Ride Moderator Snowboard Review

An Honest, In Depth Breakdown of the Ride Moderator Review by The Good Ride

• User Reviews
• Product Specs
• Product Images
• Questions?

How The Ride Moderator Was Tested:

I borrowed the Ride Moderator for an extended demo but I liked it so much I asked to keep it.

Size:157
Days: 5+ but own it now and will be riding it a good bit this coming winter.
Conditions:  and an early morning slackountry time with Drift Boards & Union Rovers
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10”, 185-195lbs). I’ve tested and compared 800+ boards and close to 1,000 if you count different versions of the same Model over the years.
Boots: Nitro Team TLS
Insoles: Footprint Kingfoam Orthotic Elite
Bindings: Union Force
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Skyline Fuse 3L Jacket, Skyline Fuse Light 3L Jacket
Pant: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant, Skyline Faze Pant
Helmet: Smith Method, Smith Scout
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove, Drop Tahoma Mitt,

James’s Set Up

21.5” Wide. Stance Angles +18/-3, +18/-9. Close to Reference on groomers and Set all the way back in powder.

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same):

Never Summer Proto Type 3, Never Summer Proto Type 3 Ultra, Korua Otto, Ride Algorythm, Ride Shadowban, Salomon Highpath, Yes Standard Uninc, Capita Black Snowboard Of Death, Jones Rally Cat, Cardiff Crane, Cardiff Lynx, Nitro Alternator, United Shapes Horizon, Gnu Antigravity, Lib Tech Dynamo, K2 Commonwealth

 Ethics Statement

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Construction / Durability / Weight

The Moderator has two key differentiators that really change the personality of this board versus the Deep Fake. First, it has the Performance Light Core versus the Performance Core. I really noticed the difference in weight picking this up. Both have slim wall sandwich-like construction, but this only has urethane slim wall in the edge. The Deep Fake has your typical metal edges, urethane, and titanium on top of that. Both are pretty durable rides and while the top sheets can scuff a little it will not affect performance. (We don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores, there is no consistency in a board’s weight)

Sizing

The 157 Ride Moderator was just right for me in terms of turn initiation and control all day, from perfect morning groomers into messy snow in the afternoon. I definitely wouldn’t want to size down. But if you’re the same size as I am and you favor speed, carving power, and want a little extra float in exchange for control in tight spots, you could definitely go up one size without compromizing much when it comes to turn initiation.

Ride doesn’t hlep you with boot sizing even though they have regular and wide shapes which sucks. is pretty liberal with their boot sizes but a little too conservative with their recommended weight.

Sizing is all about balancing what fits your boot size (most important), weight (second most important) and height (third most important) for how you like to ride. If it’s too wide and it’s hard to turn but too narrow and you might boot out which often slams you into the ground.

The Good Ride’s Conservative / Safe Recommendation

144: 5-6
148: 5.5-6.5
151: 6.5-7.5
155: 7-8
157: 8-9
159: 8.5-9.5
162: 9-10
157w: 9.5-10.5
161w: 10-11
165w: 11-12

There are often up to 2 or 3 sizes that will work for your specs. Size down for more control and size up for more speed/stability/carving power. Here are some ideal US boot sizes for these boards. If it comes down to boot size or weight, I would ensure it fits your boot first and then your weight a close second.

Shape / Set Back

The Ride Moderator is tapered and directional with a good bit longer nose than the tail, but it’s still not too tapered and directional. There’s only six millimeters of taper. This is exactly the same shape as the Deep Fake. With a 22-inch reference stance you are 20mm set back on sidecut and two inches back from center of board with a 22-inch stance width. If you want to set it all the way back for a powder day, you’re looking at three inches back from center of board with a pretty wide taint tearing 22.75-inch stance width.

Camber/On Snow Feel

The camber profile of the Ride Moderator is the same as the Deep Fake. There is a mellow camber that goes almost to the tail and then stops before the nose to give you a little bit of early rise. It’s a very stable, forgiving camber profile.

Flex Personality

The Ride Moderator is pretty stiff in the tail, pretty stiff between the feet, and a touch softer in the nose. Overall, it’s more on the dynamic, poppy side of the flex spectrum.

On Snow Feel

The Ride Moderator is a very stable ride that feels like full camber but is much more forgiving. I’d say intermediate on up to expert would have a time with this, and even a committed beginner could get on this and have a time. The Deep Fake is more committed for intermediates on up to experts.

This board is pretty easy to skid a turn, and it has that same consistent feel in all conditions. It rides well in hard uneven snow and soft uneven snow, making it a great all-day ride. The Deep Fake does a little better with its different core and titanium topper, making it more damp in soft snow and better at edge hold in harder conditions, but the Ride Moderator still holds its own.

Uneven Snow

The Deep Fake feels more damp and settles down easier, but the Ride Moderator still handles uneven conditions very well and it’s far from being a slouch.

Butters / Ollies / Switch / Park

The Ride Moderator butters pretty well in the nose and tail. There is so much more pop than you would think for having this little amount of camber. It’s much easier to ollie and pop off little side hits than the Deep Fake because of that lighter core and the lack of titanium along the edge.

It’s really fun tracking into side hits, and if you want to go big and hit kickers of all kinds, you can. It’s very good and very doable switch. You will have a better time with the Algorithm and the Shadowban for switch, but the Ride Moderator is still very doable. I found myself riding it switch a lot. It wouldn’t be bad in the pipe and not bad hitting kickers of all sizes, though the Deep Fake does a little better going bigger. Neither are really boards I’d want to jib with though.

Edge Hold

The Ride Moderator holds an edge well. However, jumping off and then riding the Deep Fake on the same run, I felt that edge settle better and grip a little better because of the stiffer core and titanium reinforcement.

Turning

The turn initiation on this Ride Moderator is pretty quick and always got me where I wanted it. As I engaged the edge, it had a pretty balanced turning radius, more balanced than I expected for such a shallow entry radius.

I could circle carve, make cross-the-groomer carves, and medium radius turns really well. There is a lot more spring out of the turn than I thought there would be. This is good in slow speed turns and very good at high speed, though the Deep Fake does better at higher speeds.

It didn’t feel like it needed to pick up speed for fun turns like the Deep Fake did. I could front foot, center, or back foot weight my turns and it never felt washy. Longer drawn-out turns and straight lines were very doable. The Deep Fake is better for pointing it, but the Ride Moderator still handles speed well.

Speed

The Ride Moderator holds its own in speed. It’s not quite the charger that the Deep Fake is, but it performs confidently without being twitchy.

Base Glide

This sintered base doesn’t have the highest-end glide, but it doesn’t really have a lot of low lows either. It holds wax well, doesn’t need a lot of maintenance, and is relatively easy to repair if you get a gash or two. Just get clear p-tex and a p-tex gun and it will keep the base looking good.

Powder

I thought getting this in late spring would leave me skunked, but I lucked into eight inches of late spring powder that felt thicker than it was. It was fun to see what the Ride Moderator could do because that wet, thick powder is pretty challenging.

I rode the Moderator and the K2 Commonwealth down the same run. It didn’t turn out or slash as easy as the Commonwealth, but it had more float because of the early rise and a little more setback on board. I was still struggling with it compared to more setback boards, and there was some rear leg burn, but it was doable. The steeper it got, the better it performed. Not bad at all for an all-mountain board.

Final Thoughts

Overall, while the Deep Fake is a fun board and great for those who like to charge harder, the Ride Moderator is going to hit a much bigger demographic. It’s going to shine for average riders like myself and just be an incredibly fun board to turn, to get air with, and to putter around on.

I had a time on this, and in comparing it against my Shadowban, I put the Shadowban up for sale. I’m going to see if I can keep the Ride Moderator and use it as a standard of which to compare other all-mountain boards against. So there you have it. That’s my take, hope this helps.