United Shapes Cadet Limited Snowboard Review

An Un-Paid, Un-Biased Breakdown Of How the United Shapes Cadet Limited Rides Review by The Good Ride

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How The United Shapes Cadet Limited Was Tested:

I just straight up bought the United Shapes Cadet Limited with hard earned Good Ride $$ just because I liked the Cadet soo much.

Size: 158
Days: 6+ but own it and many more to come.
Conditions:  Mostly good mid winter to somewhat messy groomers to some varied spring snow but got deep pow with the Cadet
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/+3, +18/-6, +18/-9. Close to Reference on groomers and I’ll Set it all the way back when I get it in powder.

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same):

Amplid Souly Grail, K2 Alchemist, United Shapes Cadet, Burton Gril Master, Jones Flagship Pro, Salomon HPS Takaharu Nakai, Stranda Descender, YES Pick Your Line,

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Construction / Durability / Weight

The United Shapes Cadet Limited is lighter than the Cadet but not as light as many full on Ultralight snowboards out there. It feels like it’s just about the same durability of the regular Cadet but both top sheets can chip and scuff a little. (We don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores, there is no consistency in a board’s weight)

Sizing

The United Shapes Cadet 58 fits me really, really well. This seems like it would be a little bit on the wide side. This is not the case with this. The United Shapes Cadet Limited is the perfect size and handles my weight with no problem. If you’re a 9 to 10 boot, this will fit really well with the 58. I love this length for my height too. I was really surprised at how well this width performed for my specs.

Like most snowboard brands united shapes does not focus too much on boot size and focuses a lot more on weight and they should treat them equally. But at least they’re pretty good with 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

Here are some ideal US boot sizes for these boards.
150: 7-9
154: 8-9.5
158: 9-10.5
162: 10-11

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 United Shapes Cadet Limited has a very directional but not that tapered. The nose is much bigger and longer than the shorter chopped tail, and there’s only five millimeters of taper. So it doesn’t really feel that tapered, although it does feel pretty directional, especially when you’re on those setback inserts.

If you set it up on reference stance, you’re 2.625 inches back from center of board at 21.25 inches. If you want to set it all the way back for a powder day, or if you’re just in a really directional freeride mood, which I found works well, you can get 5.5 inches back from center of board at a very reasonable 22-inch stance.

That’s a very special thing compared to almost every other freeride board I’ve tried, especially those with setback inserts. The United Shapes Cadet Limited just goes further back. It transforms this from more of a centered big mountain feeling freeride board that can still turn quickly and have fun, to being a really set-back directional, riding-off-the-tail, surf-style floaty board. It has two personalities, and I love that aspect. It truly makes this a special one-board quiver, just like the Cadet.

Camber/On Snow Feel

The United Shapes Cadet Limited camber goes well past the inserts, almost to the tail. Maybe just a touch of early rise before the tail, and then there’s a mellow early rise before this long floaty nose. It’s not like full camber. It’s very forgiving, but it has all the good points of camber.

That consistent feel underfoot that’s stable, easy to one-foot and flat base in all conditions. It never changes its personality on you underfoot, but then it doesn’t catch very easy. Yes, it’s better for advanced expert riders, but I think a committed intermediate could have a pretty easy time with the United Shapes Cadet Limited.

Edge Hold

When it comes to edge hold, this is one place where I’d love to see an improvement. While I can ride on a hard day, I do have to dial back my turns more than some other boards. This is one area where I’d love to see the United Shapes Cadet Limited improve.

Flex Personality

The United Shapes Cadet Limited has a medium stiff flex for sure. There’s something interesting about this versus the regular Cadet. While the flexes are similar in terms of stiffness, you can just push this in further and it has more snap back. It’s a much more dynamic, poppy flex without being too chattery or cranky.

The nose is a little softer, then as you leave the early rise area and come into the camber profile, it stiffens up. From just a little above the front inserts down to the bottom, it’s pretty stiff, but it might be just a touch softer in that region. Overall, it’s a very fun, poppy, dynamic flex that’s definitely a step up from the regular Cadet.

Uneven Snow

When it comes to getting this in uneven snow, yes, it’s a little more bucky and a little more bouncy, but it’s manageable. It’s not that much of a compromise for that much extra pop.

Butters / Ollies / Air

When it comes to buttering, the  not the easiest to butter off the tail, but it’s very doable. In powder, when you’re on the setback inserts, you can wheelie up pretty easily and the nose allowed me to butter a lot easier. It holds well on a butter because there’s no lifted tech making the board wash out on the sides if you don’t butter perfectly center.

When it comes to ollie power, it was a good bump up from the regular Cadet. It just popped easier into the air and made my average riding look better. On reference, the United Shapes Cadet Limited has lots of landing gear and tracks really easy into side hits, launching off them well. It has upper-tier pop, not exceptional, but manageable pop that doesn’t buck or bounce you around too much.

Switch & Park

You can land this switch, especially on reference. It’s not bad for riding around all day. If you dabble in the park but also want a great board for the mountain, the Horizon might be better because it’s more centered, but the Cadet Limited still has a decent mountain freestyle personality for such a directional ride.

This isn’t really a board I want to take in the pipe just because its edge hold is not in that highest tier but it would be bad. It’s more middle-tier, and it’s not something I want to jib with either. But it has a decent freestyle personality for the mountain for such a directional board.

Turning/Carving

When it comes to turning, the United Shapes Cadet Limited initiated much faster than I thought it would. For this width, my nines felt totally fine with this. Getting off this and on narrower boards the same day didn’t feel much slower.

People often ask if it’s fast enough in the trees. Hell yes, it is. Especially if you’re like me and only in the trees on powder days on setback inserts. Even on reference, it’s not bad. It’s very good for turning in steep, tight spots too.

When you get this board on edge and engage into a harder turn, the spring out is very good. Again, the United Shapes Cadet Limited outshined the standard Cadet by a good bit. It has a 7.7m side cut. I’m not sure if it’s multi-radius since United Shapes is vague with their specs, but I could make circle carves easy with this. Carves, medium radius turns, and even drawn-out faster turns all worked really well.

Speed

The regular Cadet is a little better at speed, and there are boards that can straight-line faster and longer, but for being this light and poppy, the Cadet Limited is very good.

Base Glide

When it comes to base glide, I’m never a fan of clear bases, but this Limited base feels so much faster than the regular Cadet. I waxed up both, rode the same run, same boots, same bindings, and the United Shapes Cadet Limited had much easier glide. It kept speed better, retained wax well, and months later still wasn’t that dry.

Powder

The United Shapes Cadet Limited is just like the regular Cadet: same shape, same stance location, same amazing setback inserts that allow such easy directional float. With the small tail, little bit of taper, and long nose, the United Shapes Cadet Limited floats incredibly well. I rode the regular Cadet in thigh-high deep powder against dedicated powder boards and it held its own. This is almost as good as many dedicated powder boards that you only ride on deep days.

That’s what makes the United Shapes Cadet Limited so unique. If you can only take one board on a trip, this is the one.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, other than maybe not having the most competent edge hold, the United Shapes Cadet Limited shines. If you fit the available sizes (54, 58, 62), get this instead. That’s what I did, and I was so happy I did. I’d only get the regular Cadet if you ride a lot of really thick, wet, messy uneven snow.

As it stands, both of these are exceptional boards. The United Shapes Cadet Limited takes the favored award, while the regular Cadet still earns a strong consolation prize and stands above many other freeride boards.

There you have it.