YES Ghost Snowboard Review

O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Ghost is capable of.

Demo Info

Board: YES Ghost 2019, 156 (258mm waist)

Date: March 15, 2018

Conditions: Icy in a lot of places, especially first thing but even first thing there were some softer patches. Icy patches decreased and soft patches increased as the day went on. Sunny as! Clear blue skies. So, goes without saying 100% vis.

Bindings angles: +15/-15

Stance width: 540mm (21.3“)

Stance Setback: Centered

Width at Inserts: 269mm (10.6“)

Weight: 2840grams (6lb 4.2oz)

Weight per cm: 18.21grams/cm

Average Weight per cm: 18.21grams/cm* (so it’s bang on average)

*based on a small sample size of 24 boards that I weighed

Flex

Though YES’ flex ratings make more sense this season than they have in previous seasons (IMO) – they’re still off for the feel I get from their boards. The Ghost is rated 7/10 but it feels more like a 5/10 or just a little stiffer than that – so maybe a 5.5/10, but certainly not a 7/10 for feel on snow.

Feels just a touch stiffer than the Greats (which I’d rate 5/10) and a touch softer than the Standard (which I’d rate 6/10).

Powder

There wasn’t any powder to speak of on the day, but given the camber profile and the feel, it would be a little worse than the YES Greats in the deep stuff. So, not great. One thing that it does have going for it in terms of powder, is that it’s a wider board, so there is a good amount of surface area there.

It does also have the Directional Volume Twin shape though – which would certainly help, based on how that feels with the Standard – so that brings it back equal with the Greats, most likely, IMO.

Carving & Turning

This board is fun to carve and turn on. Like the YES Standard and Greats you can really get up on edge and rail a carve.

I found it ever so slightly less nimble/snappy than the Greats and Standard, but still not bad there at all.

Skidded turns weren’t the easiest but were easier than I expected given the camber profile.

Speed

The Ghost holds it own at speed, so when you want to bomb it can handle it, especially good for an almost twin board.

Let’s Break up this text with a Video

Uneven Terrain

It’s ok on uneven snow and crud but didn’t feel as good as the Greats or the Standard for me. But still not bad.

Jumps

This board is so much fun to jump with! Great pop, great for spinning, super stable on landings and agile yet stable on the approach. Basically everything you could want for jumps and ollies. The only reason I didn’t give it 5/5 is that it’s not perfect landing switch – but that’s clutching for things, as it was still sick for landing switch.

Switch

Pretty much the same riding in both directions. The Directional Volume Twin makes it not quite as good as it would be without it, but again, that’s really clutching at things, as it was a great board for riding switch.

Jibbing

I didn’t expect I would like it for jibbing, but it was actually ok. Not quite as good as I found the Greats to be on jibs but still jibable.

Buttering

One thing I noticed about all of the YES boards that I rode this season is that they seem to butter really easily. I wasn’t expecting it as much from the Ghost compared to the Standard and the Greats, due to the lack of rocker in the tip and tail but it felt pretty much just as easy to butter. Don’t know what they’re doing with the tip and tail to make them so easy to butter, but I like it.

Edge-Hold

Really good grip on hard snow and decent on icy patches.

Changes from the 2020 Model

The 2021 model looks to be the same as the 2020 model, apart from the graphic.

Changes from the 2019 Model

The 2020 model looks to be the same as the 2019 model. The one change is that they have now got “slam back inserts” like the Standard – so you can set it back further than you used to be able to. There is also a new size – the 167 – but other than that nothing seems to have changed, except for the graphic.

Changes from the 2018 Model

The main changes between the 2018 and 2019 model are:

• The name is now firmly “Ghost”. It was previously TDF (2017) and in the 2018 catalog it was TDF but was marketed as the “Ghost” and sometimes “TDF Ghost”. Now seems there’s not that confusion.
• The 2019 model has a new size, a 162
• New Poplar/Bamboo/Paulownia core. It’s the same materials but is supposed to be lighter and snappier. I can concur with the snappier. This core is also being used on the Greats and the Standard, and both of those, and this, felt snappier than the previous model, to me. I didn’t weigh any of the 2018 models that I demoed so I can’t objectively say that they are any lighter but they felt it.