Ride Hellcat 2014-2019 Snowboard Review – By Steph W

2018

2017 Ride Hellcat Review

Days 2 from 2 different Women riders

Conditions- Perfect Sierra Snow to moderately good spring Sierra Conditions.

Approximate Weight:  Feels normal

On Snow Feel:    It’s got a mostly camber aggressive feel to it but without being super catchy like camber.  It’s personality is all about bombing but it’s not the typical Ride bomber.  What I mean by that is many ride boards feel best when going fast and straight but don’t really feel good at anything else.  However the Ride Hellcat gives equal pleasure turning, carving and straightlining while still having that super damp ride feel to it.

Turn Initiation: Pretty quick edge to edge if you know how to turn and we felt this would be fine in the trees on a powder day or good in a tight spot like a steep chute.

Flex:   Kind of on the Med/Stiff and bordering on the Stiff side.  It’s stiff and damp.

Edge Hold: Pretty middle ground edge hold that can hang if it gets hard but it’s not an ideal choice if you ride in hard to icy conditions.  It’s more of a medium to soft kind of ride. We are beginning to think that if you

Powder: The rocker in the nose for the board we tried is very subtle but with the set back on board and not camber in the nose this can float rather well.

Carving: If the Ride Hellcat had better edge hold this would carve in all conditions like a dream.  As it stands out of the factory wrapper it’s not going to hold well in harder snow but in softer snow this will lay it out euro style really well.

Speed: So the Ride Hellcat can bomb…..really bomb and that is what you expect from a Ride freeride board.  It feels damp and secure when pointing it.

Uneven Terrain: It can power over uneven terrain better than most and although it’s not as good weaving in and out of moguls/bumps it’s pretty good for it’s stiff flex.

Switch: Not ideal but doable. It’s tapered shape isn’t the best for taking it the other way.

Jumps: The Ride Hellcat’s ultra damp flex/personality isn’t completely devoid of pop. A strong rider can make their own air with this board and its great for sending it off a big kicker or cliff to get some big directional air.

Jibbing: No fucking way. 

Pipe: Pretty good directional riding pipe board and if there was better edge hold it would be really fun.

2015 Ride Hellcat Review

Approximate Weight:  Feels normal

On Snow Feel:    It can satisfy an aggressive rider but at the same time also be ok for a rider who wants something that can be forgiving in certain situations. It’s hard to say but maybe the best way to say it is a forgiving aggressive board.  It can catch an edge compared to Ride’s flat to rocker profile but its a lot more forgiving than regular camber.  It’s very stable between the feet for one footing/skating and flat basing.  If you like a twin camber feel but want a little more of a forgiving ride this might work.

Turn Initiation: Kind of middle ground edge to edge on most turns and it can be turned quickly if you know how to turn.  Medium radius turns were the most fun but wide radius turns are fun too. Short radius turns don’t spring quickly from edge to edge but they aren’t slow.  They are just middle ground and there is a decent amount of spring in them.

Flex:   Kind of on the medium and bordering on Med/Stiff side.  It’s got more of a mountain flex built into a twin. It’s not a bad idea. It’s not super easy to butter but its not impossible either.

Edge Hold: Pretty middle ground edge hold that can hang if it gets hard but it’s not an ideal choice if you ride in hard to icy conditions.  It’s more of a medium to soft kind of ride.

Powder: Just a little better than a camber board and kind of behind most of the other hybrid shapes out there.

Carving: Pretty fun compared to Ride’s flat to rocker tech.  It doesn’t quite spring like camber but it does make for an enjoyable carve that has some spring out of the turn.

Speed: Pretty fast for a twin.

Uneven Terrain: All that rubber and dampening tech really makes for an easy ride over chundery uneven terrain.  It’s not going to own the moguls but it can turn quick and won’t buck you as hard as you think for the flex it has.

Switch: It’s a true twin so it’s practically perfect either way.  The only thing easier switch is asym boards.

Jumps: Pretty good pop and a nice improvement over the older flat to rocker model twins in Rides line.

Jibbing: It’s got a pretty stiff flex for jibbing and it’s not something we would like to take in the jib park.

Pipe: Pretty good pipe board and if there was better edge hold it would own it. If you get the edges super sharp then it could be.