The Bataleon Cruiser has powder in the front of its brain and can get a bit sleepy and bored when there is none.
But when the powder comes, this board will come alive and come into its own.
In this review, I will take a look at the Cruiser as a mellow freeride snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Cruiser a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other mellow freeride snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Bataleon Cruiser
Price: $549
Style: Mellow Freeride
Flex Rating: Medium (6/10)
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (bordering on mid-stiff) (6.5/10)
Rating Score: 83.3/100
Compared to other Men’s Mellow Freeride Boards
Of the 28 current model mellow freeride snowboards that we tested:
❄️ The Cruiser ranked 24th out of 28
Overview of the Cruiser’S Specs
Check out the tables for the Cruiser’s specs and available sizes.
STYLE:
mellow freeride
PRICE:
$549 - BUYING OPTIONS
Ability Level:
flex:
feel:
DAMPNESS:
SMOOTH /SNAPPY:
Playful /aggressive:
Edge-hold:
camber profile:
Traditional Camber
TRADITIONAL CAMBer - But doesn't feel like it because of the 3BT. Bataleon's "Medium Camber"
SHAPE:
setback stance:
Setback 20mm (0.8")
BASE:
Sintered- Bataleon's "Ultra Glide S"
weight:
FELT A LITTLE HEAVIER THAN Normal
Camber Height:
11.5mm!
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
151 | 257 | 136-180 | 62-82 |
154 | 260 | 150-194 | 68-88 |
156 | 262 | 156-200 | 71-91 |
159 | 265 | 169-213 | 77-97 |
161 | 267 | 180-224 | 82-102 |
164 | 270 | 191-235 | 87-107 |
Who is the Cruiser Most Suited To?
The Cruiser is best suited to anyone who wants a board predominantly for powder riding.
It's not a one-trick powder pony, but that's where it's most suited. So, not going to be a one-board-quiver for most - unless you're lucky enough to see powder often and choose to go only when there's powder.
For most this board would work best as the powder compliment to a quiver. That quiver might have a daily driver and/or park board in it, for example.
Not for beginners, but solid intermediate riders shouldn't have any trouble with it.
TEST/REVIEW DetailS FOR THE Cruiser
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Cruiser is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Bataleon Cruiser 2025, cm (mm waist width)
Date: March 13, 2024 (and March 20, 2024)
Powder
Had some weird conditions, as described above, so didn't get a real feel for it - not on either day. The first day should have felt like a powder day, but didn't. The second day was pretty slushy.
But this board has all the hallmarks of being good in powder. It's got that 3BT base, with Bataleon's "high uplift" in the nose and "low uplift" in the tail, plus a very directional shape, with 17mm of taper.
Carving
Could put in a decent carve on it, once adapting to that deeper engagement point (that I find with Bataleon's 3BT boards). Best for longer radius, higher speed carves, but that was partly down to size - the 159 was longer than what I would typically have gone with.
Turning
Ease of Turning/Slashing: Wasn't the easiest to initiate turns on. Required some energy. Again that was partly down to size.
Maneuverability at slow speeds: First day (with the weird conditions, see above) it took a lot of effort to get this thing going edge-to-edge and still couldn't get it moving edge-to-edge that quickly. This was partly down to the size (I'd usually ride shorter than a 159 in a board this wide).
The second day it felt more nimble. Still not super nimble, but much better.
Catchiness: On Day 1, this was the most catchy experience I have had with a Bataleon board, which tend to be pretty catch-free, such is the nature of the 3BT base. But this felt quite catchy in the tail on day 1.
On day 2, it felt more like a Bataleon board, without that catchy feeling. Could still detect it, but it wasn't nearly as prominent as on day 1.
Speed
It felt really stable at speed and decently chatter free, on both days. But again size taken into account, it wouldn't feel quite as good on a the 156, which is likely what I'd have ridden this board in, if it was available.
Uneven Terrain
Crud/Chunder: Was really good. Size helped here. And particularly on day 2 I quite enjoyed in the larger size.
Trees/Bumps: On day 1, it was quite fatiguing to ride in the trees. A bit of a chore to be fair, and that size didn't help in this case. It was certainly more nimble feeling on day 2 and went better in trees for sure. With powder in trees, it should feel really good, particularly in a smaller size (less float, but better weaving in the smaller size).
Jumps
Not the greatest aspect of this board. It's more of a stay on the snow board, in my opinion. But you can certainly use it to get air on occasion. I just wouldn't use it, if I was planning on taking to the air a lot on the day.
Pop: I found it relatively difficult to extract its pop. Not super hard, but compared to other Bataleon's there was more effort involved here. Total pop was fairly lacking too, which was puzzling when I measured the board afterwards and found that it had 11.5mm of camber!
Approach: Nice and stable, but more difficult to make adjustments. Part of that was size (being bigger than optimal for me).
Landing: Solid on landings, but not super forgiving on tail heavy landings of if you don't land straight.
Side-hits: Wasn't my kind of board for side-hits.
Switch
It was ok but a little strange. And while transitions were ok, they weren't ideal.
Spins
It felt big and heavy and cumbersome to spin and not great for setups and landings. Switch setups and landings also not great. Slightly catchy in tail.
Jibbing
Definitely not what this board is made for and not its forte.
Butters
It buttered pretty well given its overall feel. It was good for locking in, when you got to that lock in point. Tail wasn't as pressable as nose bit still decently so. But nose was longer and a little bit awkward but still doable.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
| FACTOR | Rating (/5) | Weighted |
|---|---|---|
| Powder | 4.5 | 27/30 |
| Turns | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
| Carving | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Trees | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
| Crud | 4 | 8/10 |
| Speed | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Jumps | 3 | 3/5 |
| Switch | 2 | 2/5 |
| TOTAL (after normalizing): | 84.3 | 83.3/100 |
The Cruiser is first and foremost a powder board, but it's not bad on a carve on the groomer and handles messy snow well. But it's still the kind of board I wouldn't see as a one-board-quiver for a large majority of riders. But could make a nice compliment to a quiver as its powder specialist.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
To learn more about the Cruiser, or if you're ready to buy, or if you just want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.
To check out some other mellow freeride snowboard options, or to see how the Cruiser compares to others, check out our top rated mellow freeride snowboards by clicking the button below.
I’ve ordered it on sale for $295 for the southern hemisphere season. There are mixed reviews on the 2024 due to the new factory but I expect it to enlarge the board quiver to my Bataleon disaster.
Hi Fredd
I recently rode the 2025 model and while I didn’t like it as much as the 2023 model we tested 2 years ago, it was still a good board (and I also tested the 159 for the 2025 model, which felt too big for me). And it will make a really good compliment to the Disaster, IMO.
Great review! I’m keen on this board but wondering about sizing. Im size 11uk boot, 85kg. I’d really like to be able to get my rear binding to 0 or at least closer to it (currently im at 18 -12 on a 158W Goliath), so was considering the 164 as it has 270 waist. Do you think it would be too much board for me? Just not sure the 159 would be wide enough to start playing with some more forward angles without toe drag risk.
Cheers
Hi Matt
Thanks for your message.
Yeah it could be pushing it width-wise on the cruiser, since it’s narrower at that back insert. Assuming a 22″ stance width, you’d be looking at around 27.2cm at the back insert. With a 0 degree angle and with an assumption of around a 33cm outer boot length, you’d be looking at around 5.8cm of total overhang (or 2.9cm per edge, with perfect boot centering). Unless you’re not really carving, that would be quite risky in terms of boot drag, IMO. If you’ve got low profile boots, that could come down by as much as 1cm, depending on how low profile they were. At 2.4cm overhang per edge, you’d be a lot closer to getting away with it. Still, if you were really deep in your carves, it could still be pushing it, but if you’re carves are more moderately deep, then I’d be pretty confident at that level.
Unfortunately a 3 degree angle doesn’t do much, so that wouldn’t help a whole lot.
In terms of whether the 164 would be too much board. Good possibility, IMO it would be too much. But if you could also let me know your height. Whilst weight is more important for length sizing, IMO, I still like to take height into account – for the leverage factor.
Hi Nate,
Thanks for the reply, some amazing insight there. So my current board is about 276 at the inserts, which would put the 159 Cruiser even narrower at the rear, and I definitely don’t want to go any narrower I don’t think. My boot is about 32.5 cm, so slightly low profile but not enough to make a huge difference.
I’m 6’1″, and interestingly I have read a couple of reviews (Whitelines and another I think?) where they mention sizing up on this isn’t too bad as it has quite a bit of extra length in the nose over the effective edge. I don’t mind the extra perceived stiffness of a larger board either, my current deck is rated stiffer than the Cruiser anyway and I want it for carving / pow, so I don’t see that as a bad thing.
Thanks for your help!
Hi Matt
Yeah, it’s not an overly stiff board. And like you say, it does have a long tail, so it’s the kind of board (like most directional/freeride boards) you can size longer. For your specs, I would put your “standard all-mountain length” at around 161. I wouldn’t typically size up more than 2-4cm for a freeride board, but the 164 is within that range for you, so it’s definitely doable.
Ok that’s interesting, thanks so much for the reply(s). Cheers Nate!
You’re very welcome Matt. Happy riding!