Korua Womens Cafe Racer Snowboard Review – By Steph W

Korua Women's Cafe' Racer Written Review Review by The Good Ride

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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:  We borrowed this for an extended demo and then returned it.

Size: 144

Sizes Available: 144, 150, 156, 159, 164

Would be nice if there were a few smaller size options.

Days: 5

Conditions: Mid winter conditions, spring conditions, some ice and slush.

Riders: Steph 

Tested With: Vans Luna 7.5 Women’s Boots, Union Legacy Bindings

Set-Up

20″ Stance Width

+20 Front Foot & +9 Back Foot

+15 Front Foot & -15 Back Foot

Camber Profile

The Cafe Racer comes with a very prominent positive camber profile. The contact points are pretty far out on the nose and tail of the board.

Setback & Taper

20mm of setback & 28mm of taper

Base

It comes with a P-Tex 2000 Sintered Base and has a very fast glide on the snow. It felt smooth and fast in all the snow conditions I tested the board in.

Waist Width

This board is quite wide. Much wider than the average women’s board in a 144. It has a 252mm waist width.

Despite being a wide board, it was a lot quicker to turn than I expected. And even though it is medium fast to turn, it still feels smooth between edge transitions. Even with my Women’s 7.5 size boot.

Flex

This board comes with a stiff 7/10 flex. Very snappy and full of energy. Even though it is a very stiff flexing board, it doesn’t feel really aggressive, it still feels nimble and responsive.

Steeps

I really enjoyed the Cafe Racer in steeps. It is very responsive and has a precise feel on the snow and handles great in steeper terrain. The stiffer flex and positive camber profile helps it to feel stable and smooth through bumpy snow. It can turn quickly at higher speeds and in the steeps making it a reliable ride in the steeps.

Groomers & Turning Experience

The Korua Cafe Racer is extremely fun to turn on groomers. It has an impressive amount of spring out of the turns and has a mix of being a board that can charge hard, but is still fun when riding at different speeds, although it prefers to ride at a medium fast speed to higher speed for best responsiveness.

It does great in carve turns. The positive camber profile grips great in the snow, the contact points are pretty far out on the nose and tail allowing the board to travel with the sidecut all the way through the carve turn. The wider waist width also allows for deeper carves in the snow without booting out.

Along with carve turns, the Cafe Racer is fun to slash in soft snow and slushy conditions. It feels a bit surfy this way but while still holding onto its dynamic riding abilities.

Edge Hold

I found the Cafe Racer to have really good edge hold in icy and hard snow conditions. The stiffer flex, positive camber and contact points on the board help to give it a nice connected feel in icy snow. It doesn’t have any sidecut disruption, but it doesn’t need any. It should do well in most icy conditions out there.

Off Piste

The stable feel of this board makes it reliable in a lot of different snow conditions. It is more of a technical ride off piste. So best for more advanced riders in off piste terrain. But it handles great through bumpy snow, trees, and moguls.

Powder

I didn’t have the opportunity to ride this in powder. But the Cafe Racer comes with a lot of great features that will help it to ride well and float in powder. It has a ton of taper, a lot of set back, a directional shape and a the option to set it back even more.

Even though I wasn’t able to test it in powder, the guys at The Good Ride tested it in waist deep snow and reported that it floated really well. You can check out their review here: Korua Cafe Racer Men’s Review 

With the bindings moved all the way back, you can get 6″ of set back on board, with a stance width of 21″.

Freestyle Personality

This isn’t a freestyle board by any means, but it still has a playful side in its own way. The stiff flex and positive camber make it difficult to butter. But it has a really snappy pop on jumps. It is very stable in landings. And you can even ride it switch if you want. So not a board to take through the park really, but there’s room for some creative riding while cruising all over the mountain.

Overall

The Korua Cafe Racer would be good for and advanced to expert rider looking for a directional ride that turns incredibly well. Its a board that feels dynamic all over the mountain and it has a pretty directional feel on snow. It is a board that can excel in normal snow conditions as well as powder.

It feels pretty responsive for being a stiff board with a wide waist width. But I do wish it had a couple other smaller sizes to choose from.

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