United Shapes Transmission Snowboard Review

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

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

How The United Shapes Transmission Was Tested:

Thanks to Mt. Bachelor’s shop I was able to borrow and ride this.

Size: 154
Days:1
Conditions: Freezing Fog but good groomers. I only had one day but used to own the Orbit, the predecessor to the Transmission with a very similar shape / camber profile / sidecut so it’s a board I needed zero time to get to know.
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, Union Atlas
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Skyline Fuse 3L Jacket
Pant: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant
Helmet: Smith Method, Smith Scout, Smith Maze
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. Close to Reference.

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same):

Gnu Gremlin, Salomon Dancehaul, K2 Excavator, Stranda Biru, Telos Backslash,

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Construction / Durability / Weight

The top sheet can chip and scuff easier than some brands I’ve tried but overall it’s not bad. (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 Transmission 154 fit my specs well enough and I would not want any more than this for what it’s designed to do.

United Shapes doesn’t do a very good job (like most brands out there) when recommending sizes. They are pretty good with recommended weight but have very little guidance with boot size.

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

154: US 9-10

159: US 10-11

Shape / Setback

This is tapered and directional, but it only has six mil of taper. It feels very centered between the feet. It doesn’t feel like you’re riding near the tail.

Camber/On Snow Feel

The United Shapes Transmission has s a decent amount of camber. It starts just a little bit before the tail begins, goes well past the inserts, and then has a little bit of early rise before the nose. Because you ride this shorter and wider than you would other boards like the Cadet or the Horizon, this does feel a little more technical, a little more locked in for the camber profile it has. I’d say advanced to expert riders are best for this. It does track really well and has that mostly camber kind of feel that a lot of people really appreciate, including yours truly.

Edge Hold

I felt like the United Shpaes Transmission had just a little more grip than the Horizon and the Deep Reach as well. I think that stiffer flex and the same amount of dampness holds that edge a little better than the other United Shapes boards. But if this had a slight disruption, it would make it even better in hard to icy snow. As it stands now, it’s an amazing board for hard carving in good conditions and borderline hard snow.

Flex Personality

The United Shpaes Transmission is more on the medium stiff bordering on the stiff side of things. It’s a little softer in the nose but pretty stiff throughout most of the board. There’s some energy, but it takes work to get it to really pop. Not too much but more than many other boards out there.

Uneven Snow

I thought the United Shpaes Transmission did really well for a 154 short wide like this in the soft uneven snow I had. And I know from my good friends at Mount Bachelor that this handles hard, uneven snow pretty well too. Not amazing, but very good. Again, for what it is, you could do a lot worse for all-day riding with a board like this. It’s still fatiguing, a little hard to ride because of its stiffer flex if you’re riding in uneven snow all day, but it’s good for what it is.

Speed

The 54 United Shpaes Transmission feels more like 162. It’s got power, it’s got drive. It can keep its speed really well. This side cut doesn’t want to fight you. It’s a very damp, fast board for a 54.

Base Glide

The base glide is good but not great. It’s a little soft and you have to wax it every few days or it starts to get dry and thirsty. I do love an all-black base like this though b. They’re easy to repair.

Turning/Carving

This is why you buy the United Shpaes Transmission. This drives and carves so hard. It’s such a satisfying, fun turner. It’s not quick for turn initiation, but once you get it on edge, it’s a very balanced turning radius. It can cross the groomer and circle carve pretty well.

But where it shines is those medium radius turns and carves, especially harder carves. The more you engage this at decent speed and the more down the line you go, the better this carves. It has really good spring out of the turn, and you can engage this board into a turn any way you like. You can front foot, center weight, or back foot weight these turns and it won’t feel washy. This is a really fun overall turning experience, and I had a blast on this.

Switch / Park

One thing I do like about this is you can carve this switch pretty well. There’s not a lot of taper and it has a centered feel on board. So if you like to throw it around and carve switch, do some reverts, that kind of thing, this is going to work very well for you there.

Powder

I really do miss the set back inserts that they used to have on the Orbit, the predecessor to the Transmission. With my old Orbit 151, I could get 5.75 inches back from center of board with a 21.75-inch stance width. That is incredible for a little 51 short wide.

With this new 54 Transmission, I could only get 3.875 inches back from center of board with a 22-inch stance width. So I really wish they put set back inserts on here because it would make this board a much more versatile one-board quiver and make it much better in powder.

As it stands, almost four inches back from center of board isn’t terrible, but it was just so much better back in the day that it makes it a little more one-dimensional, a little bit more of a centered ride. For those who don’t like to set back in powder, it doesn’t have that versatility it used to, and I miss that.

Final Thoughts

And overall, I think this Transmission was amazing for going out and carving in good conditions and even slightly varied conditions. I love that it works for any kind of stance, with any kind of stance angle, any way you’d like to weight your turns. And I think that’s a great thing. I just wish it had set back inserts like it used to with the Orbit. But as it stands now, the United Shapes Transmission is a great carver. There you have it.