Hello and welcome to my Arbor Relapse snowboard review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Relapse as a freestyle snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Relapse a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other freestyle snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Arbor Relapse
Price: $399
Style: Freestyle
Flex Rating: Medium-Soft (4/10)
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium-Soft (4/10)
Rating Score: 85.9/100
Compared to other Men’s Freestyle Boards
Of the 33 current model freestyle snowboards that we tested:
❄️ The Relapse ranked 10th= out of 33
Overview of the Relapse’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Relapse’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Freestyle |
Price: | $399- BUYING OPTIONS |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | Traditional Camber But not quite - Arbor's "System Camber" |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | Centered |
Base: | Extruded |
Weight: | Felt Normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
153 | 250 | 112-192 | 51-87 |
155 | 251.5 | 116-196 | 53-89 |
155W | 259 | 120-200 | 54-91 |
* there is no longer a 150 size available, as of the 2025 model
Who is the Relapse Best Suited To?
The Relapse is most suited to anyone looking for a dedicated freestyle/park deck and who the limited sizing can work for.
It's a really well priced board but still a really good freestyle ride - so it's ideal for those looking for a freestyle deck, but have a smaller budget. A big reason why it's cheaper is the extruded base on it - so if you can live with an extruded base (which if it's going to be your dedicated park board, you probably can), then it's a really good value buy, IMO.
Not for a beginner, but could work for a beginner park rider who otherwise has good general riding/good technique down. Otherwise intermediate and up.
The Relapse in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Relapse is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Arbor Relapse, 2022 153cm (250mm waist width)
Date: April 5, 2021
Conditions: Sunny! Barely a cloud in the sky and felt nice and warm.
2°C (36°F) degrees o°C (32°F) with wind. Barely any wind. 5kph.
24 snow: 0cm (0")
7 day snow: 3cm (1.2")
On groomer: Icy in patches, medium in patches and slushy in patches. Snow quite messy/cruddy. GOt softer and more slushly as day went on.
Off groomer: Icy/crunchy for the most part particularly on particular sections - but certainly not bullet proof and in places started to soften up quite a bit as the day wore on.
Pretty typical spring riding.
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 560mm (22″)
Stance Setback: Centered
Width at Inserts: 264mm (10.39")
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 175lbs
Rider Boot Size: US9.5 Adidas Tactical ADV
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
Control Board for Control Laps: Lib Tech Terrain Wrecker
Weight: 2920grams (6lb 7oz)
Weight per cm: 19.08 grams/cm
Average Weight per cm: 18.43 grams/cm*
*based on a sample size of around 100 models that I’ve weighed in 2019, 2020, 2021 *& 2022 models. So quite heavy on the scales - and nearly 3kg is heavy for a 153, but on snow it felt a really normal weight and even bordering on being lighter than normal.
Damp or Chattery?
Didn't think this would be that damp - and it's not super damp for sure. But a little damper than my control board (Terrain Wrecker) - I'd say right in the middle of the scale between ultra damp and ultra chattery.
Smooth or Snappy?
Really snappy. Quite high up the snappy end of the scale.
Powder
OK, you can ride any board in powder, no doubt. But this is one board that you could just tell would be quite sinky in deeper powder. It's a twin, it's camber dominant, there's not setback. The nose and tail are exactly the same. Didn't have any powder on the day, but the feel and the specs, suggest that it wouldn't be ideal - a back leg burner.
Carving & Turning
Carving: Really good for slower speed carves. Not as good for really bombing and carving, but for slower speed carves was really fun.
Turning: Really effortless and really fun board to turn on. Particularly good for short/sharp turns. Part of that is the size that I was riding, but even in a bigger size would be more adept at smaller/tighter turns than big arcing ones.
Maneuverability at Slow Speeds: Super nimble - again part of that is probably size, but this is the kind of board I wouldn't ride that much longer. I'd probably ride the 155, which would still be super nimble. I'd even consider the 153, if it was going to be my dedicated park board.
Skidded Turns: It's like beginner level forgiving of skidded turns, but it's quite friendly in that sense. More so than I thought it would be.
Speed
Gets quite squirrelly when really opening out but ok up to a certain speed.
Uneven Terrain
Crud: Gets bucked around quite a bit in crud - not surprisingly given it's flex and snap, but it is really easy to adjust and recover as you get bucked around.
Bumps: Super nimble for weaving between bumps. Effortless and hugged them nicely when going over top.
Let's Break this Text up with a video
This video is for the 2021 model. If I can find a 2022 video, will replace it with that.
Jumps
Really fun - easy pop and perfect for side hits. Best for smaller jumps.
Pop: Really good pop and super easy to access.
Approach: Gets squirrelly on faster approaches but nice and nimble for adjustments and trickier approaches - and certainly stable enough for medium jumps.
Landing: Nice and solid for small to medium jumps and nice and forgiving of errors.
Side-hits: Pretty much ideal - and super fun! Nimble for tricker and last second approaches, easy to access pop, forgiving landings. Setting up and landing switch great too.
Small jumps/Big Jumps: Best for small to medium. Approach and landing is a little more wobbly on bigger jumps.
Switch
Pretty much the same in both directions. Really easy and natural riding switch.
Spins
Great for spins. Easy pop, great for setting up and landing switch, easy to get the spin around. For anything that's not a massive trick, it felt pretty much ideal to me.
Jibbing
Nice and easy for the setup, good pop, easy to pop off. All round really good on boxes/rails etc.
Butters
It's not something that just melts under your feet when you press onto the tip or tail, but it's pretty easy to butter all round. And some like there to be a bit of resistance there.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | Contribution to Final Score | |
|---|---|---|
JUMPS | 4.0 | 16/20 |
JIBBING | 4.0 | 16/20 |
SPINS | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
SWITCH | 4.5 | 9/10 |
BUTTERING | 4.0 | 8/10 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
POWDER | 2.0 | 2/5 |
SPEED | 3.0 | 3/5 |
CARVING | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
TURNS/SLASHING | 4.5 | 4.5/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 85.9/100 |
The Relapse is a nice snappy, energetic ride that is like a hyperactive child, that seems hell bent on wanting to find the next side hit and is beckoned to the park like a heat seeking missile, whether you want to hit the jump line of the jib line.
And whilst it's strengths for sure lie in the park and riding freestyle in general you can definitely enjoy this board on groomer laps too - just don't expect it to bomb you down the hill at 50mph and not complain about it.
This actually went down in price for the 2024 model, so with the average price of freestyle boards going up and this going down, it's become even better value-for-money.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Relapse, 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 Relapse to other freestyle snowboards, then check out the next link.
Hey Nate, I’m somewhere between an intermediate-advanced rider, weight fluctuates between 190-200lbs, 6’2, and wear between a 10-10.5 boot (I’m rocking 10.5 salomon diaologue boots currently). I’ve been riding the Yes typo for four years in a 159w as my all mountain ride. I love the board but I’m wanting to pick up something else that’s a little bit better suited for jibbing and has a bit more easy access pop as a dedicated park progression board, that still offers a nimble and forgiving. Is this the ticket, or should I be looking elsewhere? With my specs would you recommend a 155 or 155w? As always, really appreciate all the effort you put into your site!
Hey Nate
Thanks for your message.
The Relapse would certainly work for what you’re describing, IMO. It’s probably not the easiest board to jib with ever, but it’s definitely well suited to it, IMO and has a good balance between jumps and jibs in the park. It’s got super easy access pop, in my experience, so I think it would definitely work. If you wanted you could check out some other options here – but the Relapse would definitely be a good choice, IMO.
Size-wise I think you could get on the 155, without going wide. It’s wider than the waist width makes it look. For reference, I would say that the 155 should be around 265.5mm at the inserts, assuming a 22″ stance width. At your height on a park board, I assume you’d have a stance width at least that wide, and assuming binding angles like +15/-15 or similar, I don’t imagine you’d have any drag issues at that width. The The 155W would be more like 273mm at inserts, which is on the wide side for your boot size, but doable, if you wanted to go wide. It’s wider than the 159W Typo at the inserts, I would say.
Hope this helps with your decision
Hi Nate,
I currently have the yes greats as my all mountain freestyle board but I’m looking for something that’s a little easier for presses and maybe something that feels a little more locked in when I’m approaching medium jumps (although I really like the stability of the greats).
My friend recently got an arbor formula (camber version) and I got a chance to ride it. I liked it except I wanted more flex out of it.
Would you say the arbor relapse would be a good option for what I’m looking for and if not, what would you recommend?
I have size 11 US boots so I’m looking at the 155mw.
Thanks!
Hi ivwshane
I think the Relapse would work well. It’s softer but still has a semi-locked in feeling, in my experience. Some other options include the GNU Headspace and Rome Agent. But I think the Relapse would work well for what you’re after.
Hope this helps with your decision
Why was the 2022 model rated as 86.3 while the 2023 is rated as 85.9
Hi Yoseph
Thanks for your message – and great question.
I tweaked the scoring this year. I have separated carving and turns (for all but the freestyle scoring system, I also separated uneven terrain into “crud/chunder” and “trees/bumps” but for freestyle I have left it as a joint factor). I also tweaked the normalization a little bit. The separation of those factors was to make it more clear how the board performed when properly carving on edge and for slashed/skidded turns – as both are very different and some boards are better at one and not the other. Having those factors together as an average out number wasn’t as informative.
Thanks, really appreciated