Positives

  • Excellent Front Foot Carver
  • Near Excellent Low Angle Pow Float
  • Shines For Positive Stance Angles
  • Stable At Higher Speed
  • Fits Smaller Boots Well

Negatives

  • Not For Back Foot Carvers

Summary

The Korua Pencil prefers a posi stance buts out a very unique, powerful driving turn and easy low angle float that we thoroughly enjoy.

Update 2024: The Korua Pencil has not changed since this review so this is still 100% relevant. 

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Riding Style Snowsurf
Riding Level Advanced - Expert
Fits Boot size (US) 8-10, 10-12
Manufactured in poland
Shape Tapered Directional
Camber Profile Directional Camber
Stance Setback -20mm
Approx. Weight Feels Heavy
Split Comes in split
Powder Great
Base Glide Great
Carving Excellent
Speed Great
Uneven Terrain Good
Switch Poor
Jumps Good
Jibbing Poor
Pipe Average
On Snow Feel

Semi-Locked In

Turn Initiation

Medium

Skidded Turns

Semi-Hard

Flex

Stiff

Buttering

Semi-Hard

Edge Hold

Hard Snow

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Korua Pencil 2019-2024 Table Video and Written Review Review by The Good Ride

Here you have the Korua Pencil Snowboard Review from an average rider who has ridden a shit ton of boards.

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. 

A Break Down of How This Rides and Who it’s for

How This Review Happened:  We borrowed this for an extended demo and then liked it so much we asked to keep it (we only do this with our favorites). This was a favorite for several years before it was unseated by the Pintonic.
Size: 164 & 159
Days: around 8
Conditions: Everything from some really good groomers to messy groomers to wet, thick powder to semi-light super deep powder, along with some early morning backcountry time with Drift Boards.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-195lbs), Peter (Size 8, 5’11” 185lbs), 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 -6 backset all the way back for powder,  22” 27 front +9 back closer to reference as well as all the way up.

Approximate Weight

It’s a big board, but it’s made to be super damp, and our board was on the heavy side of normal.

Flex/Buttering

It’s pretty stiff out of the wrapper, and it’s not for those who want an easy butterboard.

Sizing

Here is what we like about Korua boards.  They are pretty wide in the nose and waist but still, it felt like it worked for Peter and me with size 8.5-9 boots but also fit Grant’s size 11 boots too.  It seems like all that taper makes the board turn easier. Of the two boards I (James) tried, the 164 was way better for my specs. I thought the 159 might work, too, because it matched up with my boot size better and also worked with my weight. It turned super quick (almost too quick), but the 164 felt way more ideal for my specs and was a much better all-around ride.

On Snow Feel

The Korua Pencil is pretty locked in underfoot with a feel close to full camber that has some consequence to it if you are off your game. Don’t get this if you skid your turns. You would think this much taper might make the Pencil feel hooky, but it doesn’t.

Edge Hold

Very competent edge hold that grips well in most conditions you want to ride.

Turn Initiation

So for Peter and I, the Korua Pencil felt quick edge to edge, and we aren’t sure why this turns the way it does with this wider shape. So did Grant with his size 11’s and it actually turned a little faster for his boot size.  It’s not lightning-fast or anything like that, but it always went where we wanted it. On groomers, it feels medium but in powder, it felt more like a med/fast board when turning.

Turning Experience/Carving

All Korua boards turn incredibly well. However, for us, this more powerful, longer-drawn-out high-speed turning really is fun with the Korua Pencil. If you surf it’s like going out on a 6’8″ Step Up in some top to bottom well overhead surf. It feels like it sets you up for the next turn while keeping its speed, and we all felt like we had better lines down the hill on the Pencil compared to most other boards we tested it against.

The Korua Pencil is one of the first boards that comes to mind for high-speed carves on wide-open groomers. The only board I like better in Korua’s line is the Cafe’ Racer. Especially when I want powerful front-foot driving carves. It gives the sensation of what it’s like to make a hard-driving front foot heavy bottom turn in bigger surf.  The one thing about the Pencil is on groomers; it really prefers a positive stance, starting with 27 front and +6 back, but the more posi you go (within reason), the more the Korua Pencil really shines. Also, we noticed that the more positive your rear foot is, the more you can put more weight on it in a carve.

Skidded Turns

It’s not ideal here, and don’t get the Korua Pencil if you like to skid your turns.

Powder

All the Korua boards float well, but the Pencil and the Dart are our two favorites. The Dart is more slashy, set back, and quick in powder, but the Pencil is more for those who like more speed and bigger turns. Both are super close to some of our favorite dedicated powder boards. This defies logic with all that camber underfoot, but it felt truly effortless in the deep powder. What Peter, Grant, and I all felt was how well the Pencil slalomed through the trees and built on each turn. It’s a very easy board to keep your momentum going in powder and we all really appreciated that feel without it feeling sketchy. It is a great low-angle pow board.

The Pencil is super set back on board and is 7.125 inches back from the center of the board at a 21.75″ Stance Width. If you measure from the sides of the very shallow swallow tail, it’s more like 6.125″, which is what it feels more like. Combine that with a pretty long board for today’s standards, early rise before a big floaty nose, and almost 3cm of taper, and you have a serious floater. The base isn’t as fast as the Pencil Plus base or some other bases we tried, but it’s far from being slow either. With all this powder, we gave it a good waxing along with all the boards we tested in this storm. If this isn’t enough, here is a Peter and James vid from the mountain to the couch on some powder we had. It was massively deeper than it looks and this was right after a storm that snowed 48″ in 48 hours.

Speed

The Korua Pencil is a very fast board that loves building speed as you make one turn to the next.  It’s not really a straight-line kind of board, but it easily can if you want to.  It really likes really driving high-speed carves or long narrow S-Turns down the hill.  We found the base has upper-tier glide, but it’s not as fast as the plus in powder. The base on the Pencil Plus is faster, but the Pencil is a damper at higher speeds.

Uneven Terrain

The pencil powers over-tracked up snow incredibly well, and we found that longer boards definitely have an advantage over shorter boards here.  Still, even for a longer board, it bashes through tracked-up snow without bucking around much.  Weaving in and out of bumps is not ideal, but it is doable. You really want this on good groomers, but if you hit a bump line, it’s ok.  It was pretty easy to ride in some thick snow that was bumpy and tracked up, which surprised us.

Overall, the Korua Pencil is a really hard-charging supercarver that also floats as well as some dedicated powder boards.  If you like a front foot-heavy directional carver and look for super deep powder, this is a great call. We are torn between this and the Dart. Both are great boards. Get the Dart if you want a little bit more mellow setback ride on a smaller length, and get the Pencil if you like harder speed riding/carving.

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

 
Korua Pencil Specs

 
Korua Pencil Images

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

2019

Korua Pencil User Reviews

Korua Pencil 2019-2024 Snowboard Review SKU UPC Model

Selling all my other boards

Feb 11, 2020 by ZACHARY W PRICE
Ability Level: Expert • 
Riding Style: Eurocarve and Pow • 
Days You Ride A Year: 35 • 
Height, Weight And Boot Size (for Boards, Boots & Bindings): 6'1, 170, 10 

I've been snowboarding for 33 years and own a large collection boards including the T. Rice Pro, Yes Optimistic, Rossignol XV, K2 Carve Air amongst others. However, after riding the Pencil 164 this season I'm going to sell them all.

The Korua Pencil is the ultimate euro-carving and pow machine. This board is insanely quick edge to edge and is a beauty to ride in pow stashes in the trees. Simply put if you are not into spinning and park riding this board is a joy to ride. Even though it provides locked-in edge hold, it has a great surfy feel with just enough flex to be easy on the knees. I have size 10 boots (Salomon Malamutes) and can lay this thing all the way over for full belly button touching eurocarves without booting out. My recommendation is to ride this board with forward stances on both bindings with at least 21 front and 3 rear (24/6 seems like a sweet spot). Also, for the best carving experience be sure to mount your front binding either all the way forward or one insert set back.


147 for the ladies!!!

Dec 05, 2019 by Kara
Ability Level: Intermediate/Advanced • 
Riding Style: Freeride / All mountain • 
Days You Ride A Year: 30+ • 
Height, Weight And Boot Size (for Boards, Boots & Bindings): 5'5" 135lbs 7.5 boot 

I am a lady, 5'5" ~135lbs. The 147 is the best directional board I have ever ridden. Period. I put the board through pretty much all the terrain on a decently snowy day:

• Very nimble in trees and bumps
• Plenty of bite on hard pack
• Has enough weight to pick up some speed, but not too heavy
• Can throw up some serious clouds
• Crushes through bumpy and uneven terrain
• CARVES, (obviously, that's Korua's jam) - when you put it high up on edge, it just drives.
• Forgiving, at least at the 147 length. I had heard it can be catchy as it's camber, but that wasn't my experience. I'm east coast and it can get busy and unpredictable, haven't had any issues when needing to wash out a turn or do some sloppy skidded turns. Not what's it's made for, but you won't die if you do it.
• Even though it's kind of a heavy damp board, when I went through some fluff it just popped right up on top, surprisingly high for the amount of snow there was, probably like 3-6 inches in places where it was truly fresh piles, and it didn't skip a beat - it just floated right up.
• At the end of a turn, washed out or not, the turn felt complete, it just wants to keep going round. It has great turn flow no matter how you're turning. The camber is nice and poppy and will pop out of a hard carve and transition flawlessly into the next one.
• 147 isn't too short. If you're anywhere near my height and weight, I can assure you it doesn't right short. Conversely I had heard that the 164 rides shorter than it is, so I think Korua just put a lot of thought into their boards, sidecuts, and sizes.

BOTTOM LINE: Get this. Double yes if you're a gal, and are looking for something next level, or you want to carve it up. It's not a floppy noodle, and it's very directional, but it's a BLAST to ride and can handle any terrain you throw at it. Also, it's a beautiful looking board. Simple white with a red base.


5.0 5.0 2 2 I've been snowboarding for 33 years and own a large collection boards including the T. Rice Pro, Yes Optimistic, Rossignol XV, K2 Carve Air amongst others. However, after riding th Korua Pencil 2019-2024 Snowboard Review

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