Weston Backwoods Snowboard Video and Written Review Review by The Good Ride

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

Update 2023: The Weston Backwoods has not changed since this 2020 review. It’s still a board I love and own. So this review still stands for 2023. 

Ethics Statement: We don’t get paid by the manufacturer to write these reviews.  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.

How This Review Happened:  We borrowed this for an extended demo, liked it soo much we asked to keep it. It’s now in the favorite quiver.
Size: 157
Days: 6+
Conditions: Everything from somewhat harder groomers, good groomers in really good mid-winter snow, about 1foot of powder and then about 2 feet of powder on an early morning slackountry run with Drift Boards before the lifts opened.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-195lbs), Grant (Size 11 6’ 160lbs)
Boots: Adidas Tactical ADV
Insoles: Sandsole Custom Insoles,  Footprint Insole Technology Gameghangers Low Profile
Bindings: Union Atlas, Union Strata, Union Falcor

Similar Boards (but not the same):
Gentemstick Mantaray 156, Korua Dart, Korua Pencil, United Shapes Orbit, Yes Optimistic, Rome Pow Division MT

Set-Up: 22” Wide. 21 front -3 back. Close to Reference and Set all the way back. 21.5-22” Wide.

Approximate Weight: Feels normal and well built. Not super light or super heavy.

Sizing: The Weston Backwoods has an interesting personality. It rides quick and somewhat small in powder but then feels bigger on groomers. We’ll get more into that later…but at first, I was thinking the 160 would be a better fit until I rode it on groomers. Then I realized the 157 was the right size for my specs. Grant at a size 11 riding Adidas 10.5’s would have preferred to have the 160 or even better the 157w.  Like most boards, it’s best to size down a bit from your average freeride board but still keep the regular widths at 10 and under and then after size 10 consider the wides. If in doubt follow what they suggest because they built it. Sizing Recommendations

Flex/Buttering: So there is more camber than what you would think when looking at the pics on the Weston site so the tail can take some work but it is very doable with some effort. Especially in powder. There is a lot of energy in this flex and it snaps back well after you bend it.

On Snow Feel/Ability Level/Skidded Turns: Again about this camber and while it’s not a really high bow of camber it’s pretty long. That makes the Weston Backwoods on the semi locked-in side of the spectrum and it’s not as forgiving as you would think. It isn’t for intermediates that skid their turns a lot but it sure tracks well one footing off the chair or flat basing down a long flat run. The 18mm of taper is felt and like many tapered boards you need more weight on the back foot in groomers.

Edge Hold: The Weston Backwoods had a very competent grip and it held well in the harder snow. I would feel comfortable on a steep chute that has a few meters of ice before getting to the good stuff. There seems to be a slight disruption in the sidecut that isn’t mentioned but seems like it’s there. It’s very subtle but helps it do a little more in harder snow.

Turn Initiation:  On groomers, the Weston Backwoods initiated a turn somewhat slower than I expected but once the sidecut is engaged it can get into a pretty tight turn if you need to. In powder, it went from medium-ish to medium/fast.

Turning Experience/Carving: So the Weston Backwoods is a fun board to turn on groomers and lays out a very hard carve. You hear the word powder soo much with this board that groomer riding is almost ignored. I would not call this a powder board at all. It is a one board quiver that rides powder and groomers equally well. It requires more back foot weight to hold the tail through a harder turn but it feels good to be close to the center of the sidecut (only -10mm back on sidecut) when on reference and there is a lot of spring out of the turn.

Powder: So the Weston Backwoods was a pretty fun ride in the up to 2 feet plus of powder I had it in. This is definitely on the upper end of the float spectrum with the 18mm of taper and the early rise in the nose. With a 22” stance set all the way back, there was a nose/tail difference of 6.5” or 3.25” back from center of board. That’s good for more common freeride boards but not quite as far back as many Alternative Freeride boards that really ride on that tail. What this does is make it a great board for getting after steeper terrain and it really excels there. It gives you that surfy alternative freeride kind of ride but with a more centered/stable position on board for riding steeper terrain. In lower angle terrain it can take a little more back foot weight to get that tail to sink/keep the nose up compared to some of its peers that ride much further back on the tail, or that have less camber, but it’s not bad with a little attention. If you ride a lot of low angle powder then there are better rides but overall it floats really well. Also, this fast base helps make this board glide really well and it will help you get back to the chair without having to skate or walk out.

Speed: As I said above the base keeps its speed well but the Weston Backwoods also has a pretty damp medium/stiff flex that can point it.

Uneven Terrain: So, turning around really messy snow or bumps on a non-powder day is a little slow but very doable. Powering over chunder and slop is pretty good and Weston made a board that isn’t going to send a lot of the bad stuff going on under your feet up into your joints.

Switch: Doable if you need to but far from perfect.

Getting Air/Park: There is a lot of pop on the tail and the Weston Backwoods is very competent for getting air. In comparison to many Alternative Freeride boards, there is more tail so it doesn’t have that sketchy component when you leave the snow for 1 to many seconds. Pipe would be ok too as it would carve a wall well and pop out well too.

So, all in all, the Weston Backwoods was a pretty impressive ride. It’s a great board for those that have steep terrain to ride in powder but also need that same board to rip groomers.