surface area better but the new tail isn’t bad and it seems that the float is comparable to the older model. The Gnu Banked Country is very good for pretty much full camber and minimal set back on board vs. sidecut but it’s not as good as some of it’s competitors with early rise or more set back on board.

Final Thoughts

So overall, the only deal breakers could be The Gnu Banked Country’s technical nature and its thirsty base. Other than that it’s a really fun poppy, great all conditions ride. If you want more float the Lib Tech Lib Rig is better but has the same base. If you want an almost full camber ride like this but with a base that isn’t as fast but doesn’t go dry as easy check the Lib Tech Dynamo.