Ride Smokescreen Snowboard Written Review Review by The Good Ride

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Hope this Ride Smokescreen Snowboard Review from an average riders perspective helps you know if its right for you. 

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 break down of how it rides and who it is for

How This Review Happened:

Borrowed this for an extended demo and sent it back.
Size: 158
Days: 2
Conditions: Pretty good spring conditions with some harder snow in the early morning.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-190lbs)
Boots: Burton Kendo
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Atlas
Jacket: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Tusk Jacket
Pant: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant
Helmet: Smith Maze
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Tech Leather Glove

imilar Boards (but not the same): Jones Flagship, Cardiff Bonsai, Arbor A-Frame, Burton Leaderboard, Ride Commissioner

Set-Up: 21.5” Wide. Sance Angles +18/+3. Close to Reference.

How It Was Tested

Every day I rode the Smokescreen I also rode it against the Commissioner with the same boots and bingings.

Approximate Weight

The Ride Smokescreen is pretty normal when it comes to weight. The Commissioner is a little lighter but it’s closer than you would think for the price difference. (We don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores there is no consistency in a boards weight)

Sizing

So I felt like all I needed was the 158 for what I want to do but If I wanted balls out speed at the cost of easier turn initiation I could go 162.

Here are some ideal US boot sizes for these boards. You can of course go bigger or smaller but these work best for not turning the board slower than it should be and not having the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag.
153: 7-8
155: 8-9
158: 9-10
162- 9.5-10.5
165: 10.5-11.5
157w- 10.5-11.5

Shape/Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

The Ride Smokescreen has a somewhat typical Freeride shape with 10mm of taper and some early rise in the nose/tail. It makes for a more forgiving ride than you would think for it’s damp/bomber flex. You also don’t need too much back foot weight to keep the tail from washing like you do with most tapered directional boards but you do need more than a double ender like the Wild Life.

Flex Personality

Very stiff between the feet. It’s almost inflexible. The nose of the Ride Smokescreen has a mellower nose flex but it’s still pretty stiff. The tail is a little stiffer than the nose but overall it’s a very stiff board. Weirdly enough I can butter on the tail a little bit where it wasn’t easy with the Commissioner. This overall flex personality translates to being a better all day ride than the Commissioner but still not something that is easy like most ride boards when it’s messy. Great for powering over uneven snow at higher speeds though.

Speed

The Ride Smokescreen is a bomber no doubt. It’s not quite there base glid wise or dampness wise as the Commish but it’s close.

Edge Hold

Forgot to mention this in the vid but the edge hold is fine in medium snow and it grips pretty well in harder snow. It is great for those that don’t like disrupted sidecuts but still want some edge hold.

Turning Experience/Carving

So the Ride Smokescreen is really for bombing and it doesn’t turn well across the groomers and I couldn’t get it to make a decent circle carve. It does initiate a turn quickly but once you get the sidecut engaged not much happens from there. It’s all about the straight line very shallow radius direction changes.

Powder

I didn’t get any pow with the Ride Smokescreen. I would say that with this taper, -2.875” setback all the way at a 22.75” stance width and its bigger nose than tail this should float like most traditional freeride boards. So not amazing but far from being a slouch.

Conclusion

So if you want a more affordable straightliner than the Commissioner and most boards out there in this peer group the Ride Smokescreen could for sure work. It is a pretty good all conditions straight liner.

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