Hello and welcome to my Endeavor Archetype snowboard review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Archetype as a freeride snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Archetype a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other freeride snowboards.
NOTE: This review hasn't been updated past the 2022 model.
Overall Rating
Board: Endeavor Archetype
Price: $599
Style: Freeride/Powder
Flex Rating: Medium-Stiff
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium-Stiff (7/10)
Rating Score: 84.1/100
Compared to other Men’s Freeride Boards
Out of the 32 men’s freeride snowboards that I rated:
Overview of the Archetype’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Archetype’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Freeride |
Price: | $599 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Turn Initiation: | Medium-Fast |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | Directional Hybrid Camber Camber to tail but rocker before the nose |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | Setback 25mm |
Base: | Sintered |
Weight: | A little heavier than normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
146 | 244 | 100-155 | 45-70 |
150 | 250 | 120-170 | 54-77 |
154 | 257 | 140-190 | 65-85 |
157W | 272 | 150-200 | 68-90 |
158 | 260 | 150-200 | 68-90 |
160W | 276 | 150-200 | 68-90 |
162 | 263 | 150-200 | 68-90 |
164 | 264 | 150-200 | 68-90 |
Who is the Archetype Most Suited To?
The Archetype is great for anyone who's looking for a short/wide-ish board that is great in powder - but one that can still carve really well on groomers, and handle speed on harder snow.
Certainly not for beginners - too much camber and too stiff.
It's a quiver board for sure - but it could be a daily driver, if your style fit within it's bounds.
The Archetype in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Archetype is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Endeavor Archetype 2020, 158cm (260mm waist width)
Date: March 5, 2019
Conditions: Quite hard/icy in patches on and off groomer. Firm else-where.
Overcast conditions with OK but not great visibility.
Cold with a cold, biting wind.
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 560mm (22″)
Stance Setback: Setback 25mm (1") - naturally a centered stance (on effective edge, which is still quite a bit of setback on board) but I wanted to be a bit setback on effective edge on this board
Width at Inserts: 278mm (10.95") at front insert and 264mm (10.39") for me it was 275mm and 264mm with the extra setback, but centered, it's 278mm and 264mm.
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 185lbs
Rider Boot Size: US10 Vans Aura
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
Weight: 3000g
Weight per cm: 18.98 grams/cm
Average Weight per cm: 18.45 grams/cm*
*based on a small sample size of 51 boards that I've weighed in 2019 and 2020 models. The Archetype is a little heavier than average, but not by a lot. And despite having that big swallow cut-out, it still has quite a bit of surface area. And, most importantly, it didn't feel heavy on snow. Quite a lively feel to it.
Powder
There's never a time that I don't wish for powder, but it's especially so when I have a board like the Archetype for a week - but unfortunately I wasn't blessed with the opportunity to get the Archetype in powder. But based on the feel and on the specs, how this performs in powder is pretty easy to predict. As in, really well at an educated guess.
Carving & Turning
Carving: For a board with such aggressive taper, in fact I think it's the biggest difference in terms of width at inserts of the front insert vs back insert that I've ridden, I expected the tail to feel a bit more washy - a bit more like it would kick out easy, but on a hard carve wouldn't be that great. But it surprised me - it was actually really decent on a carve. And actually felt semi-locked in on a carve.
Not as aggressive a carve as the Endeavor Alpha (but not many do!) but still felt nice to carve.
Maneuverability at slow speeds: Not the most nimble at slow speeds. This board prefers to go fast. Didn't love it in the trees, but if there was powder in there, it would have been a completely different story, I would imagine.
Skidded Turns: You can get away with it to an extent - but a very small extent. This board is not made to skid.
Speed
Felt nice and stable at speed - and carving at speed. I expected a little more washiness, but it was way more locked in than I expected. Perhaps something to do with the carbon rods in the tail (see video below for more on that).
Uneven Terrain
Was good going through crud - could smash through it. But didn't like unduating terrain so much - more suited to even terrain or powder.
Let’s Break up this text with a Video
Jumps
Better for jumps than I was expecting.
Pop: Really good pop and quite easy to access as well. There's certainly some in there that needs more of a load up, but there's some that comes easy too. There's 2 levels of pop you can get out of this board, for sure.
Approach: Nice stable approach, particularly good for larger jumps.
Landing: Nice stable landings. Felt like you could stomp it - and was best when you did stomp it. Not super forgiving if you get the landing too wrong.
Side-hits: Not as nimble as I would like for trickier approaches, but otherwise OK - I preferred having a nice smooth take off with this board for jumps though.
Small jumps/Big Jumps: More suited to bigger jumps, but small jumps certainly doable.
Switch
Felt weird riding switch. I rode it with more setback but even being centered on the effective edge would feel weird with all that taper - and even just psychologically seeing that swallow tail lead, was off putting.
Spins
Whilst it was fine on jumps, I preferred sticking to straight air. Taking off and landing switch was weird for 180s. And wasn't the easiest to get the spin around on. Perhaps quite torsionally stiff, and perhaps being a little heacvier contributed to that. But it's not really designed for that, IMO.
Butters
You can actually butter on this board. It feels a bit weird on the tail, but there's some butterability there. But still not great. Probably 2.5/5. But I was expecting it to be worse.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | SCORE WEIGHTING | |
|---|---|---|
CARVING | 4.5 | 18/20 |
TURNING | 3.5 | 7/10 |
POWDER | 4.5 | 18/20 |
SPEED | 4.0 | 16/20 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 3.0 | 9/15 |
JUMPS | 3.5 | 7/10 |
SWITCH | 1.5 | 1.5/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 84.1/100 |
Overall, the Archetype is a fun board that I would have loved to have tested in more powder, as it's almost certainly a good time there.
But it surprised me with it's edge hold, carving and speed - and a feel that is semi-locked in. It does have plenty of camber, so that certainly aids it there. Plenty of pop too and a better jumper than I was expecting. Overall a fun ride that would make a good quiver board, or potentially even a daily driver depending on your style of riding.
And beauty is, no doubt, in the eye of the beholder, but I really like the look of this board.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Archetype, 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 freeride snowboard options, or if you want to compare how the Archetype compares to other freeride snowboards, then check out the next link.
Hello! Is Archetype also a good board for aggressive/fast playing (not necessarily carving) on:
a) crud
b) uneven layers of soft, mid-soft snow on slopes
c) a little bumpy but soft moguls (like sometimes at the end of the day in resort)
Hi Dominik
Thanks for your message.
Depending on how you approach those types of conditions, it could work well. If you were going to be trying to weave through and take it quite tentatively, then it won’t be great, IMO. But if you are going to be trying to fly over it, smash through it and approach it aggressively (which it sounds like you are) with good down unweighted turn technique, then I think it would work well, IMO.
Hope this helps with your decision
Hi Nate, do you think that ION 11.5 could work with 162 Archetype? Rear foot has -9/-12 angle
Hi Dominik
Thanks for your message.
Might be a little narrow at the back insert. This board is plenty wide at the front insert, but it’s got a huge taper (29mm!) which makes the back insert not all that much wider than the waist width. With a back insert width of around 26.7cm (depending on stance width, you’d be looking at around 5.1cm total overhang (or roughly 2.55cm per edge) and you can take 3-4mm off that for that 9 degree angle, so looking at around 4.7-4.8cm overhang or 2.4cm per edge with the Ions (at an estimated outer sole length of around 31.8cm for an 11.5. That lower profile boot makes it possible. 2.4cm of overhang is certainly doable, but it’s on the edge. If you’re looking to do really deep carves (e.g. euro carving) then there is still risk of boot drag.
Hope this helps
Hello
My foot size is 10.5 US I want to ride this board as an all around resort board mostly centered. Is 158 ok or should I go higher, I want the board to be nimble. 176lbs btw
Thx.
Hi Juju
Thanks for your message. The 158 should be wide enough. 100% wide enough at the front insert and should be OK for 10.5 US at the back insert. Though not guaranteed.
If you have bulkier 10s and a flatter back binding angle (0-6 degrees) and/or like to lay really deep carves (e.g. eurocarving), then you might be pushing it for boot drag. With regular profile boots you’d be looking at around 5cm of total overhang (or 2.5cm per edge, assuming perfect boot centering), assuming a zero degree back binding angle. This will be OK for some, but it’s pushing it if you like to lay pretty aggressive carves. With lower profile boots or more binding angle, you reduce that overhang. So if you could let me know your typical binding angles, the brand/model of boots you ride and how aggressive you like to carve, that would give me more to go off.
Also, if you could let me know your height. Weight is more important for length sizing, but I still like to take height into account, for its leverage factor. But yeah, I wouldn’t go longer just to fit your boots on width-wise, if it means going with the wrong length, particularly if you want to keep it nimble. If that ends up being the case, then I would look at a different board with better sizing for your specs.
Hope this helps
Hey Nate, late comment but… For heavy coastal pow swallow tail, what would you recommend to keep the nose up without punishing my back leg? Bataleon Surfer? This? Amplid Snommolier? Or….?
I just got my butt kicked
Hi Jeff
Thanks for your message. I haven’t ridden teh Surfer or Snommelier but a few things to point out based on specs.
1. They all have a similar amount of taper (as in a lot of it) which is really good for powder, so they’re all about the same there specs-wise.
2. The Surfer is a softer flex – and this can sometimes be an issue in deeper snow. I don’t find it’s necessary to go super stiff for powder, but at a rating of 4/10 flex, it’s softer enough that it could be an issue. That said, I haven’t ridden it, so couldn’t say for sure. The Archetype felt like a 7/10 flexer to me and is rated medium-stiff by Endeavor. The Snommelier looks to be rated a 6/10 flex. Both I would be comfortable with in terms of flex in powder.
3. The Snommelier looks like it only comes in a 166. If that size is suitable for you, then it’s likely a good choice, but if it’s not, then even if the board is ideal in every other way, it’s not going to be much fun if it’s in the wrong size for you.
4. The Archetype isn’t setback on effective edge in its reference stance. But easy to set it back – and even in a “centered on effective edge” stance, it’s still a good bit setback on overall length of board. The Surfer looks to be setback 25mm on effective edge and the Snommelier 18mm on effective edge.
I haven’t tested a lot of swallow tail boards. It’s the type of board I’ve tested the least of, I would say, but a couple of others you could check out:
– Soul-stick Blower
– Nidecker Mosquito
– Burton Pow Wrench
Not sure what you’re riding right now, but I imagine all these options are going to work well for what you need them for.
Hope this helps
Hi Nick,
Thanks for your review.
I’m 5’8. a size 10, and 220lb (on a good day :). Just pulled the trigger on a 162 from the off season sale and planning to use this as a resort pow board. So hopefully 162 is a sweet spot for me. Super excited for it’s maiden voyage next season!
I also own a 162 Jones Mind Expander. My question is how comparable is this with the Mind Expander in terms of float and turn initiation just in case I decide to go through trees? My home mountain is Mammoth if that makes any difference.
Looking forward to your thoughts.
Cheers,
Hi Roby
Thanks for your message.
I think 162 works for you for sure.
The Archetype is a beefier board, if that makes sense, versus the Mind Expander. It’s stiffer and has a good bit of camber in it. I didn’t find it as maneuverable at slow speeds as I found the Mind Expander to be, but it’s not a boat either. You’ve got to work a little harder on it, but it’s also rewarding when you do. For powder, I would say it’s probably 1/2 a step below the Mind Expander, but still very very good. I don’t think you’re going to feel like you’re missing anything in powder between the 2.
What you do get extra from the Archetype is a very good board for carving and good at speed. Definitely better for riding faster than the Mind Expander and definitely a better carver. But, based on my experience, it is something that will be harder work when going through the trees.
Hope this helps
Hi Nate,
I am thinking about getting this board in 157W or 160W. I am leaning towards 160W because of the width. 160W is .9 cm wider than my widest board that I keep booting out on. At the same time, I want a 157W to have better performance in trees. Thoughts?
My boot size is 11.5 by the way.
Asher
Hi Asher
Thanks for your message.
Width-wise, I think the 157W should be fine, but it depends. This board is narrower at the back insert than what the waist width suggests, but even taking that into account, the back insert should be around 276mm on the 157W, which should be OK for 11.5s. The 160W would of course give you even more leeway, but I think the extra width of the 157W versus your 160W PYL (which I assume you’re talking about based on previous message on the Never Summer Westbound post?) would be enough to negate the boot drag. What binding angles do you ride with, typically?
I usually ride with 18+ and 3+. My current daily driver is 165W Westbound that I picked up recently. Its width is 26.7 cm, and I am concerned that 157W is not much of an upgrade width-wise.
Should I consider adding more angle to my bindings? I really like them set that way.
Hi Asher
Yeah, I would predict the back insert on the 165X West Bound to be around 276mm as well – so probably the same as on the 157W Archetype. So, if you’re experiencing boot drag on the 165W Westbound, the Archetype isn’t going to give you anything extra there. The front insert you would be more than fine – as that board is way wider at the front insert. But that’s where you have more angle on your binding, so I don’t think the front foot would have been an issue anyway. Certainly adding more angle to your back binding would give you more leeway, but if you like the binding angles like that, I would be hesitant to change them.
I think for your specs, that the 160W definitely works for you, if it’s going to be your daily driver. Would it be a replacement for the Westbound or would it be in addition to? If it’s in addition to, as a more tree board focus, then 157W might be the better compliment to the quiver. If it’s a replacement, I think the 160W would be the better size.
Nate
Pulled the trigger on a archetype 160w, looking for a binding recommendation my current options are
1. Union Falcors
2. Jones Apollos
3. Bent Metal Transfers
4. Rome 390s
Boards coming in friday and we are slated to get close to 20 this weekend! Stoke level is high
Hi Jesse
Thanks for your message.
I would be leaning Falcor or Apollo. The Transfers I think would be a little on the soft side for the Archetype. I haven’t tested Rome bindings, but based on specs, I think the 390s would probably be a little on the soft side too.
Between the Falcor and Apollo, it would depend on how stiff you wanted to go. The flex on the Apollo, from my feel, are 8.5/10. On the Falcor, more like 7/10. I think both will work for the Archetype, but I would be leaning Falcor. The Apollo would give you that extra drive and if you think you like the idea of going stiffer in your binding, they are certainly doable with that setup.
Hope this helps and hope you have any awesome time ripping that fresh pow!
Hi Nate!
Hope you are well. Great review as always. With the waist width and width at the inserts, would a 158 be manageable for a size US12 boot. Wearing burton ions that have a reduced footprint.
Cheers
Dylan
Hi Dylan
I’m well – hope you’re doing well too. I think the 158 will be too narrow at the back insert for size 12s. Fine at the front insert, but that taper makes the board considerably narrower at the back insert – 264mm at the back insert, which, IMO, is too narrow for 12s. I would go 157W with 12s.
Sad this board didn’t make your top 10. I’ve ridden a lot of boards and this one is my favorite.
Hi Matt
Thanks for your message and input. I definitely liked this board, don’t get me wrong. And it wasn’t far off my top 10. Had I liked it more for riding switch, it would likely have made it in. And if you don’t tend to ride switch, then that’s not a biggie anyway. So, whilst it didn’t make it in, the rating system is weighted for what I see as being important for a freeride board. I like to ride (or more land/take off switch) even when riding a freeride board. But that doesn’t take away from the board itself. Still a great deck. Typically freeride boards are higher quality across the range – not many duds made because they’re typically the high-end boards from companies, so to even make 13th is a sign of a high quality board.
But I’d definitely be interested to hear your thoughts on any specific areas you would differ from my ratings, in the score breakdown. Powder? Speed? Carving? Uneven Terrain? etc
Thanks for the review Nate. Definately going to pick a 162 up as my go to resort powder board. With your review and consistent reviews towards its carving ability is seems like a good stick to take when you get a dump but still may have to transition some groomers. Plus its so unique I think its worth the dabble.
Cheers
Mike
You’re very welcome Mike. Hope you enjoy it and have an awesome season! If you think of it at the time, let me know how you get on, once you’ve had a chance to get it out on snow