Gnu Mullair Table and Written Review Review by The Good Ride

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Other than a few extra sizes added the design has stayed the same with the 2017-2020 Gnu Mullair. The written review has been updated to reflect what’s happening in 2020.

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.

How This Review Happened: Demo’d this for one day thanks to to P3 at Mammoth, One day at the demos and then we liked it so much we spent our precious Good Ride dollars to bring it into the quiver.
Size: 159
Days:  8-10 days
Conditions:  Lot’s of conditions ragnging from pretty hard snow to soft weird spring snow, some wet thick powder and some decent PNW Powder all around 2′ or less with an early morning slackountry time with Drift Boards.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-195lbs), Peter (Size 8, 5’11” 185lbs),Grant (Size 11 6’ 160lbs), Zobel (Size 11.5, 6’ 180lbs), Jimbo (Size 11, 5’11” 160lbs),
Boots: Adidas Tactical ADV, Burton Almighty, Adidas Tactical ADV, Burton SLX, Ride Trident, Burton Rover
Bindings: Union Atlas, Union Strata, Union Falcor

Similar Boards (but not the same) That We Compared This To:
Yes Pick Your Line,  Burton Flight Attendant, Gnu Mullair, Jones Flagship, Never Summer West Bound, Rossignol XV, Lib Tech BRD, Lib Tech Lost Round Nose Fish

Set-Up: 21.75″ to 22.5” Wide. 18-21 front -6 to 0back. Close to Reference and Set all the way back. Set back, approx 23″ 15 front -6 back.  Day 2 approx 23″ 18 front -9 back

Approximate Weight: Feels normal. Not heavy and not light.

Sizing: The 159 feels pretty much size 10 and under and just right for my size 9 boots as well as my 185lbs.  Jimbo and Zobel booted out often with their size 11 and 11.5 boots and they would really prefer the 161w.

Flex/Buttering: Nice medium/stiff flex and it has a very snappy poppy feel to it that loads well for an ollie or carve but isn’t super easy to butter. You really feel the wood interacting with the materials wrapped around the board and it has a somewhat unique feel underfoot compared to the rest of the boards we have tried.

On Snow Feel/Ability Level/Skidded Turns: The Gnu Mullair feels like a more traditional tapered surfy version of the Flight Attendant even though it has less taper.  It’s got a similar feel camber wise but overall it just feels a little better and dynamic underfoot along with better edge hold. It’s a pretty locked in mostly camber ride that isn’t for beginners or intermediates. It feels a touch less catchy than full-on camber but not by much and it’s not for those that want a board that is easy to skid turns.

Edge Hold: Nice bump compared to the Flight Attendant and although it doesn’t feel like Full MTX like you get from the TRS or old Darker Series but it grips really well and it’s on the top end of the spectrum.

Turn Initiation: If you know how to turn its quick edge to edge if you like to roll from edge to edge quickly on short turns and it’s very easy to turn in tight spots. If you like wider turns once you are committed more to the side cut it turns a pretty average circle size and it’s fun. Getting a board like this is all about directional stylish turning and that will be the number one thing you do. The Gnu Mullair does not disappoint and we could turn this all season.

Turning/Carving: So much fun to carve and I didn’t feel like I had to commit too much weight to the back foot to keep it from washing out.  The Flight Attendant feels more between the feet than the Mullair but the Mullair has a more directional surfy feel with the turn.  If you are really into a more traditional surfy turn the Mullair will be the call and if you are more into a more double ender/all-mountain style/more skate like/less surfy turn then the Flight Attendant will be more appealing to carve.

Speed: This isn’t a racing board but it can bomb without excessive chatter.

Uneven Terrain: Yeah this is a stiffer freeride board but man it weaves in and out of bumps well.  The Gnu Mullair is also pretty good at absorbing chatter going over tracked snow and dealing with micro bumps on hard groomers. It’s not the dampest but it’s on the upper end of the spectrum.

Powder: So it seems like there is a slight touch of early rise and a long nose which definitely helps compensate for all that camber but it didn’t float quite as well as I expected. The difference between nose and tail when setting all the way back is is 4.75″ and the true setback on board is 2.375″ vs. 1″ setback on sidecut with at a stance width of approximately 22.75″.  After over 1′ of thick wet snow as well as a little lighter/deeper day at Mt. Bachelor, I felt the float wasn’t quite there with the Flight Attendant that has more setback on board and I needed to work that back leg harder for it to stay afloat. It feels like it would be best in a steep powder run rather than staying afloat in normal terrain you might see at many resorts. The Lib Lost Round Nose Fish Floated a little easier than the Mullair but the BRD and YES Pick Your Line out floated both by a good bit.

Switch: Doable and we liked the Flight Attendant better here.  However, you aren’t really buying this board to ride switch a lot.  It’s mainly for riding one direction.

Jibbing: Nah…..

Pipe:  The Gnu Mullair could be a great directional pipe rider thanks to the springy drive it could have from wall to wall as well as the pretty strong edge hold.  We wouldn’t know though as we didn’t ride the pipe.

Jumps: Great pop and it’s got an easy directional spring off the tail for an ollie or off a drop or even a kicker. It isn’t terrible landing switch either.

So we knew this was a fun board when we tried it last year but now that we got to compare it to a favorite and Nico’s past model we found out how much more we like it. If you are ok with a little than lower than average powder performance than some of it’s peers in exchange for strong edge hold and powerful fun turning you have a great board. I would suggest the Lib Tech BRD if you want more a more powder friendly ride and are willing to compromise a little turning power.