United Shapes Horizon Review – The Good Ride

How the United Shapes Horizon It Was Tested:

I borrowed the United Shapes Horizon for 2 days thanks to Gravity Sports at Mt Bachelor.

Ethics Statement:  I was not paid to do this review, and this comes from an honest objective perspective with no brand oversight.

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Size: 155
Days: 2
Conditions: Good Groomers with 1″ of thick wet snow on top and then another day with 4-6″ of thick pow. 
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10”, 185-190lbs). I’ve tested and compared 800+ boards
Boots: Ride Torrent
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Atlas
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Skyline Fuse 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):

Korua Otto, K2 Manifest, Yes Typo, Jones Frontier, Ride Algorythm, Ride Shadowban, Salomon Highpath, Yes Standard Uninc, Yes Basic Uninc, Capita Black Snowboard Of Death, Jones Rally Cat, Cardiff Crane, Cardiff Lynx, Nitro Alternator, Kind of the United Shapes Cadet but not quite.

Approximate Weight

(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 Horizon did not fit me like I thought it would for what they market as a freestyle and what I call an All Mtn board. I’m under the recommended weight and the width is great for size 9 boots but it feels small. I would need the 159 to have the feel I want. So I would size up one from your normal size in most situations. I wish they had a 157 or 156 that is the same width as the 158 Cadet. That would be ideal for me and would be great for an all-mtn board.

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 feel 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.

Here are some ideal US boot sizes for these boards.
143: 7-8
147: 7.5-8.5
151: 8-9
155: 8.5-9.5
159: 9-10

I would stay close to the United Shapes recommended weight ranges. 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

The United Shapes Horizon’s tapered directional shape doesn’t feel tapered, but that’s expected, as it is only 4mm. This board feels very centered, and despite the more directional shape, it feels more like a twin than it looks, especially when set up on reference stance.

Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

The United Shapes Horizon has a good bit of directional camber with a longer rocker before the longer nose and a shorter rocker before the chopped tail. It feels pretty stable and forgiving enough for most intermediate riders. It skids a turn moderately well if you get off your game but still gives you that full camber stability we all love when one footing off a chair or flat-basing down a cat track.

Edge Hold

The grip is good, but this is one area where I’d like to see improvement so it grabs a little better in harder patches of snow or ice. It’s far from bad, but compared to many disrupted sidecuts, it’s behind.

Flex Personality

For a board marketed as a “freestyle” ride by United Shapes, this is pretty stiff. The United Shapes Horizon is on the medium-stiff side of medium, but it’s still pretty easy to butter and doesn’t feel as demanding flex-wise on snow.  It’s softer than the Cadet but has a very All-Mtn flex and shape. There is upper-tier pop. It’s not all time, but it’s very good and easy to ollie for this flex.

The early rise before the nose and tail helps this butter pretty easily, and I liked the feel.

Uneven Snow

I like how this flex personality allows for all-day riding in hard or soft, uneven snow. I don’t think most would complain about this, and even though the 155 United Shapes Horizon felt a little small, it didn’t buck and bounce me around in some pretty unruly, uneven snow. It doesn’t look like it, but it was hard and uneven underneath and then soft and uneven on top, and most people could barely turn where I was doing pretty well.

Speed

The United Shapes Horizon isn’t a straight-liner, but it’s pretty fast for an all-mountain board. You can straight-line if you want to. There are faster/more damp boards out there, for sure, and the Cadet is better here, but this isn’t bad at all.

Base Glide

I love all-black bases like this; they are so easy to repair. When well waxed, like Gravity Sports did, they have upper-tier glide. It’s not the fastest, but it’s super far from being the slowest, and It’s what most expect at this price point. One thing I forgot to mention in the video is this has a little structure added, so it works in all conditions better. The board you will get will have a smoother/good snow tune that works better mid-winter and in pow.

Turning Experience/Carving

This turns quickly. So does the Cadet. They both turn much faster than you would think for their width. When on reference stance, the United Shapes Horizon carves very well and has a very centered/neutral feel that can be front foot, back foot, and center-weighted on a turn. There is good pop/spring out of a turn as well and this is a very competent carver. I liked carving when using the set back inserts as well.

Powder

Not many all-mtn boards have this kind of setback on board. Most good All-Mountain boards have a 2-3″ setback on board. The 155 United Shapes Horizon has a -4.375″ setback on board with a 22.25″ stance width. That is incredible and really sets this board apart from its peers. I love the way this rides on reference, and it’s a great board without this setback, but this is the gravy that makes this snowboard so delicious. Having a setback on board that is further than most freeride boards gives this very good float. The Cadet is better at 5.5″ at a 22″ stance width on the 158, but that is more of a directional ride for people who ride centered/switch less. That is unreal, as well, and both are standouts in their group.

This massive setback, if you have full-size discs (it doesn’t work with mini discs), really makes the United Shapes Horizon feel like you have 2 boards instead of one. It is an excellent example of what a one board quiver should be.

Switch/Jumps/Pipe/Jibs

Very doable switch and a great kicker board. I wouldn’t mind it in the pipe either but our pipe wasn’t built at the time I tested this. The stiffer flex of the United Shapes Horizon isn’t ideal for jibbing but good jibbers should have no problem with this.

Final Thoughts

So overall, I wish it had a little more grip for hard snow days and wish it came in different sizing for my specs and the kind of board this is but, like the Cadet, I’m going to be recommending this a ton. I haven’t tried another All-Mountain board like it.