Hello and welcome to this YES Rival snowboard review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Rival as a freestyle snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Rival a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other women's freestyle snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: YES Rival
Price: $529
Style: Freestyle
Flex Rating: Medium (6/10)
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (5/10)
Rating Score: 91.8/100
Compared to other Women’s Freestyle Boards
Of the 18 current model women's all-mountain snowboards that we tested:
❄️ The Rival ranked 1st out of 18
Overview of the Rival’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Rival’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Freestyle |
Price: | $529 - BUYING OPTIONS |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Smooth or Snappy: |  |
Dampness: |  |
Playful/Aggressive: |  |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | Centered |
Base: | Sintered (YES' "Sintered True") |
Weight: | On the slightly heavier side of normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
140 | 230 | 90-120 | 40-54 |
144 | 233 | 100-130 | 45-59 |
149 | 236 | 100-150 | 45-68 |
152 | 240 | 120-160 | 54-72 |
Who is the Rival Best Suited To?
The Rival is best suited to someone with a freestyle first mentality but still wants to be able to ride fairly quickly and carve well.
In terms of park, this is a board you can go big with, so if you like bigger jumps/tricks it's got you covered. But it does just as well on smaller jumps/features. It's got a little bit of playfulness to it, but it's not one of those park boards that's super soft/playful but if jumps are your thing, then this board has it all.
It's not great for powder but for a camber twin, it's pretty good.
You could quite easily call this an all-mountain freestyle board and you wouldn't be wrong, but it's so good for freestyle, that it just had to be in this category.
It's not a super challenging ride, but still not for beginners. You'll want to be at least intermediate to get this board.
The Rival in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Rival is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: YES Rival 2022, 149cm (236mm waist width)
Date: March 3, 2022
Conditions
Cloudy with some patches of blue at times. Really high cloud so visibility was all good.
Temperature was -2°C (28°F) degrees. No wind.
24hr snow: 4cm (1.5")
48hr snow: 23cm (9")
7 day snow: 64cm (25")
On groomer: Some icier sections in places but for the most part medium firmness with some softer areas. Fair bit of crud with not all that much groomed but some well groomed areas as well.
Off groomer: Some left over freshies! Untracked in places even. Mostly tracked but some nice untouched spots to explore.
Set Up
Bindings angles: +15/-12
Stance width: 520mm (20.5″)
Stance Setback: Centered
Width at Inserts: 251mm (9.88")
Weight: 2700g (5lbs, 15oz)
Weight per cm: 18.12g/cm
Average Weight per cm: 17.29 grams/cm*
*based on a small sample size of around 30 women's boards that I've weighed in 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 models. The Rival is a heavier than normal on the scales. On snow felt a little heavier than normal but pretty close to normal.
Tester: Jade
Rider Height: 5'7" (170cm)
Rider Weight: 145lbs (66kg)
Rider Boot Size: Women's US6.5 Thirty Two Exit
Bindings Used: Burton Lexa, Medium
Powder
Not bad in powder for a twin. Jade was pleasantly surprised with how well it kept afloat in the powder we had.
Still never going to be the boss in powder - it is a true twin, cambered board after all, but probably the best twin camber you'll ride in powder.
Carving
Jade felt that the Rival was an excellent board to carve with. She said she was able to really dig in and lean in to an edge.
Turning
Ease of Turns/Slashing: Pretty easy to in initiate turns on and quite effortless.
Maneuverability at Slow Speeds: Really decently quick edge-to-edge.
Skidded Turns: Able to execute skidded turns without too much fear of catching edge. Surprisingly good for a full camber board.
Speed
Given how well suited this board is to freestyle/park riding, it felt fast and capable of handling a really good amount of speed and remaining stable.
Uneven Terrain
Crud: It was able to smash through crud pretty well. Even when it did get a little bucked around, it was pretty easy to correct.
Bumps/Trees: Heaps of fun in trees. Has the maneuverability and not overly stiff so you can hug the bumps well.
Let's Break this Text up with a video
Jumps
This board was unsurprisingly fun on jumps! It felt very stable on the landings and had a little bit of pop and a bit of a playful feel.
Pop: This board was so fun with it's poppy playful feel! You could really feel it on side hits and jumps. Super fun!
Approach: Great on the approach. It was easy to adjust you speed coming into the jump and to maintain control. But at the same time, when you need to bomb it on a faster approach it can handle that well too.
Landings: Landings were quite damp with this board. They felt really solid. It felt like it would be difficult to shake a landing with this board. But even though you could really stomp a landing on it, it wasn't unforgiving when you got it wrong.
Side hits: This board was super fun on side hits! I had a lot of fun with it. Easy to maneuver on the approach, good pop and great on uneven landings.
Small jumps/Big Jumps: Handles all types of jumps really well!
Switch
It's very comfortable riding switch on this board. It's got the specs for it - and it felt easy transitioning into switch and never felt like catching an edge.
Spins
It has all the ingredients as a good spinning board and shouldn't disappoint. The only thing stopping it from being perfect is that it's a little heavier than normal - but otherwise, it's pretty much ideal: Good setting up/taking off switch, good pop etc.
Jibbing
Whilst it's not as good down the jib line as it is down the jump line, it's still something that can tackle boxes/rails etc well, particularly if you're experienced on them.
Butters
It's easier to butter on that you'd think at first. It's something that you've got to put a bit of weight/effort into, but when you do, it bends quite nicely.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | Contribution to Final Score | |
|---|---|---|
JUMPS | 5.0 | 20/20 |
JIBBING | 4.0 | 16/20 |
SPINS | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
SWITCH | 4.5 | 9/10 |
BUTTERING | 4.0 | 8/10 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 4.0 | 4/5 |
POWDER | 3.0 | 3/5 |
SPEED | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
CARVING | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
TURNS/SLASHING | 4.0 | 4/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 91.8/100 |
The Rival is a really versatile freestyle board - and you wouldn't be wrong labelling it all-mountain-freestyle with the way it can handle speed and lay down a carve.
In the park it's a beast for jumps of all sizes. If jumps and spins are your thing, the Rival won't disappoint. It can hold its own down the jib line as well.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Rival, or if you are ready to buy, or if you just want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.
If you want to check out some other freestyle snowboard options, or if you want to compare the Rival to other women's freestyle snowboards, then check out the next link.
Hi Nate- a 140cm good for the Ice Coast?
16 yo girl, 100lbs. size 6 Burton Step ons
5’1”
Not a hefty girl, likes to hit the gas on the groomers with her ski friends. Fourth year boarding and routinely drops her solid blue dad boarder.
TY
Hi Tim,
Yeah, I’d say she should be good on the 140. It’s on the big side for her, IMO, but assuming she’s still got some growing to do, it could work out well. For reference, I would put her “typical all-mountain” length at around 137. That’s taking off a couple of cms vs what I’d recommend for an adult, just to account for strength. Otherwise, I’d put it at more like 139, so even if she doesn’t add much more weight or height, she should still grow into it. And by the sounds of how she rides, I don’t think she’d find it too much board for right now, after a little time to get used to it vs the 133 Basic. Certainly a good step up, which kids tend to have to make bigger steps up than we do! But then they also tend to adapt faster, so it usually works out. And yeah Rival really good option for ice coast ripping, IMO.
Hi Nate, I’m an upper intermediate / low advanced rider in a bit of a conundrum. My first board was a Yes Emoticon / Women’s Basic and I love it. I keep it around for park stuff and my area’s frequent icy days. I also love my Jones Women’s Flagship for big mountain trips, powder, and charging but it definitely takes a lot more effort to ride both physically and mentally.
I’m in the search for a middle ground — faster, more stable, and more damp than the Emoticon but not as much work as the Flagship — for days when I just want to get out and have an engaging but chiller ride. Something that could lay a nice carve and/or that has quick edge to edge changes would be awesome but chiller boards tend to not be as good at that. I have recently been getting more into jumps and side hits.
I was thinking the Yes Rival, Yes Hello, Never Summer Women’s Proto Synthesis, Rossignol Diva, Capita Equalizer, and Capita Navigator. Maybe the Hel Yes or Twin Sister. I’m 5’6 140lbs Women’s 8.5/Men’s 7 boot so I could branch into smaller men’s boards, too. Your review here really seems to point towards the Rival being a great option. Would you agree or could you point me towards what you think would be best?
Hi Emily, thanks for your message.
Yeah, I think the Rival would provide a great middle ground, particularly if you’re going to be taking it out on icy days. I would say something like the Rival – and the Hel YES and Twin Sister – give you something right in the middle of the Flagship and Basic – and that would go for the Proto Synthesis as well. The Hello is a little more on the mellow side – not to the same extent as the Basic, but not quite in the middle. I’d say the Equalizer could work well as a middle ground too. The Navigator is I’d say a touch more on the mellow side of middle, but not quite as mellow as the Hello. But not as good in icy conditions. We haven’t tested the Diva, so not sure how that would fit in.
So, if you wanted a true middle ground, then I would say Rival, Hel Yes, Twin Sister, Proto, Equalizer, with the Rival and Hel Yes being the best in icy conditions, but the others not too far behind. The Rival is the most freestyle and the Equalizer the least freestyle of the 5. From most to least freestyle, I’d say Rival, Proto, Twin Sister, Hel Yes, Equalizer.
Size-wise, I would put your “typical all-mountain” length at around 149 so something around that would work, but given you have 2 other boards in your quiver, it may depend on what sizes those are – and what you’re used to and personal preferences come into it as well. Also effective edge can differ by quite a lot between boards of the same length – as can widths – which should also be taken into account. If you could let me know the sizes of your basic and Flagship that would help to narrow down the best sizes for those options.
Hope this helps with your decision and hope it didn’t come too late. Still catching up on replies here, but I should be able to reply quicker now, as I only have a handful of boards left to test before the end of the season.
Thanks again Nate for taking the time to answer my further questions!
You’re very welcome Jo.
Hi Nate, Thank you so much for the detailed analysis and looking into the specs of the two boards. Really really appreciate it. I’m going ahead with your suggestion. Jo
What size would you recommend for a 95lb, 5’4”, US Woman Size 7 Boot? Would the 140 size waist width of 230mm be too narrow for a size 7 boot?
Thank you.
Hi J
Thanks for your message.
For your height/weight specs, I would go 140. Anything else would be too big, IMO. Definitely not going to be too narrow, IMO. While a 230mm waist width could be borderline for 7s in some cases, in this case, the width at inserts is quite wide compared to the waist width. Assuming you were to ride on the reference stance width of 19″, you would be looking at around 24.2/24.3cm at the inserts, which is well wide enough for 7s, IMO.
Hope this helps
Hi Nate,
This site is amazing helpful. Thank you for creating a site like this. I’m looking at a board that suits me and wonder if you can help.
I’m 5’4″ , 105lbs and wears US6.5 boots. I’m in between level 4 and 5 (advanced beginner to intermediate). I’ve been riding the Hel Yes 146 and I felt the board is too fast, turning is not as responsive but the grip is really good and stable. I used to ride the GNU Ladies Choice 145.5 and that felt sketchy under my feet and I’m more prone to catching an edge.
I think I’m riding a board beyond my ability and weight. I’m wanting a mellower board that is as stable and grips well like Hel Yes that I can ride on various conditions (icy, uneven bumpy and some pow). Yes Hello seems like a good choice but they only have 146 as well. I’m not into park or high speed and want to progress to comfortably turning on steeper terrain.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Jo
Thanks for your message.
I would put your “typical all-mountain length” at around 141, so yeah, I think sizing down is a good idea. For your specs, I would go 140. Given you’re used to longer boards, the 144 is an option, for sure, but I think the 140 is best suited to your height/weight/boot size. But just to note that it will feel considerably more mellow than the Hel Yes 146 in that size. But overall would be, IMO, better suited to your level and your specs. Not going to be amazing in pow, but for a twin it’s pretty good. Really good for icy conditions.
I keep wishing they would introduce smaller sizes for the Hello (and Hel Yes) but they haven’t yet.
Hope this helps with your decision
Thank you Nate for your advice. Much appreciated.
You’re very welcome Jo. Hope you have a great season!
Hi Nate,
Can I ask for your further advice… There’s 2 ex-demo boards for sale: 144 Yes Rival and 142 Nitro Optisym. My goal is to progress to level 5 (riding steeps confidently, side banks, switch riding). Which board would you suggest I get.
Hey Jo
We haven’t tested the Optisym, but size-wise, I think it’s a much better size for you. On paper I think it would be a good bet. Having not tested it, can’t say for sure, but that’s what I would go with for you, based on paper.
Even though 2cm doesn’t sound like much when you say 144 vs 142, but when you look at other factors, there’s a bigger difference in size here than you’d think. Firstly, the Rival 144 is wider – while the waist widths are very similar, the Rival is wider at the inserts (almost certainly, but we haven’t measured the Optisym, so couldn’t say 100%) and is wider tip/tail. Secondly, the Rival has a larger contact length to overall length ratio. The Rival has a 103cm contact length vs the 96cm contact length on the Optisym. Note that Nitro doesn’t publish effective edge (which I wish they would!), so we can’t compare that, but it’s highly unlikely that the effective edge would be anywhere near the 108cm effective edge of the Rival – and with the contact length already 7cm shorter on the Optisym, the Optisym is likely to feel quite a bit smaller than the Rival.
IMO, the Rival is a little big for you, especially when taking into account length and width.
Hi Nate,
Just when I’m about to get the Nitro, I found out there’s a Jones Twin Sister 140 on sale. The price is slightly more. Is the 140 Twin Sister better suited? Will the long effective edge makes it more stable? Can I use this board for a bit of Japan pow at this length?
Hi Jo.
Yeah, I think the Twin Sister would be a good bet for you – and the 140 a good size. I’d be leaning towards that – and yes, it is decent in powder (better than the Optisym and Rival).