Bataleon Tornado X Beyond Medals Snowboard Review

The Bataleon Tornado X Beyond Medals is a smooth, surfy, freestyle-friendly all-mountain board that felt super easy to turn, with almost no catch-threat and was ridiculously fun for side hits.

Not the board I'd choose for bombing at full speed, railing aggressive carves through hard snow or smashing through rough, firm crud. But when I wanted to flow around the mountain, slash turns, spin, butter and pop off whatever features I could find, it was a really good time.

In this review, I will take a look at the Tornado X Beyond Medals as an all-mountain snowboard, which we define as the do-it-all swiss-army knives of boards. 

As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Tornado X Beyond Medals a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other men's all-mountain snowboards.

Overall Rating

Board: Bataleon Tornado X Beyond Medals 2027

Price: $649

Style: All-Mountain

Flex Rating: Stiff (8/10)

Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (5.5/10)

Rating Score: 88.0/100

Compared to other Men's All-Mountain Boards

Overview of the Tornado X Beyond Medals' Specs

Who is the Tornado X Beyond Medals Most Suited To?

The Bataleon Tornado X Beyond Medals is best suited to intermediate and advanced riders looking for a smooth, surfy all-mountain-freestyle board rather than a stiff, aggressive charger.

It's particularly well suited to riders who treat the whole mountain like a natural terrain park - searching for side hits, spinning off rollers, slashing turns and weaving through trees. Its easy-access pop, light swing weight and minimal catch threat make it forgiving when setting up spins or making quick adjustments, while its directional-twin shape keeps switch riding comfortable.

Despite its stated 8/10 flex rating, it felt closer to medium to me and felt easy to manipulate. That makes it a good option for riders who want enough support for small to medium jumps but don't want a board that requires a lot of power or effort to ride. It performed especially well in softer conditions, including shallow powder, soft groomers and less-firm uneven terrain.

It's less suited to heavier or highly aggressive riders who want to carve hard, bomb at speed, stomp large jumps or bulldoze through firm crud. But for surfy turns, effortless slashes and catch-free freestyle fun, the Tornado X is a great match.

Test/Review Details for the Tornado X Beyond Medals

O.k. let's take a more detailed look at what the Tornado X Beyond Medals is capable of.

Demo Info

Board: Bataleon Tornado X Beyond Medals 2027, 156cm (254mm waist width)

Date: April 2, 2026

TESTING Conditions:

Overhead: Overcast but  dry. 

Visibility:  70%-80% for the most part. But variable and got worse at times but not too bad most of the time, in most areas. 

On groomer:  Very similar to the previous day but theres less fresh to play in but the groomers are also less messy, - a little flatter/smoother. And not as slow/sticky lower down the mountain.

Yesterday's groomer: "Messy tracked powder at high elevations with full coverage (i.e. couldn't feel  the hard-packed groomer underneath. Further down you started to feel the icy crust underneath a thinner layer of fresh snow. Then towards the bottom started getting slushy, with some slow sticky wet powder mixed in on the sides".  

Off groomer: Roughly 1" (2-3cm) deep fresh snow. Tracked in parts but some untracked areas still like there was yesterday. A little more fresh snow since yesterday to top up but just kept its level  really, rather than adding to it.

Yesterday's off-groomer: "Fresh snow - only around 1-2" (3-5cm) though. Tracked in parts but some untracked areas too. Towards the bottom slushy or sticky wet snow but got more and more decent the higher up you went".

Set Up

*based on a sample size of 400+ models that we've weighed in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 & 2027 models. 

Flex

It came as a pretty big surprise when I looked at the flex rating of this board after riding it. 8/10 suggests to me that it should have felt really stiff! But it felt squarely medium flex to me.

If I hadn't previously ridden the Bataleon Turbo, I might have just suspected that it's just that its Bataleon and something about the 3BT or something that doesn't make it feel as stiff. But the Turbo felt like an 8/10 flex to me (rated a 9/10 flex by Bataleon), so I've experienced stiff feeling Bataleon boards before.

This one didn't feel stiff to me though.

Carving

The Tornado X Beyond Medals could carve reasonably well, particularly in softer to mid-firm conditions and at slower to moderately fast speeds.

It wasn't the kind of board that immediately locked onto an edge and encouraged me to lean into huge, aggressive carves. The edge engagement came a little deeper into the turn than I would normally expect, which I find with most Bataleon boards, likely due to the three-dimensional shaping around the contact points.

Once I got it properly engaged, I could get some enjoyable carves out of it. But it had its limits. When I tried to push it harder, ride faster or carve through harder areas, it lacked the locked-in edge hold and support of a more traditionally shaped, aggressive carving board.

Turning

Ease of Turning and Slashing

Turns were super easy to initiate. It required very little effort to get the board moving from edge to edge, and releasing the tail into a slash felt natural and easy.

It had more of a flowing, surfy turning style than a sharp and snappy one. I could cruise around, make relaxed turns and throw the tail out without having to put much energy into it.

Maneuverability at Slow Speeds

The Tornado X wasn't quite lightning-fast edge to edge, but it was still really maneuverable at slower speeds.

Rather than darting rapidly from one edge to the other, it rolled smoothly and effortlessly through turns. That made it easy to settle into a rhythm, particularly in tighter terrain.

Catchiness

There was basically no catch threat. I felt really confident releasing turns, transitioning between edges and making last-second adjustments. That catch-free feeling played a big part in how relaxed and playful the board felt overall.

Speed

The Tornado X remained reasonably composed at moderately fast speeds, but it wasn't a full-speed bomber.

When I really opened it up, it started to feel squirrelly. Its lighter feel and semi-loose personality didn't provide the planted, locked-in ride I would want for charging hard.

Its glide felt good and it carried speed well enough. It just wasn't especially stable once I started pushing beyond its preferred pace.

Uneven Terrain

Crud and Chunder

Crud wasn't one of the Tornado X's stronger areas. In soft, messy snow, it did reasonably well because it could float and flow over the top. But when the chopped-up snow became firmer, it was more easily deflected and thrown around.

It didn't have the stiffness or bulldozing personality to smash through rough snow while holding a strong line.

Trees and Moguls

The Tornado was a lot of fun in trees and through moguls.

It wasn't the quickest board I had ridden edge to edge, but it was so easy to turn that changing direction required very little effort, which made it super enjoyable. Its surfy feel also made it easy to establish a smooth rhythm through tight terrain.

In mid-firm to soft snow and shallow powder, it felt particularly good. I could quickly adjust my line, slash the tail and flow around obstacles without worrying about catching an edge.

It wouldn't have been my first choice for icy trees or really deep powder, but in the conditions I rode it in, it was sick!

Powder

I only had shallow powder during the test, but the Tornado X felt good in what was available.

Its directional-twin shape and raised contact points are in its favor and should help it float a little better than the average true-twin freestyle board. But not something I'd expect to be an effortless deep-powder floater, but I also wouldn't expect it to dive badly.

Jumps

Jumps were one of the Tornado X's strongest areas.

Pop

The pop was really easy to access. It required very little effort to load up, and the board released smoothly without feeling catchy or unpredictable.

Its total pop was good rather than epic. There are more explosive boards out there, but few give up their pop this easily.

Approach

Approaches felt maneuverable, forgiving and predictable.

I could make quick adjustments without much effort, and the board had enough stability for small and medium jumps. It leaned more toward being forgiving and adjustable than powerful and locked-in, so I preferred it for smaller to medium features rather than genuinely large jumps.

Landings

Landings felt comfortable and forgiving.

The catch-free shaping helped when I came down slightly off-center or needed to finish an under-rotation after touching down. It wasn't the most powerful platform for stomping huge landings, but it gave me a good balance of support and forgiveness.

Side Hits

The Tornado X was so sick for side hits!

The easy-access pop, light swing weight and low catch threat made it easy to find places to launch off anywhere, and throw the board around in the air. I didn't have to perfectly time or load every takeoff to get useful lift.

It was one of those boards that encouraged me to look for as many hits along the side of every run as I could find.

Switch

The Tornado X isn't a true twin, but its directional-twin shape still felt balanced enough when riding tail first. Transitions were super easy and confidence-inspiring, with virtually no concern about catching an edge.

Spins

Spins were another highlight.

It had easy pop, a relatively light swing weight and almost no catch threat during setups, landings or switch transitions. It was also forgiving when I landed under-rotated and needed the board to finish coming around on the snow.

There was a little tendency for the rotation to continue after landing, which was the main reason I wouldn't give it a perfect score. But overall, it was a really easy and enjoyable board to spin.

Jibbing

As a below-average jibber personally, the two things I appreciated most for hitting jibs are easy pop and minimal catch threat. The Tornado X had both in spades.

It was easy to get onto features, and its forgiving transitions gave me more confidence than a catchy, aggressive board would have. It wasn't a super-soft, jib-specific noodle, but I still really liked it for the jibbing I did.

Butters

The nose and tail were fairly easy to flex, and I found them a touch easier to press than those on my control board.

However, the three-dimensional uplift around the contact points didn't provide quite as stable a platform once I was in the press. That took away a little of the locked-in feeling I would have had from a completely flat base.

The trade-off was that transitions felt virtually catch-free. Moving into and out of presses was really confidence-inspiring.

I initially assumed that sensation came from Bataleon's full 3BT shaping. Looking at the redesigned board's specifications afterward, the terminology appeared a little more complicated, with its 3D Directional Twin shape and SideKick uplift being presented separately from the more obvious 3BT sections shown on some other models. Whatever the exact technical label, I could definitely feel some three-dimensional shaping around the contact points.

Overall Feel and Personality

The Tornado X had a semi-loose, surfy feel.

It was a little softer than my control board but pretty close - right around that middle of the road stiffness. It certainly wasn't noodle-soft, but it was easy to manipulate and never felt overly demanding.

Despite its easy pop, it leaned more smooth than snappy overall. That didn't mean it lacked energy - it still had some snap when I loaded it - but its dominant character was smooth, flowing and surfy.

It wasn't ultra playful, but it was more playful than average by my feel. It was also reasonably damp for its flex and weight. I wouldn't call it a super-damp board, but it felt a little less chattery than average.

In terms of weight it felt around normal in hand, perhaps a touch lighter than my control board, and that slightly lighter sensation carried over onto the snow.

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

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

I almost always have fun riding Bataleon boards, and the Tornado X Beyond Medals was no exception. The soft conditions on the test day suited it particularly well and allowed its surfy, catch-free personality to shine.

Its biggest strengths are side hits, spins, easy turns, trees and small to medium jumps. It was really easy to pop, effortless to slash and forgiving enough to inspire confidence when trying something less familiar.

Not a board for riders who primarily want to bomb, carve aggressively on hard snow or smash through firm crud. Edge hold and high-speed stability aren't its forte, IMO, and heavier or more aggressive riders might want more support.

But for riders who prefers a smoother, surfier all-mountain-freestyle ride and want to pop, spin, slash and play around without much catch threat, the Tornado X fits that bill really well.