Capita Birds of a Feather Review

Board: Capita Birds of a Feather

Price: $549

Style: All-Mountain-Freestyle

Flex Rating: Medium (5.5/10)

Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (6/10)

Rating Score: 84.3/100

Compared to other Women’s All-Mountain-Freestyle Boards

Overview of the Birds of a Feather's Specs

Check out the tables for the Birds of a Feather's specs and available sizes.

Specs

* the 154W is a new size for the 2024 model

Who is the Birds of a Feather Best Suited To?

The Birds of a Feather is most suited to anyone looking for a lightweight board, that is something that is at its best when you ride it a little aggressively. It's not something that's ultra aggressive, but performs best with a little speed under it and when you're leaning into the edges more than slashing/skidding turns. 

Not great in powder and not great in icy conditions, but otherwise very versatile. 

Not for beginners, as it has a catchier than average feel when riding at slower speeds. That feeling goes away with a bit of speed under it, but if you're new to snowboarding and riding slower trying to learn your turns, then it could be a frustrating or confidence reducing ride. 

The Birds of a Feather in More Detail

Bindings angles: +12/-9

Stance width: 500mm (19.7″)

Stance Setback: Centered

Width at Inserts: 244mm (9.61")  

Weight: 2420g (5lbs, 5oz)

Weight per cm: 16.58g/cm

Average Weight per cm: 17.38 grams/cm*

* based on just over 40 women's boards that I've weighed in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 & 2024 models. The BOAF was noticeably lighter on the scales. It felt slightly lighter than normal on snow. 

Tester: Meira

Rider Height:  5'4 (163cm)

Rider Weight: 130lbs (58kg)

Rider Boot Size: US Women's 8 (Burton Limelite)

Bindings Used: Union Milan

Powder

Nothing to test in on the day, but based on feel and specs, the BOAF would sink pretty easily in deep powder and you'd need to really be leaning back on that back leg to stay afloat without nose diving. 

Carving & Turning

Carving: Carves had a good locked-in feeling for shorter and longer carves. Edge starts to loose stability for higher speed carves and can start to wash out, particularly on toe side. 

Ease of Turning/Slashing: Pretty easy to initiate turns on. Not the easiest in the world, but not hard either. 

Maneuverability at slow speeds: Not super nimble at slow speeds. It wasn't sluggish either but it preferred having a bit of speed underneath it. Not super high speeds (as we'll discuss below) but does best at moderately high speeds - rather than really slow or really fast. 

Catchiness:  It could feel a little catchy at slower speeds, but that feeling goes away with moderate speed underneath it. 

Speed

It feels fast and is semi stable at speeds but does get a little chattery and wobbly when you really get it up there, but can handle up to really decent speeds, still feeling stable. Can start to feel washy when carving at higher speeds, but moderately high speed carves were good. Had good glide through the snow. 

Uneven Terrain

Crud: Slight buck around and instability going over crud and variable snow but smashes through most things pretty well.

Trees/Bumps: Does a good job without being an excellent job. It's quick enough edge-to-edge for weaving between obstacles, but it's not super quick edge-to-edge. With powder in trees, you'd have to work hard to keep the nose from sinking. 

Jumps

Overall performs really well for jumps. 

Pop: Not super easy to access its pop, but there is heaps of pop when you put in the effort and wind this thing up. And you get full value for that pop, with the board being as light as is. On snow it doesn't feel much lighter than normal (a little but not that much) but in the air, you notice the lightness more. 

Approach: Great mix of being stable but also with decent enough maneuverability to adjust setup position and speed check.

Landing: Can stomp landings when you get it right. Didn't feel super forgiving though, when you didn't quite get it right.

Side-hits: Could be easier to access pop which would make it better, but otherwise really good. 

Small jumps/Big jumps: Sweet spot is medium jumps but can handle larger and smaller jumps too. 

Switch

Easy to ride switch on (no surprise being a true twin). Transitions were pretty easy too, though at times could feel a little catchy, when transitioning at slower speeds. 

Spins

For the most part really good for spins. Light and easy to spin it around and it rides well switch for 180s etc. The only thing holding it back from being amazing is that for slower setups, it can have a bit of a catchy feel - and having easier access pop would make it easier for slower, smaller spin tricks. 

Jibbing

Approach is decent, though again, for slower approaches can feel a little catchy, so keeping some speed under it makes it feel better on approaches. Have to put that effort in to pop onto features, so some easier access pop would also improve its jib performance. Otherwise good. 

Butters

Decently easy to initiate and hold a press. You've got to lean into it a bit and get your weight over the tip/tail, but you don't have to throw everything into it. 

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

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

The BOAF is one of those boards that's not ultra aggressive, but is at its best when you ride it a little more aggressively. With a bit of speed and leaning into its edges it starts to purr and becomes a really fun board. 

It's versatile and well suited to jumps, switch and spins and butters pretty well too, but can also handle a good amount of speed and lay down a decent carve.