2026-2027 YES Women’s Basic Snowboard Review

The YES Women's Basic felt surprisingly damp, stable and on the heavier side for a mid-soft freestyle-oriented snowboard. It was still overall playful and handled all things freestyle well, but that extra dampness/weight gave it a different feel to a lot of boards in this category. 

In this review, I will take a look at the Women's Basic as a freestyle snowboard.

As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Women's Basic a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other freestyle snowboards.

Overall Rating

Board: YES Women's Basic 2027

Price: $449

Style: Freestyle, casual all-mountain/all-mtn-freestyle

Flex Rating: Medium (5/10)

Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (4.5/10)

Rating Score: 82.1/100

Compared to other Women’s Freestyle Boards

Overview of the Women's Basic’S Specs

Check out the tables for the Women's Basic’s specs and available sizes.

Who is the Women's Basic Most Suited To?

The Women's Basic is best suited to riders looking for an easy-going freestyle board that can still handle a bit of everything around the resort.

It wasn't ultra-light or super explosive, but it was predictable, stable, forgiving and easy to ride switch. That makes it a really solid option for freestyle progression, smaller jumps, side hits, butters, boxes/rails and general all-mountain cruising.

It would work well for beginner-to-intermediate riders who wanted a board they could progress on, but it also had enough stability and edge hold for more experienced riders who want something a little softer and more playful without feeling overly loose or flimsy.

It felt a little heavier than normal on snow (despite actually weighing in a touch lighter than average), so smaller or less physically strong riders might find it took a bit more effort to get the most out of it.

TEST/REVIEW DetailS FOR THE Women's Basic

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

Demo Info

Board: YES Women's Basic 2027, 146cm (247mm waist width)

Date: March 10, 2026

Board Feel

The Women's Basic felt stable and controlled underfoot. It had a mellow, easy-going personality, but it didn't feel loose or washy. There was a bit of catch there if you got lazy with it, but really very minimal, and it was never something that felt overly punishing.

Flex-wise, I felt it at around 4.5/10. So, medium-soft overall, but not noodle-soft. It felt a little stiffer through the middle and under the feet, which gave it a good amount of control and stability. The nose and tail felt softer, which helped with presses, butters and getting the board to flex without needing a ton of power.

It sat somewhere around the middle between playful and aggressive. I would still say it leaned slightly playful, but the weight and stable feel brought it back toward the center.

Damp or Chattery?

It was fairly damp for this kind of board. I would put it around 6/10 on the damp-to-chattery scale.

That heavier build seemed to help it absorb vibration and deal with rougher snow better than I would typically expect from a softer freestyle board. In the chopped-up fresh snow, that was appreciated. It didn't feel ultra-dead or overly damp, but it did a good job of smoothing things out.

Smooth or Snappy?

It felt pretty balanced between smooth and snappy. Not dull, but also not super lively or explosive.

It had some pop there, and it was easy to access, but it wasn't the kind of board that launched you with a heap of spring. It was more smooth, controlled and predictable than energetic and electric.

Powder

For a freestyle board, it did pretty decently in the powder we had, though it wouldn’t fare as well in deeper stuff.

There were some soft pockets around, and the Women's Basic floated better than I expected. It stayed controllable and didn't feel like it was constantly diving. That said, I did have to lean back quite a bit to keep the nose from going under.

So, it was fine for shallower powder or storm-day side hits and soft pockets, but it wasn't something that was going to work great in deeper powder. It could get by, but it still rode like a twin freestyle board when the snow got deeper.

The rocker towards the tip and tail help here, but not much else going for it, powder-float-wise.

Carving & Turning

Turning was one of the stronger parts of this board. It initiated turns really easily and didn't take much effort to get from edge-to-edge. The torsional flex felt pretty easy going, which helped a lot when making quick turns or slashes.

The heavier feel did temper that a little. It wasn't lightning quick edge-to-edge without effort, but it was still easy to maneuver overall.

On a carve, it was better than I expected. With the softer flex, I wasn't expecting it to be super strong, but it held an edge well and felt controlled through turns. It wasn't built for hard, fast, aggressive carving, and it did start to feel wobbly when pushed too hard. But for moderate-speed carves and everyday resort turns, it was solid.

Speed

At moderately high speeds, the Women's Basic felt fairly stable. The heavier build helped here, and it didn't feel as nervous as some softer freestyle boards can.

But it still had its limits. When I pushed it faster, it started to feel less composed, which was what I would expect from this flex. The base glide felt about average - not slow, but not noticeably fast either.

So, it was fine for cruising and moderate speed, but it wasn't a board I would want to bomb on.

Uneven Terrain

In uneven snow, it did better than I expected.

In crud and chunder, the extra weight worked in its favor. It powered through messy snow pretty well for a softer, more playful board and didn't feel overly prone to getting knocked around. It had enough dampness and stability to stay composed when the snow got rough.

In trees and bumps, it was decent too. It could turn quickly in tighter spots, but it required a little more strength to move around quickly because of that heavier feel. Certainly not sluggish, but wasn't effortless either.

Jumps

For jumps, the Women's Basic was a pretty solid.

Pop was easy to access, though it took a bit more effort than it might have if the board had felt lighter. The softer flex made it easy enough to load, but the total amount of pop wasn't huge. It wasn't super springy or explosive, but it had enough there for small jumps, side hits and freestyle progression.

Approaches felt stable and predictable, which I really liked. It was easy to control speed and line up a takeoff without feeling twitchy.

Landings were also solid but forgiving. It had enough stability to feel dependable, but enough forgiveness that it didn't punish every little mistake.

Side hits were fun on it. Again, a bit more pop would have made it even better, but it was easy to set up, easy to control in the air and forgiving coming back down.

Switch

It felt smooth, natural and stable riding switch. Transitions into and out of switch were easy, and it didn't feel like there was much catch risk. Once on edge, the board held well, so switch turns felt controlled.

For anyone learning switch or wanting a board that felt really comfortable riding both directions, the Women's Basic did a great job.

Spins

Despite the heavier feel, the Women's Basic spun well.

It was easy enough to get around, and it felt predictable on setup and takeoff. In the air, it felt controlled rather than awkward, and the landings were stable but still forgiving.

The weight meant it wasn't the absolute easiest board to whip around, but it didn't feel hard to spin either. For 180s, 360s and general freestyle progression, it worked well.

Jibbing

For jibs, the Women's Basic was good, though not perfect.

The softer nose and tail made it easy to press and get onto features, and it felt stable enough when locked in. The heavier feel was the main downside. It wasn't quite as effortless as a lighter, softer jib-focused board, but it was still very capable.

Boxes, small rails and press-based tricks were all well within its wheelhouse.

Butters

Butters were easy to initiate thanks to the softer nose and tail. It didn't take much force to get the board pressing.

However, I did find it a little harder to hold presses compared to something like my control board or the YES Hel Yes, which I also rode that day. The tip and tail were soft enough to bend easily, but they didn't feel quite as locked-in or controlled once pressed.

So, it was easy to butter, but not the most precise or confidence-inspiring board for holding longer presses.

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.

The YES Women's Basic was a mid-soft, easy-going freestyle board with a surprisingly stable and damp feel.

It was easy to turn, rode switch really well, spun nicely and performed solidly on jumps, jibs and side hits. It wasn't the lightest or most explosive board, and that heavier feel meant it took a little more strength and effort than I would have expected from a board with this flex.

But that same weight also helped it feel more stable, more damp and more capable in rougher snow than a lot of softer freestyle boards.

Overall, I found it to be a well-balanced freestyle board that could handle more than just the park. It was playful enough for freestyle progression but stable enough for cruising the mountain, riding in messy snow and handling less-than-perfect conditions.

Best suited to riders who want a forgiving, stable, freestyle-friendly board that can also cruise the resort and handle variable snow pretty well - so long as they don't mind a slightly heavier feel underfoot.