Gnu Hyper Snowboard Review

A Breakdown Of How The Gnu Rides and Who It's For Review by The Good Ride

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The Gnu Hyper Written Review

How this was tested

I just took the Gnu Hyper for a few laps at the demo but got a lot of time with its predecessor, the Hyperkyarve (almost the same board) so I only needed a few runs to figure it out.
Days: 1
Conditions: There was some firm but mostly fun snow with some micro bumpy spots. When it was the Hyperkyarve (a similar board), I got this in a wide variety of conditions.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-190lbs
Boots: Vans Verse
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Atlas
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, 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 Clutch Glove, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove, CG Habitats Work Glove, Drop Tahoma Mitt,

Similar Boards (but not the same): Jones Frontier, Cardiff Lynx, YES Standard Uninc, Ride Shadowban, Salomon Highpath

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

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Approximate Weight

The Gnu Hyper feels pretty standard, 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 board’s weight)

Sizing

Here are some ideal US boot sizes. 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.
151: 7.5-8.5
154: 8-9
157: 8.5-9.5
160- 9-10
159w- 11-12

For weight, you can go heavier with gnu, and they don’t have a suggested top end like some brands, but keep it within reason.

Shape

The Gnu Hyper is slightly tapered and looks pretty directional, but it feels very centered for being 1.5” back on the side cut. You don’t have that tapered feel to it.

Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

The Camber is still that same C2X with a pretty abrupt bend under the feet going to the camber, but the camber doesn’t come back down to the snow. It feels loose underfoot, one footing off the chair or flat basing down a flat cat track, but it’s very forgiving and easy to skid a turn.

Flex Personality

There is a pretty medium flex happening here that is easy to butter, and it pops well on an ollie. You can load your ollie over the rocker, over the camber in the tail, or the camber in the front. I like the ollie power of C3 shapes, which have a little more spring as they use more of the camber profile.

Uneven Terrain

The Gnu Hyper has a poppy personality, but it doesn’t shit the bed in uneven snow. It’s better in hard, uneven snow but still far from bad in thick, uneven snow. Overall, it’s a good all-day ride, and you can do so much worse.

Edge Hold

There is an exceptional grip with the Gnu Hyper, so it’s great for gripping well in hard snow if you can get past that loose/auto-spiny feel. If you keep it a little on edge, it will grip like a champ.

Speed

This camber profile and rocker profile don’t match the flex when it comes to speed. It makes the Hyper a little more chattery than you would think but you can do moderate straight lines.

Base Glide

Gnu boards just don’t have the glide that many of their peers do at this price point. It needs to be consistently waxed to have middle ground to good glide. The plus is, the base does a little better than some when not waxed.

Turning Experience/Carving

The rocker between the feet makes the turn initiation faster than you would think for the sidecut radius. It’s quick edge to edge and will turn really well in tight spots or in dense trees if sized correctly.

When you get it on edge, the Gnu Hyper has excellent grip, so the turn is consistent in any condition, but the rocker does hurry you up through the turn. It doesn’t drive as hard out of turn as C3/camber dominant boards like the Gnu Antigravity, but if you lean hard into the camber in the tail, it is more satisfying. It is the same if you lean more front-footed into a turn and engage the camber in the nose. It’s not quite as satisfying with the taper, but it’s for sure doable. This is the trade-off between being very forgiving vs. giving you a really satisfying carving experience.

Powder

There is a pretty decent float for an all-mtn board, but it’s not that great for a true freeride board. With a 22.6” stance width, you can get 2.75” back from the center of the board. That isn’t bad for all MTN, but it lacks a bit of freeride. You factor in the taper and the rocker, keeping the nose/tail up in powder, and you have good mtn float. I can even ride switch well for this shape in pow.

Switch/Pipe/Jumps

It’s a very doable switch, and this isn’t a bad board in the park for this kind of shape. Especially as it softens up. I wouldn’t mind the grip in the pipe, and

Conclusion

So overall, the Gnu Hyper isn’t really my type of board but it has some undeniably fun qualities about it. Especially for those that want forgiving, more centered ride but with a directional shape to it for easier float in pow with good grip for those hard snow days.