Korua Pencil 2019-2025 Table Video and Written Review Review by The Good Ride

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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.

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