4 new boards grace the 2023 YES snowboards lineup, with 3 of them being Uninc models. 3 drop out (including 2 Uninc models). Plus plenty of retooling ant tweaks to returning models.
First I will take a look at any new boards for the 2022-23 season, and any 2021-22 boards that aren't returning with a 2023 model.
Then I'll place each board into the categories where I see them fitting best and then look at the changes for returning models.
New 2023 YES Snowboards
The new boards for 2022-23 are:
Exiting 2022 YES Snowboards
The 2022 boards that aren't returning with a 2023 model:
All 2023 YES Snowboards by Category
Below, I have categorized YES' 2022-23 lineup. This is according to the categories here at SnowboardingProfiles.com and not necessarily the same as how YES might label them.
Of course these are only broad categories as every board is different, but this is a rough guide.
YES BEGINNER SNOWBOARDS
Men's
Women's
YES PARK/FREESTYLE SNOWBOARDS
Men's
Women's
YES ALL-MOUNTAIN-FREESTYLE SNOWBOARDS
Men's
Women's
YES AGGRESSIVE ALL-MTN-FREESTYLE SNOWBOARDS
Men's
YES ALL-MOUNTAIN SNOWBOARDS
Men's
Women's
YES FREERIDE SNOWBOARDS
Men's
YES POWDER & SHORT/WIDE SNOWBOARDS
Men's
YES SPLIT BOARDS
Men's
YES YOUTH SNOWBOARDS
Summary
So there you have the 2023 YES snowboards.
Out with the Old
The most notable drop out is the The Y, which gets merged with the Optimistic now, so there's just one model (previously The Y was like a toned down version of the Optimistic).
The Hybrid Uninc DCP and 420 Uninc JPS are both also dropping out, but the Uninc models tend to change each year, so not a big surprise that they aren't returning with a 2023 model.
Note also that it looks like the Emoticon, Fun Inc and Pow Inc are gone, but they're just name changes - to Women's Basic, First Basic and First Pow respectively.
In with the New
4 new boards grace YES' 23 lineup, with 3 of them being Uninc models. The PYL and Standard both get Uninc models - and the new Warca is also an Uninc model.
The other new board, the 420, isn't really new, but returning. And you could argue that it never left with the 420 Uninc JPS model last year. However, the 420 has been retooled.
Differences between the 2023 420 and the 2022 420 Uninc JPS include: 7/10 flex rating versus 8/10 on the 22 Uninc version. Biax now (23 model) versus triax on 22 Uninc model. Camber on the 23 model vs blended rocker + camber on the 22 Uninc model
The 2021 model of the 420 was also quite different: It was an extruded base for start vs sintered on both 22 and 23. Plus it was 5/10 flex rating - full poplar core, blended rocker, biax glass.
Changes to Existing Models
In addition to the new models and the retiring models, YES have made a few tweaks to their returning models, including:
- Pick Your Line: 7/10 flex on the 23 model vs 8/10 flex on the 22. Poplar/Paulownia core on 23 vs "weightless" on 22. Triax + ash veneer on 22 vs just triax on 23 model.
- Hybrid: Camber looks to have changed from 1-4-1 to 1-4-2
- Optimistic: Is kind of a hybrid of the 22 Optimistic and the 22 The Y. Core changed from "carbon powerdrive 2.0" to "poplar/paulownia". Glass gone from triax + carbon on 22 model to Biax on 23 model. Flex down from 9/10 on 22 model to 8/10 on 23 model. Camber changed from full camber to Camrock 2-4-2.
- 20/20: Core changed from "weightless" to "poplar/Paulownia" but that could just be a name change?
- 420 Powder Hull: Core changed from "weightless" to "poplar/Paulownia" but that could just be a name change
For all Snowboarding Profiles' YES reviews, check out the link at the button below.
Hello Nate,
I just found a 20% deal for 2022 PYL. Do you think there’s a big difference between 2023 Unic and 22-PYL? I don’t really care about the top sheets images.
I currently have a 151 great for day drive and 154 Burton big gulp for powder trip. I would like to add a board like XV or PYL in my quiver.
Location : Quebec ( icy east coast).but I do 20 days trip to Canadian Rockies every year.
Thank you!
Hi James
The ’22 PYL and ’23 PYL are a little different. The main difference, IMO, is that the ’22 is stiffer than the ’23. The ’23 is what I would consider around a 7/10 flex, with the ’22 model feeling more like 8/10. I personally prefer the slightly softer ’23 model as I find it more maneuverable at slower speeds but is still plenty stable at speed for me. I’m not riding at break neck speeds but do enjoy a little bit of speed. But you might prefer the extra stiffness, depending on how you think you’ll be riding it.
Note that the smallest size for the PYL is a 156. Though, the 156 will probably still feel slightly smaller overall versus the 154 Big Gulp because of how wide the big gulp is.
Hey man! I love your site and reviews!
I currently have a 2020 PYL 162 and a The Greats Uninc 156. I’ve lost weight and struggled a little bit with the trees last year on our SnowCat trip last year.
Im thinking of picking up the 2023 PYL and I would be curious to your size suggestions. I’m 6’ and about 185-190 most of the time.
What other differences should I expect?
Hi Jeremy
Thanks for your message.
Not much has changed with teh PYL since the 2020 model. The 2020 model was the year it got a little stiffer compared to the 2019 model. The 2023 model has gone back to being more like the 2019 model in terms of flex. But otherwise it’s pretty much unchanged. That slightly softer flex does help in the trees though, it enables you to throw the board around a little easier and just a little more maneuverable at slower speeds.
Size-wise, I wouldn’t say the 162 is wrong for your specs, but you could certainly also ride the 159 – and that would again give you more maneuverability – at the sacrifice of a little stability at speed and float in powder. I am similar specs (6’0″, 180lbs, US10 boot) and I would ride the 159 every time. I prefer to err a little shorter though, so I wouldn’t say the 162 is wrong for you, but the 159 is also an option and based on what you’re describing, I would be leaning towards it, assuming you were OK with taking a small hit in terms of powder and speed. But if you could also let me know your boot size, that would be great, just to confirm sizing.
Hope this helps
Thank you for the response! My foot size is 9.5 but I wear a 9 in 20/21 ride insano boots on 20/21 Flux XVs for this particular setup.
I also prefer my boards smaller if possible. I was considering a 156 but a 159 does sound better. I also like the graphic on this years better, not that it would cause the change, but icing on the cake I guess.
I think I will go with the 159! Thank you!
Hi Jeremy.
Yeah with that boot size I think the 159 should work well. The 156 is getting a little small for you for this board. I think the 159 would be your best bet and should work well with your foot size too.
The 20/20 goes unchanged from MY2022 to MY2023.
As you suspected, ‘Weightless’ is just the name they sometimes use for their Poplar/Paulonia core, both terms were used last year and this year depending where… but, both are actually not right anyway, YES are a bit inconsistent in their documentation.
The 20/20 should be listed as having their ‘Coreless’ core that is specific to the 20/20. That’s a Poplar/Paulownia core but with two bamboo stripes near the center to make it stiffer/snappier and the core has a slightly thicker profile near the tips to allow the complete milling out of the PH areas without the tips becoming too floppy.
Here’s an image of all their 2023 cores: https://ibb.co/bbFy4Y3
Hi Dan
Thanks for that. Good to get that cleared up. And yes, I agree YES are pretty inconsistent with their documentation. Their stance width specs are often out of whack too.
I suspect they just offload the production and management of their website and marketing documentation to a cheap company on the outside as on top of the tech information errors, there are a lot of typos, grammar errors and pages with contradictory informations. I wouldn’t be suprised if their website was handled by people who don’t speak much english and know nothing about snowboards… or even about snow!
With that, they make wonderful boards though (that 20/20 is particularly impressive, super versatile and surprisingly great even on non-powder days), and the customer support is excellent as well, so I don’t mind supporting them, they put the energy where it matters most IMO.
Hi Dan
Agreed, I’m definitely a fan of their boards – and that’s the main thing
Hi Nate,
I’m looking into freeride boards… and of course looking into the PYL.
I know it’s easy look into the spec sheets too much… but wanted to get your opinion on the role of material lay-up inside the boards.
I notice the PYL, Standard, Warca etc. all Don’t have any additives likes carbon, basalt, flax, Kevlar etc. Almost all other brands with $500+ are loaded with these additives…
It seems you rated most YES boards really well, and looking at your reviews, don’t think you mention their boards lacking pop/dampness…
So my question is kind of this….are all the carbon beams, rods, impact plates etc . All kind of useless/marketing jargon? Would boards like the Standard or PYL be much better or improved if it features carbon strips like other boards?
Thanks!
Hi Sam
Thanks for your message.
I purposely don’t think too much about the construction materials of boards. Mostly because I want to go into a snowboard test without that stuff on my mind, so I can just assess the feel of the board with as little bias as possible. So, to be honest I don’t take that kind of stuff into account on purpose, so I couldn’t say for sure. Also, you can get information about all that stuff direct from the brand’s website, so I don’t see it as adding a lot of value.
That said, assuming that YES don’t use all those additives (maybe they do and just don’t market it – though you’d think they would), then I’m not sure what adding them would do to be fair. I wouldn’t say YES boards are the most poppy going around, to be fair, but they’re not super lacking in pop either, so maybe adding some stingers or something like that would improve that area, not sure. In terms of dampness I have found YES boards to be at very least average, if not above average, depending on the board. YES boards aren’t super heavy but they’re not super light either, so I’m not sure if adding too much of that stuff would make them too heavy (then again maybe those impact plates or whatever wouldn’t add that much weight if it’s replacing part of the wood core?), but also simply being not-too-light, I assume, helps with dampness as well. But really I’m just spitballing here, because it’s not an area I focus on a great deal, for the reasons mentioned above. I try not to let the tech/marketing influence what I think of a board.
IMO YES make great boards – and maybe they could be improved with adding more things to their boards or maybe it wouldn’t make much difference. Could also be the case that to make a board lighter, those additives are necessary to add strength and dampness to the board that it may not otherwise have if it’s too light? So if you want a lighter board that doesn’t just break or is super chattery, then some of those additives are necessary. And YES just isn’t that concerned with making their boards super light? Dunno. Again, just spitballing.
Hi Nate,
Whats the call on PYL 23 vs PYL23 uninc. I’m a strong intermediate looking for step up board from the Never Summer Westbound. Like to charge but not all the time, love to carve and side hits, powder of course when I can. Riding in New Zealand, but hit Jackson Hole every year/2 years for a couple of weeks.
Hi Dave
Thanks for your message.
Because you’re strong intermediate and because you like to charge but not all the time I think the PYL will be your best bet. The PYL Uninc is a little burlier and it’s something that you’d want to be charging on most of the time. The PYL 23 is burly enough as it is, but gives you that little bit more forgiveness when you don’t want to have to charge. And it’s better for sidehits, IMO.
Hope this helps
Thanks for the response – much appreciated. 🙂