Lobster Aaron Schwartz Artist Edition 2020 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: 156
Days:  3
Conditions: Pretty rough spring conditions to wet spring conditions to some good snow.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-195lbs), Jimbo (Size 11, 5’11” 160lbs),
Boots: Adidas Tactical ADV
Insoles: Sandsole Custom Insoles,  Footprint Insole Technology Gameghangers Low Profile
Bindings: Union Atlas, Union Strata,

Similar Boards (but not the same) that we like: Gentemstick Mantaray 156, Korua Dart, Korua Pencil, Yes Optimistic, Rome Pow Division MT, Endeavor Scout, Weston Backwoods, Jones Hovercraft

Set-Up: 22” Wide. 21 front -3 back. Close to Reference and Set all the way back.

Approximate Weight: Feels pretty light

Sizing: The 154 felt right for both Jimbo and I and I think the 151 could work too.

Flex/Buttering:  The Lobster Aaron Schwartz can Butter well for a shape like this and there is a medium soft rubbery feel to the board that masks the wood personality underneath. It bends but snaps back with good pop.

On Snow Feel/Ability Level/Skidded Turns: The learning curve is really real here and it could be a deal-breaker for those that want to have fun day one. Learning how to get this board to track and ride took us a few days. The first half of the first day kind of sucked and it was hard to get used to the massively lifted sides throughout most of the board. It felt edgeless and skidded almost all the time. Then I started slowly learning how to make the TBT track and not skid everywhere. The more pressure you exert between the feet at the center of the board the better it tracked.

Edge Hold: The edge held better than we thought it would but it’s not like a disrupted side cut.

Turn Initiation:  It’s short and somewhat fat but it turns pretty quick for its width. It turns better with more pressure between the feet.

Turning Experience/Carving: It took me a few days of skidding turns before feeling something like a carve but towards the end of this extended demo I was starting to feel something that resembled a carve and think that with more time I can get there. It’s just such a different way to turn.

Powder: I did have one day in powder with the Party Wave which is almost the same board and it floated well. It was my first day riding it though and I could not steer it well. I went to turn and just skidded in the opposite direction that I wanted to turn. Now that I know how to turn TBT better I’d like to give it a go again. It was floaty and felt almost unsinkable, but it would have ruined my powder day if I stayed on it as I wouldn’t have figured out how to turn it by the time all was tracked up.

Speed: Not a bomber. It’s too soft to really point it but it’s damp enough for moderate speeds.

Uneven Terrain: The Lobster Aaron Schwartz was great in bumpy snow. At first, it skidded me around too much for my taste but the more I understood how to turn TBT the more I liked it.

Getting Air/Park: There was good pop off the tail and while it sits pretty far

So all in all the Lobster Aaron Schwartz had a bit of a learning curve that takes some time if you haven’t ridden TBT. If you can get past the first few days this could be a fun ride.