Weston Dream Machine Snowboard Review by Jordan

Weston Dream Machine Snowboard Review-A Women's Perspective Review by The Good Ride

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• Product Specs
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How It Was Tested:

I borrowed the Weston Dream Machine for an extended demo and sent it back.

Size: 149

Days: 2

Conditions: Groomers, tracked-out powder, packed powder, and pockets of deeper snow.

Riders: Jordan (Size 8 Ws, 5’6”, 135-140lbs).

Boots: Salomon Dialogue

Bindings: Union Trilogy

Helmet: MOD1

Goggle: LineMiner Pro

Jordan’s Set Up: 19.5” Wide. Stance Angles +18/-9. Reference stance.

Ethics Statement

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Sizing

I was able to get on a 149. This size is recommended for riders from about 105 to 165 pounds.

The Dream Machine is available in a pretty wide range because it’s a unisex board. Sizes start at a 143 and go all the way up to a 164W.

If you are on the larger end of that size range, look out for reviews from my fellow reviewers. We have a Big Boy review and a standard men’s review that show how this board performs for larger riders.

Something unique about the Dream Machine, and many Weston boards, is the significant waist width. This accommodates a variety of boot sizes.

The 149 has a 24.2 cm waist width.

Shape & Setback

The Weston Dream Machine is a directional twin shape.

If you cut the board directly down the middle and folded it in half, it would have the same nose and tail. They would mirror each other.

However, Weston sets the stance back about 20 mm. With that 20 mm setback, the board still feels very centered because of the centered sidecut. It just adds a little directional feel.

At the 19.5-inch reference stance, you get about 0.75 inches of extra nose.

If you set the bindings all the way back to the furthest inserts, that increases the nose length by about two inches. This gives you more versatility in powder conditions.

However, it really is designed to ride like a twin.

Camber / On-Snow Feel

The Weston Dream Machine has significant camber that extends past the inserts, with rocker in the tip and tail.

It’s almost full tip-to-tail camber, with just a little rocker in the nose and tail. This gives it 113.4 cm of effective edge.

When skating or flat-basing on cat tracks, the camber gave the board a slightly catchy feeling.

Once I got onto steeper terrain and picked up speed, the board felt more stable off edge. The steeper the terrain, the better it felt.

This board needs weight, power, and force to manipulate it through more technical terrain.

For that reason, I recommend it for advanced to expert riders. It could also work for intermediate riders moving into steeper, more technical terrain. However, they need the skill set to produce enough power to flex through the camber profile.

Edge Hold

There is no visible edge disruption on the Dream Machine. According to the specs, there are slight variations in the sidecut.

In softer conditions, the edge hold felt okay. It gave me the feeling of locking in slightly.

However, once I got into harder conditions or the dust-on-crust conditions I experienced, that edge hold started to disappear.

There were several instances where I needed to stay on edge through trees, traverses, and consequential terrain. In those situations, the edge occasionally gave way, and I had to react to get myself back on the right path.

Increasing speed and vertical allowed the board to flex better. This helped me get the edge to grab.

Even during lower-angle turns, I noticed the board tended to skid instead of flexing completely through the turn.

Once again, steeper terrain improved the turning experience.

Flex Personality

The Dream Machine has a pretty hefty flex through the middle.

When you flex into it, though, you get really nice pop.

Moving toward the tail, it feels a little softer. You also have carbon stringers in there. The nose has a similar flex to the tail.

Overall, the middle of the board feels stiffer than the tip and tail. The carbon stringers also give the tip and tail a more powerful feel.

It takes some effort to access that flex, but there’s a lot of energy available once you get into it.

Uneven Snow

I was very pleased with how the Dream Machine, and really all the Weston boards I rode, maneuvered and charged through tracked-out and uneven snow.

The board has an incredibly damp feel. That helped keep it stable even as the terrain became chattery.

However, the board is set up as a twin. When the snow switched from packed to deep, it felt a little divey.

That can happen with a camber board, especially a twin. There isn’t a lot of extra nose, particularly at the reference stance where I rode this board.

I definitely needed to transfer my weight toward my back leg to keep the board above deeper, heavier snow.

Speed

This board felt capable of handling high speeds.

However, my lack of confidence in the edge hold, combined with the slightly squirrely feeling I occasionally experienced while flat-basing, made me avoid straight bombing on it.

It was fast to turn and held speed well while on edge. It also absorbed bumps and chatter on steep terrain.

I still consider this a very fast board.

Turning / Carving

The Weston Dream Machine is a directional twin with a variable sidecut radius of about 7.4 to 7.25 meters.

That’s a pretty middle-of-the-road sidecut radius that allows you to do quite a bit.

It’s also a camber board with a stiff construction. That lent itself to a great turning experience, but it required work on lower-angle green and blue runs.

I found myself in a power stance, really having to throw my weight into each turn. It was still fun, turned quickly, and definitely responded. However, fatigue started to play a role in the experience.

When I took it into steeper terrain, where I could play around with the turning radius, the board performed much better.

Adding the additional force created by riding steeper terrain made the board respond quicker and with less effort.

I could make quick turns through trees, as well as longer, laid-out carving turns.

Base Glide

The Weston Dream Machine comes equipped with a sintered base. This is really a performance-oriented base.

We received this as a demo board with the factory wax as-is. In that condition, it lacked a little base glide.

However, after applying weather-specific wax, the base glide improved significantly. That’s the case with most sintered bases.

This board will definitely benefit from regular, weather-specific waxing and professional tuning from time to time.

Remember, it is a tool. You need to take care of that tool.

Powder

I was able to get this board into about four to six inches of new snow, with some even deeper spots.

It handled okay, given that it is a twin shape.

The camber profile can feel a little divey at times. However, the small amount of rocker in the tip and tail helped lift the nose and keep it above lower levels of new snow when navigating through trees.

It maintained an enjoyable turning experience, but it still required some speed.

The board became harder to maneuver when the trees got dense and required me to slow down. I noticed this even more when transitioning into lower-angle slopes.

If you’re looking specifically for a powder board, this might not be it.

Weston also has the Gnarnia, which I had a chance to ride. That board definitely outperformed the Dream Machine in variable powder conditions.

Switch / Park

Given the aggressive nature of this board, it’s hard for me to imagine it in a park setting.

However, it is a twin shape and rides really well switch.

It also has great pop when you’re able to power through the camber and get into the meat of the board.

It popped well off edge and from a flat base. It just took some serious effort, especially from flat ground without much momentum.

With that said, the board could perform well in a park setting for advanced and expert riders who like to put a lot of power into their tricks.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the Weston Dream Machine is a great representation of the type of board you need for the big mountains of Colorado.

It is aggressive in nature, stable underfoot, and handles steeps like a dream.

The turning experience is fun and only improves as the rider steps up to harder terrain.

It is, however, limited in edge hold. It really needs softer terrain where the edge can dig in.

The board also requires regular waxing and tuning to keep performing at its full capacity.

An expert rider looking for a hard-charging board, but who doesn’t want to veer too far from classic positive camber and a twin shape, should find a lot to like in the Dream Machine.