Nitro Arial Snowboard 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 rider’s perspective.

How This Review Happened: We borrowed this for an extended demo and returned it.

Size: 142
Days: 3+ Days
Conditions: Spring conditions, some good snow, nice groomers, choppy off piste
Riders: Steph
Boots: Vans Ferra Pro
Bindings: Union Legacy

Approximate Weight: Feels normal

Flex/Buttering:  Has rocker on the nose and tail and a 3/10 flex. It is truly for the lighter rider. The 146 weight recommendation maxes out at 145lbs and can accommodate someone as small as 75lbs. It flexed very easily for me (I’m 108lbs) but I imaging would be a friendly flex for someone that is still transitioning between a kids board and an adult board.

Sizing: 138, 142, 146 The Arial comes in bigger sizes to accommodate height, but the waist width is still small enough to work well with smaller boot sizes. My 7 1/2 women’s boot was a little wide for the 142. So probably a size 7 and down would be ideal.

On Snow Feel: The Nitro Arial has a positive camber profile with rocker on the nose and tail. It is stable when riding, but not locked in. So there is room for learning and making mistakes. But it has room for growth as well since there is still stability and performance in the board.

Edge Hold: It has a pretty good edge hold on ice. There is no sidecut disruption, but the positive camber keeps it pretty well connected with the snow. It won’t be as good as something with added edge hold technology but it will be better than a flat or rocker board, and slightly better than most hybrid rocker boards too.

Turn Initiation: Since the waist width is fairly small and the flex is friendly, turn initiation is fast for me. With a smaller size boot and lighter weight I imagine it to be medium/fast.

Turning Experience: I found the Arial to be a lot of fun to turn, it offers extra performance from most “children’s” boards. So it will be a good progressive step up for most that are still growing but looking for a board that offers more. It likes smaller radius turns, and it is pretty easy to skid through a turn as well.

Carving: For a youth board, the Arial carves really well. It isn’t a technical carving board but the positive camber allows it to get up on a higher edge angle and carve a bit. There’s not a ton of energy that comes back from the board, but again, it does well for being a youth board.

Speed: I was surprised at how stable the Arial was for me at higher speeds. I figured with the 3/10 flex it would be super bouncy but it surprised me. For someone who’s specs fit the board size, I think it would be stable at most speeds.

Uneven Terrain / Off Piste: Because it is easy to turn, the Arial does well in bumpy terrain as long as you turn through it. It won’t want to charge over the top of cruddy snow. It is fun and easy to turn in tight spots, so riding through trees and moguls is very doable.

Powder: The Arial is a true twin so it won’t float too well. But it does have a little rocker in the nose and tail that will allow it to float a little bit in your average snow days.

Switch: This board rides switch just as easily as it rides regular. And it is pretty catch free and predictable, so learning to ride switch on the Arial will be fairly easy as well.

Jumps: Again, for a rider that fits this board’s specs I think jumps will be a lot of fun. It isn’t too snappy or aggressive so learning jumps on it will be fun. It has a decent amount of stability for landings and nice pop as well.

Jibbing: A good choice for learning jibs. It is flexibly enough to be forgiving but also has some energy for popping on to boxes and rails.

Pipe: Would be a good choice for a youth pipe board. A little soft for a more aggressive pipe rider. But a good choice for someone just getting into more technical pipe riding.

Overall

The Nitro Arial Youth board offers a good mix of progression, technicality and forgiveness. It would be good for that rider that isn’t quite big enough or strong enough to handle an adult board, but has outgrown the children’s board. The Arial is fun and easy to turn but still has some good performance.

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