Soul Shift 2027 Snowboard Review with Davey

Soul Shift 2026-2027 Snowboard Review Review by The Good Ride

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

,A Detailed Breakdown of How The Soul Shift Rides

How The Soul Shift Was Tested

So I didn’t ride this as much because it is the same shape, camber profile, sidecut, etc. Just a different flex personality in comparison to the Shift 159 I own. So, I only took this out a couple of days just to compare it to the old Shift cuz the old Shift I rode in everything from hard snow to groomers to messy snow to some powder. So, I really understand this board in all conditions. I just wanted to see how this new flex personality matched up to the older Shift and spoiler alert…this is massively better. I’m keeping this new Shift. I’m going to sell the old Shift and give the money to Soul.

I liked it so much I asked to keep it (only do this with favorites).

Size: 159 For James & 163 For Davey
Days: 10+ for Davey. 3 On the new version and many on the older version.
Conditions: Deep Pow to Varied Spring Conditions. Even some uphill travel on the Drift Boards & Union Rovers
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10”, 185-190lbs). I’ve tested and compared 850+ boards
Davey (Size 12, 240lbs, 6’4”)
Boots: Nitro Team TLS, Burton Ion
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Force
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Skyline Fuse Jacket, Jones Mtn Surf Anorak, Jones Shralpinist Stretch 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, Skyline Faze Pant, Jones Mountain Surf Pant, Burton AK Gore-Tex 2L Swash Pant, Burton Gore-Tex Ballast Pant, Jones Shralpinist Stretch Bib, Jones Mountain Surf Bib,
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: 21-21.5” Wide. Stance Angles +18/-3, +18/+3, +24/+6, +27/+9 back. Close to Reference on groomers and Set all the way back in powder.
Davey’s Set Up: 23” Wide. Stance Angles +18/-3, +18/+3. Close to Reference on groomers and set all the way back in powder.

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same):

Korua Dart, Korua Café Racer, Weston Japow, Moss Jellyfish, Gentemstick Barracuda Nidecker Beta, Nidecker Beta APX, Korua Pintonic, Jones Storm Chaser 2025

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Sizing

So, when it comes to sizing, this 59 fits me really well. I never felt like I needed more, and I never felt like I needed less. What’s cool about this is tapered directional boards like this, even though they’re much wider over the inserts, just seem to turn easier for my boot size. And this matches up really well with my weight. This is like the perfect size for me. But let’s say you’re the same weight and height as me, but a 10 or an 11 boot. This will still work great because there’s a good bit of width over the inserts that can handle a bigger boot. And it has this magic that works just as well for a size 9 as it does for an 11. And I really enjoy that.

Sizing is all about balancing what fits your boot size and your weight for how you like to ride. If your boot is too wide, you can’t turn it; if it’s too narrow, you get the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag. Your weight is a close second to boot size because it determines how the board will flex and pop under your foot.  Height comes in a distant 3^rd. Some prefer control, so matching the boot size is the priority. Others prefer dampness over control and like to size up to get a wider and or longer ride.

Here are some ideal US boot sizes for these boards.
159: 9-11
163 11-13

Shape and Setback

The Soul Shift is very tapered, very directional. You can see it has a massive nose and a pretty deep, aggressive swallow tail. And this is truly what snow surf is. You’re riding right on the tail, almost like you would a surfboard. And this is coming from the perspective of being an ocean surfer my whole life. Surfing was my first passion before snowboarding.

Camber Profile

You have a lot of stuff happening with the Soul Shift Camber. First off, you have a massive bow of camber underfoot that I can just get all my fingers underneath and lift up. But if you look closely, you’ll notice that the nose and tail are off the table. And that’s because there is a little lift on the sides. And as you can see, it rocks a little bit back and forth. Normally,

I am not a fan of this because it’s clear that this lifted tech bleeds into the effective edge and the contact points on snow. But for some reason, this is one of the only boards that has never felt edgeless and washy in harder snow. Yet, it’s very forgiving. A committed intermediate could easily ride this because this area is lifted and less likely to catch. But it doesn’t feel loose, auto-spinny, or weird, one-footing, and flat-basing off the chair. If anything, I might have to lean a little bit to engage this edge.

But here’s the thing. When you weigh this down, and you’re on the board, the contact feels much more like camber, but just not as unforgiving. So, I’m really enjoying this camber profile. And there’s a little early rise with spoon nose. And when you get this camber profile into softer snow, the spoon nose tech really comes alive. So you get everything you want from camber and all the things you don’t from camber and it has a really consistent feel in all conditions. I was really surprised by this. It’s the same as the shift I had before.

Edge Hold

I was pretty impressed with the shift. There’s nothing really in terms of disruption. I thought it would feel sketchy with the lifted sides, but it has very competent grip. It’s not an icy snow specialist, but it can hold an edge very well in hard snow.

Flex

The Soul Shift 2027 Flex is special. It’s got a medium stiff but very poppy and energetic flex. It’s stiffer down in the tail, and as you get into a turn and engage just one part of the swallow tail, it still holds really well. Then, between the feet, it’s pretty stiff throughout this camber profile, and it’s a good bit softer in the nose, but not super soft. And overall, there is a very dynamic pop. One of the poppiest boards I tried recently. There’s carbon over each foot. And then whatever they have going on with the secret sauce inside under this hood, it really makes this board feel stiff when you need it and soft when you don’t. They have this thing called ailiate technology which gives you a [ __ ] ton of pop but keeps the chatter down.

Uneven Snow

Usually, boards, this poppy is unruly for me when conditions get hard and uneven and soft and uneven. And while this bucks and bounces around a little bit more than some boards, it’s manageable, and it’s something I could easily get used to. It never felt unruly, like it was going to buck me out of my line, send me in the air into a tree or something like that. I did have to slow down just a little bit in really soft, thick, uneven snow, but overall it’s very good. And then hard uneven snow, usually boards like this that are so poppy, can often have chatter, and the edge can’t stay quiet when you’re trying to hold a turn in, let’s say, microbumpy snow that’s either soft or hard. This handles it no problem.

Butters & Ollies

And this butters pretty well for having lifted sides. I feel like they did a good job at making it flat in the middle, so you don’t often engage this lift in the sides and wash out. Same with the nose. There seems to be a flat spot in the middle that you can engage for a butter, but it’s not the best for nose butters, but it’s doable for sure.

And the pop from this board is exceptional. I thought my personal shift in a 159 was exceptional when it comes to pop, but this is on another level. This is just such a fun board to oie. Even though you’re way back towards the tail, it’s really fun for an average rider like me to go out and get some straight air with. I wanted to pop off everything I could see. And I got used to being so far back on board and felt like I had enough tail for landings despite this being so set back and directional.

Turning & Carving

When it comes to turning and carving, this camber and this pop and this drive just outshined my old shift. Again, they have the same camber profile, same shape, same side cut, and that old 59 was special. This is just the next step up from there. I took this one run and they don’t normally groom this one spot. So, I came down through with this first run of the day. It was one of the best runs I’ve had all year. Maybe not in terms of how I looked, but how it felt. It was just so good. Every turn just felt so amazing with Soul Shift 2027.

Speed

And you can make longer drawn out turns at higher speeds or even go straight and pretty fast for a sustained amount of time and it won’t completely fall apart on you either. This has excellent chatter absorption and the nose isn’t going to feel super clown chewy. And while this is far from being a straight liner and there are many better boards in Soul’s line, it does really good for what it is.

Base Glide

I love the upgrade to a black base. Sorry, I’ve neglected this ever since the new one arrived. But anyway, this base was good. I’m not a huge fan of clear bases, but it’s fine. This black base feels very good. It has very good wax retention. And although I’m not a huge fan of die cuts and I can feel this a little bit, I’m still just happy to have a black base. This is definitely upper tier for sure. It’s hard to complain about a base like this.

Powder

I didn’t really get this model in powder, but I did get the same exact shape and camber profile shift in powder with the older model. and you are so far set back on board that I never even set it back because this tail with such a massive cutout just sinks down and brings the nose up so high that I actually like being just more on what I think might be reference and that way it keeps the board from doing this and instead does this. This could be your dedicated powder board. There are some boards that are just a little bit better, but if you’re looking for a one-board snow surf quiver, man, there aren’t many boards that float this well. The spoon nose just makes turning in powder so smooth and fluid. The float is exceptional. This can handle low-angle powder no problem.

Yeah, longer boards do better in low-angle powder, but this is just so good in all kinds of powder. I don’t have many complaints here. You can ride this in just about anything and be happy. I also love the way this turns in the trees. It’s just so quick and easy. You can make hard rights, lefts, or swallow them through trees. And I never feel like I’m worried about the tail catching up or the turning radius messing with me as I get where I need to go. I love it.

My Final Thoughts

And overall, I just love this new construction combined with the old shape, camber, profile, side cut, etc. of the old shift. It’s an exceptional board. I can’t recommend this enough.

Davey’s Big Guy Take

Howdy y’all. Dave Boy here to give you a big guys perspective of the Soul Shift. I got this board out in a variety of conditions. I got it out in some semide snow, like 1 and 1/2 to 2 feet. Got it out on the deepest days of the year. Here we’re talking 3 4 feet springtime on some really good groomers. And I got it out late spring on some kind of messy groomers to see how it could handle having a crease or two down the middle of the run late season when it’s too slushy to get the perfect groom just to test the dampness and the carving and how good it holds an edge.

How It Was Tested

I rode this board in a 163. I rode it with size 12 Burton Ion boots 63 and 1/2 245.

Sizing

And this 163 was actually a really good shape. The sister swallowtail to this board, the blower, I would have liked to have sized that up a little bit actually. But this one, it was actually a frontfooted kind of weighted and down the line aggressive enough where it felt really good in a 163. Get that extra float from that swallow tail and you’re not struggling to stay nose up anywhere on the mountain.

This Board Rocks!

Great sizing. You could easily be 15 lbs, 20 pounds heavier than me and you got no problem floating around on this thing. This board rocks. This is a real good swallow tail. This is up there with the Carura Dart as two of my favorite versatile swallowes that you can ride all day. You can go out in the morning, get those soul turns, float all around the mountain, find a bunch of hidden stashes that no one else is getting to cuz they can’t float like you. It allows you to have just the most epic powder morning and then in the afternoon, midday, you link up with some buddies and you want to jump off some shit but you got your swallow tail. Don’t worry about it.

The camber between the feet allows this board to jump very well. I had no problem jumping eight or nine feet off of a cornice into a pretty steep run. Found quite a bit of natural side hits that I was popping off of on this. Really good pop. This board also is very damp. It holds a card really well. The camber between the feet doesn’t just allow for pops on all these.

It allows for good carving and it allows for you to like leverage onto the edge and hold that edge through uneven snow and just really plow through it and you don’t get that chatter feedback that you do with some other swallow tails. Overall, this is the type of board I want to add to my quiver. Super fun. You can take this out on the deepest of deep days, ride it all day or go out in in the springtime whenever there’s good groomers.

This is not just a powder board. This is a very fun board to take out and turn and a decently fun board to jump with. So, you’re not limited with Soul Shift 2027.