Summary

The Yes Big City is basically a slight change from the now discontinued YES The Optimistic that was very popular in 2011.  The Big City is softer and comes in different sizes. We loved the YES Optimistic but the Big City is still one of our favorite boards when it comes to having a board that can ride the mountain very well and also gives borderline excellent performance in powder.

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Riding Style All Mountain
Riding Level Intermediate - Expert
Fits Boot size (US) 8-10, 10-12
Manufactured in
Shape Directional Twin
Camber Profile Hybrid Camber
Stance Setback -20mm
Approx. Weight Feels Normal
Split No
Powder Good
Base Glide Great
Carving Good
Speed Good
Uneven Terrain Great
Switch Good
Jumps Good
Jibbing Good
Pipe Good
On Snow Feel

Stable

Turn Initiation

Medium/Fast

Skidded Turns

Semi-Easy

Flex

Medium

Buttering

Semi-Easy

Edge Hold

Medium Snow

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YES Big City Snowboard Video and Written Review Review by The Good Ride

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.

Board Size 158 and 154
Riders: 2
Rider Specs-James, Jimbo a few other riders that aren’t on the About Us page.
Bindings Used- Burton Diodes
Boots: Burton SLX,
Days: 15+

If you are looking for a good all mountain all conditions ride and can only buy one board the YES Big City is a great choice and it is very very similar to the YES Optimistic that we loved last year.

Groomers– The YES Big City is very fun on groomers of almost any type or condition.  This is about the same as the YES Optimistic.  Its fast base, hybrid camber, and fun shape make it a good ride carving regular or switch down any groomer.  If you are all about groomers then this is a fast stable board.

Powder: The Big City has a 20mm set back and directional rocker which is pretty far for any board and especially far back for a directional twin.  The Optimistic had more like a 30mm set back or even more.  If you like to take a freestyle approach to powder you can center the stance and ride switch very well.  However, where this board shines is when you set it back ride directional and take advantage of the extra rocker in the nose. This year YES stepped it up and made an even more powder friendly board called the YES Pick Your Line which has the same setback, a bigger nose, and a slightly tapered tail so if you are all about powder go for that.  If you want one board for everything but live for powder than the YES Big City will be one of the better calls out there.

Turn Initiation– The Big City is very easy to turn despite its med/stiff flex.  If you haven’t ridden hybrid camber of this style it will take a few runs to get used to but once you do it will be very easy to initiate a short radius or long radius turn.

Speed: This base is really fast.  It keeps its momentum going even in the flats.  When you combine that with the very damp core you have a very fast board that can handle just about any speed.  It’s not going to keep up with a big racing board but it’s about as fast as you can get for an all mountain board.

Weight– The YES Big City runs a bit on the heavy side of things but it weighs less than the YES Optimistic from last year.

Edge Hold:  The Big City holds an edge well in most conditions the sane person likes to ride in. In really hard or icy conditions there are better boards out there.  We’d like to see YES add ultimate traction which is a very mellow version of magnetraction.  This would make the Big City have exceptional edge hold in just about any condition sane or insane people would ride in.

Flex: Softer at the tip and tail and very stiff between the feet.

Carving– For a mostly rocker hybrid camber board, the Big City is really fun to carve.  It’s not as much fun as the Rome Anthem or the Capita Black Snowboard of Death but it is still good for a belly scratching turn or two if the mood strikes you.  We always try to carve out a good turn or two every run and this was really really fun once you get used to it.

Switch: The Big City is a directional twin with a 2cm setback.  If you have this board centered instance it is very easy to ride switch.  Actually, we didn’t notice a difference switch or regular.

Rails/Jibbing: The YES is almost borderline rough when it comes to rails and jibbing.  If this is your thing then the YES Big City isn’t your board.  It’s just too stiff and will bonk you on any technical rails or jibs. The 2011 Typo or 2012 Basic will be a better option for this task.

Pipe: Just the opposite of Rails.  This holds an edge well enough to carve up any pipe and we had a lot of fun with this board through the super and super duper pipe.

Jumps: For some this board might be too stiff but for others, this could be ideal.  If you are into backcountry booters the Big City will be one of the best choices out there.  The Big City has decent pop and can be pretty springy.  We loved generating our own air on the mountain.

All in all the YES Big City is one hell of a good aggressive all mountain board that will ride well in almost any condition. This and the Capita Black Snowboard of Death were two of our favorite aggressive all mountain snowboards to ride for 2012.  Each has its own unique qualities.  We would say that if you ride more powder then the Big City would be the call because it has some of the best powder performance out of any board in this category we have ridden.  If you mainly ride harder conditions the Black Snowboard of Death will be the call due to its exceptional edge hold and fun carving ability.

 
YES Big City Specs

 
YES Big City Images

We try to get as many images of the YES Big City, but forgive us if they're not all there.

2012 - Optimized Images

YES Big City User Reviews

YES Big City Review And Buying Advice SKU UPC Model

Yes big city

Jul 12, 2013 by Jay
Ability Level: Expert • 
Riding Style: All mountain • 
Days You Ride A Year: 20ish 

Great for anywhere on the mountain. Right no about the charging hard and getting big air. Great in powder. Pretty stiff as far as jibbing, I'm probably gonna buy a better park board in the near future.
Just a great all around board for all mountain riders who don't frequent the park.


4.0 4.0 1 1 Great for anywhere on the mountain. Right no about the charging hard and getting big air. Great in powder. Pretty stiff as far as jibbing, I'm probably gonna buy a better park boa YES Big City Review And Buying Advice

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