Nidecker Ultralight Snowboard Review

Nidecker Ultralight 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 and this is our unfiltered opinion. 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 Breakdown Of How It Rides And Who Its For

How The Nidecker Ultralight Review Happened:

Borrowed this for an extended demo and sent it back.
Size: 161
Days: 15+
Conditions: Everything from summer slush to mid-winter groomers to good pow to deep pow slackountry time with Drift Boards.
Rider: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-190lbs)
Boots: Burton Kendo, Nidecker Rift APX, Nidecker Rift Lace
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Atlas
Jacket: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Tusk Jacket, Volcom Guide Jacket, Burton Gore-Tex 3L Treeline Jacket, Jones Peak Bagger Jacket. Burton AK Helitak Gore-Tex Jacket
Pant: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant, Burton AK Gore-Tex 2L Swash Pant, Burton Gore-Tex Ballast Pant
Helmet: Smith Maze
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Clutch Glove, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove, CG Habitats Work Glove, Drop Tahoma Mitt,

Similar Boards (but not the same): Yes Pick Your Line, YES PYL Uninc, Burton Flight Attendant, Jones Flagship, Rossignol XV, Lib Tech BRD, Weston Backwoods, Season Nexus, Cardiff Bonsai, Prior Spearhead, Burton Cartographer, Burton Instigator, Cardiff Powgoda, Jones Mind Expander,

James’s Set Up: 21.5” Wide. Sance Angles +18/-3, +18/+3, +24/+6, Close to Reference on groomers and Set as far back as possible for my stance width in pow.

How It Was Tested

I rode this a lot of days. Sometimes I just rode the Nidecker Ultralight but often I compared it to many different freeride boards. I had it for over a season so there were many.

Approximate Weight

The Nidecker Ultralight felt light but not like a feather weight. (I don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores there is no consistency in a boards weight)

Sizing

The Nidecker Ultralight felt like exactly the right size for my weight and boot size. It was easy to control and I wouldn’t go 158. You want to size up a bit with this board as it sit’s in the more true freeride sizing of old and it doesn’t ride shorter or wider.
Here are some ideal US boot sizes for the Nidecker Ultralight boards. You can of course go bigger or smaller depending on your riding style and boot’s footprint, but these work best for not turning the board slower than it should be and not having the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag.
158: 8-9
161: 9-10
164w: 11-12
168w: 12-13

For weight Nidecker is pretty conservative on the upper end. If it comes down to boot size or weight, I would make sure it fits your boot first and then your weight a close second.

Shape/Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

The Nidecker Ultralight is pretty tapered at 18mm and very directional but it doesn’t feel super tapered/washy in the tail. I still felt most comfortable leaning back into the tail a bit to keep it from washing out but it needs a lot less back foot weight than the more tapered old Ultralight.

There is a very mellow short camber between the bindings that transitions into a short flat area and then a good bit of early rise before the nose and tail. The pop isn’t there compared to some boards but it is very forgiving and easy to skid a turn.The Nidecker Ultralight also tracks very well and doesn’t feel auto spinny.

Flex Personality

The Nidecker Ultralight is very stiff between the feet but not much softer in the tail and especially the nose. It is stiff but somehow much easier to butter than I thought it would be.

When it comes to ollie power there is more pop than you would think for this little camber but it was still a bit far behind many of the more camber dominant rides in Nideckers line like the Beta, Alpha, Alpha APX, Smoke and many others.

Uneven Terrain

So the Nidecker Ultralight is light and uses a lot of carbon but it isn’t a chattery mess like most of it’s light and poppy peers. They made this with big mountain speed in mind and it lived up to that. It  was great to ride in all but super hard and micro bumpy conditions. Even then it wasn’t terrible like some ultralight boards can be.

Edge Hold

Pretty solid grip for having no visible disruption in the sidecut.

Speed

There is a lot of early rise before the nose but you can point it and it won’t chatter much.

The base glide is exceptional. I really love how well the Nidecker Ultralight kept its speed. You want to go first on traverses and you will find yourself passing most on long flat cat tracks. It’s the kind of glide you would expect for this price point.

Turning Experience/Carving

The Nidecker Ultralight isn’t an exceptional carver but it’s better than you would think for having so little camber. The sidecut is definitely less turny than it was in the past so while it’s on the balanced side it does seem like it wants to favor a straight line or narrow down the line carve a little better than a circle or across the groomer carve.

There is a lot of cool flex tech happening with the Nidecker Ultralight that makes this flex more reactive and flexible underfoot compared to many other boards but I’d love to see what this could do with more camber. I think it would be unreal.

Powder

You have a -4.625” set back on board but with a -23” stance width if you use the set back inserts. I couldn’t set it all the way back with this 23″ wide stance width but I tried my best with my Union Atlas. So I put the front foot on the set back inserts and slid the discs as far back as I could. I couldn’t use the set back inserts on the back foot but slid it back as far as I could so I was probably more like -3.75” to -4” back on board.

It’s great to have set back inserts but I wish the set back inserts were set for 22” like the reference stance on this board like YES does. That would make it much better but all this being said it floated very well. You could feel the taper, bigger nose, all that set back on board and that fast base make the Nidecker Ultralight float well in powder.

The float was great but sometimes the turning experience wasn’t ideal in tighter spots and I often felt like it fought me on some quick turns in moderately tight spots. I didn’t like that feeling and I never felt that with the older Ultralight.

Conclusion

So overall I personally liked the older more turny personality of the Nidecker Ultralight better but if you like a more straight-line friendly ride you might like the new Ultralight better. I still found it to be a pretty forgiving and versatile big mountain board. I’d like to see the set back inserts match the reference stance and a little more camber but this is still a pretty special ride.

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