Hello and welcome to my Capita Navigator snowboard review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Navigator as a surfy-freeride snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Navigator a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other surfy-freeride snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Capita Navigator 2021
Price: $479
Style: Surfy Freeride
Flex Rating: Medium (5.5/10)
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (6/10)
Rating Score: 90.0/100
Compared to other Men’s Surfy Freeride Boards.
* note that the "surfy freeride" category is a new category here at Snowboarding Profiles - and represents freeride boards that are in that softer flex range - 6.5/10 or less. They're not necessarily "surfy" feeling boards as such - but "slightly softer flexing freeride" just didn't have the same ring as a category name!"
Out of the 28 men’s freeride snowboards that I rated:
Overview of the Navigator’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Navigator's specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Surfy Freeride |
Price: | $479 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Turn Initiation: | Medium-Fast |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | Setback 25mm |
Base: | Sintered |
Weight: | Light |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
147 | 241 | 90-140 | 40-63 |
151 | 245 | 110-160 | 59-73 |
155 | 252 | 130-190 | 59-86 |
158 | 256 | 150-200 | 68-90 |
161 | 260 | 160-210 | 72-95 |
164 | 264 | 170-220+ | 77-100+ |
Who is the Navigator Most Suited To?
The Navigator is best suited to anyone looking for a directional ride that does well in powder and trees, but can also open out on the groomers when you need to and someone that wants something more mid-flex.
Also great for those looking for a freeride board on a budget.
Not for a beginner, but intermediate and up riders should be fine with this.
The Navigator in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Navigator is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Capita Navigator, 158cm (256mm waist width)
Note that the Navigator has different colors for different sizes - 147 (yellow), 151 (red), 155 (white), 158 (blue), 161 (green) and 164 (black). The image at the top of this post is the 151. I rode the 158.
Date: February 25, 2020
Conditions: Lightly snowing picked up to moderate during testing. Some fresh over the prvious 48 hours too. Around 15cm I think.
Visibly wasn't bad though. Not 100% but 80-85%
-3°C (26.6°F) with wind. Feels about that. Cold but certainly not bone chilling cold
Off groomer some decent powder pockets in places. On groomer soft packed and quite cruddy
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 560mm (22″)
Stance Setback: Setback 25mm (1")
Width at Inserts: 267mm (10.51") at front insert and 265mm (10.43")*
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 175lbs
Rider Boot Size: US10 Salomon Lo-Fi
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
Weight: 2680g (5lbs 15oz)
Weight per cm: 16.96 grams/cm
Average Weight per cm: 18.36 grams/cm*
*based on a small sample size of around 80 boards that I've weighed in 2019, 2020 & 2021 models. The Navigator is amongst the lightest boards I've weighed! Capita boards are typically light. On snow it felt light too.
Damp or Chattery?
A little on the chattery side of the scale. Not ultra chattery, but felt the chatter a little more than average.
Smooth or Snappy?
More smooth than snappy but only just smooth side of center of scale
Powder
Felt so nice to ride in powder! And that's no big surprise, given the setback, the long nose and short tail, good amount of taper and rocker in the nose. That and a moderately wider than average overall platform.
Carving & Turning
Carving: Good on a carve, and with the new camber profile (now directional hybrid camber, whereas it was directional flat to rocker in 2020 and previous models) it now has that bit more of a spring to it.
Turning: Turns are pretty effortless on the Navigator and it's got a turning feeling that's not super surfy, but it's also not super precise, it's just in that middle ground.
Maneuverability at slow speeds: Nice and maneuverable in slower speeds. Easy and quick getting from edge to edge, even when riding slow.
Skidded Turns: Skidding turns is doable on this board. It's pretty forgiving for when you get lazy. It's not beginner board skiddy, but pretty skidable.
Speed
Better stability at speed than I was expecting. It's not like the fastest most stable board I've ever ridden at speed. But it's above average.
Uneven Terrain
You can feel the chatter a little in crud - kind of comes with the territory of such a light board. But maneuvering in the crud and making adjustments as you go is awesome.
And really good for weaving through bumpy terrain - really enjoyed this board in the trees.
Let’s Break up this text with a Video
Jumps
It's not a specialist jump board by any means, but it's OK - and there's a bit more pop in there now too, with the new camber profile.
Pop: Decent pop without being epic.
Approach: A good mix of stable but nimble.
Landing: Solid on landings. Not a stomper, but solid enough.
Side-hits: Pretty good without being epic.
Small jumps/Big Jumps: Fine for any size, but probably medium is the sweet spot.
Switch
Not well suited to riding switch, but doable for short amounts of time.
Spins
Not great for landing/taking off switch, but otherwise the spin comes around OK. Though does feel a little off balance with that long wide nose vs small tail.
Butters
Not bad to butter. Not super buttery, but not super hard to butter either. I'd say 3.5/5.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | Contribution to Final Score | |
|---|---|---|
POWDER | 4.5 | 27/30 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 4.5 | 18/20 |
TURNING | 4.0 | 16/20 |
CARVING | 3.5 | 7/10 |
SPEED | 4.0 | 8/10 |
JUMPS | 3.0 | 3/5 |
SWITCH | 2.0 | 2/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 90/100 |
The Navigator is a lightweight board that handles uneven terrain very well and performs at it's best when in powder or between the trees, but can also lay a decent carve and bomb pretty well.
Well suited to anyone looking for a freeride type board, but one that is easier on the wallet and softer in flex.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Navigator, 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 Navigator compares to other surfy freeride snowboards, then check out the next link.
Hi Nate,
Thank for the content.
Very much liked the article on your site on effective edge.
I’ve been looking at the navigator only because i found it at such a great price with all the sales here in Australia and no one is riding currently
I was thinking I’d go for a 161 as my specs are 180lbs and 11.5 Burton ion boot
I’m just a bit worried about the width at 260mm and float in Japan powder as this is where I ride mostly. Hopefully I can get back there soon
My all rounder board has been a 157w deep thinker which has a waist width of 260mm which has been good as an all mountain charger with a bit of a directional feel. Just not as much taper or setback or length as the 161 navigator.
Basically I want to be able to charge around the groomers and side hits and make sure this has my back if I’m in the fresh stuff in Japan but I’m worried I should look elsewhere for a similar style board with a wider profile. Or would this be ok?
What are your thoughts?
Appreciate your time
Nelson
Hi Nelson
Thanks for your message.
In terms of powder I don’t think you’ll have any issues. I found this board to be good in powder and the specs back that up too. In terms of surface area, you’re still looking at overall more surface area than the 157W Deep Thinker – that extra length and being wider in the nose. That plus the extra taper and my experience with the 160 Deep Thinker, I’d say you’ll get a level up in terms of powder versus your 157W Deep Thinker.
In terms of width at inserts in terms of fitting your 11.5s on it, it’s a little narrower than the Deep Thinker at the inserts. The 161 Navigator should be around 269mm at the back insert (271mm at the front insert). The Deep Thinker 157W is around 272mm at the back insert (270mm at the front insert). The Navigator is a little narrower at the back insert due to the extra taper, mostly. If you’ve never had issues with boot drag on the Deep Thinker, then likely you’ll be OK, but 3mm can make a difference – and boot drag is more likely in softer snow.
But yeah, in terms of powder, I think you should be great with the Navigator, the only real question mark is the width at inserts. In terms of versus the Deep Thinker, you’re looking at a softer flexing board in the Navigator and a more mellow ride (not as aggressive) – a board I’d be happy to have in Japan though.
Hope this helps and hope you get some more riding in this year if your resorts open and hopefully not too long before you can travel to Japan again!
Awesome!
Thanks Nate!
Um just wondering, do you mean 272mm at front and 270 at the back for the deep thinker and not the other way around?
Thanks so much for your input.
Hi Nelson
So, typically with a non-tapered board, if there’s any setback the width at the back insert will be wider than the width at the front insert – which makes sense, since the back insert is set closer to the widest part of the board than the front insert is. With tapered boards, it depends on how much taper and how much setback. Occasionally a tapered, setback board ends up with the same width at both back and front insert – this is when the taper cancels out the setback, if that makes sense. In the case of the Navigator, there is enough taper there that, even though it’s setback 25mm, it’s still narrower at the back insert. In the case of the Deep Thinker, there’s less taper, so the setback is enough on that board to make the width at inserts still wider at the back than the front. Of course it depends on how much you set back to – whether you go to reference stance or setback further. E.g. on the Navigator, if you were to increase the setback, or widen the stance width, then it would be wider at the back insert than if you were to ride on the reference setback and reference stance width.
Sorry! That was a long way to say, yes 272mm back insert on deep thinker and 270mm front insert (based on my measurements of 267mm back inserts and 265mm front insert on the 160 Deep Thinker).
No, thank you!
Thanks for explaining. That makes so much sense now. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that!
Once again, so informative.
All the best Nate
You’re very welcome Nelson. Thanks for visiting the site and happy riding for the next time you get a chance to ride!
Hi Nate
very helpfull review. Could you please give some more information on carving performance. I generally ride off-slope after fresh snowing, but also like carving on slope. My current board is rossignol templar.
Do you have any link navigator carving video
Hi Serhat
Thanks for your message.
The only video I could find of it with someone carving on it was from an older model, when this board was a directional flat-to-rocker profile. It’s not a directional hybrid camber profile – and that camber makes it a better carver than it once was. It still wasn’t bad with the flat-to-rocker, but that camber has given it a livelier carve that’s just more energetic and helps to hold the edge a little better. It’s still not a board that lays down epic big arcing carves – and part of that I would say is the taper, part of it that the camber isn’t super dominant and that it’s not overly stiff. But it can still lay down a carve, but is just on the shorter/sharper carves side versus long drawn out carves. But it’s not something that’s super short/sharp on it’s carves, it’s somewhere in the middle, but just to the shorter/sharper side of the scale, if that makes sense.
Versus the Templar, I would say it’s a little better on a carve. Not massively so, but I would say 3/5 for the Templar and 3.5/5 for the Navigator.
Hope this helps
Thank you, Nate. I have been also evaluating ride commissioner. Since carving and powder ratimgs seems better than navigator, i changed my mind to commissioner
Hi Serhat
Yeah certainly a better carver (I haven’t ridden the Commissioner but did ride the predecessor to it – the Timeless). The Timeless was super stiff. I think the Commissioner is supposed to have mellowed out a little, but supposed to still be quite a stiff board. Just an FYI, in case you weren’t looking to go too stiff. But if you like the idea of going stiff, then yeah, the Commissioner is going to help give you some epic carves.
Hi Nate. Thank you for agood review. I am considering to buy this board. Bought the Kazu Kokubo 157, but I found it too stiff to my taste. Looking for something with a softer flex and more playful for buttering. Do you think this would be a good option? I am 165lbs and 5’11’’, us 9,5 boot size. Would you recommend the 155 or 158. I usually ride boards between 156-158. Thankful for your advice if you have the time.
Hi Anders
Thanks for your message.
The Navigator certainly softer than the Kazu, and easier to butter too. As far as a directional board for buttering goes, it’s pretty good. In my notes on it for buttering, I’ve got that it’s considerably easier to butter than the Kazu – with the Navigator being a 3.5/5 or up to 4/5 for buttering and the Kazu more like 2.5-3.
Size-wise I think you could definitely ride either size. I would probably be leaning 158. And the 158 will still be more buttery than the 157 Kazu but if you wanted it even more buttery, then going shorter would make it feel softer, more playful and more buttery than the 158 and more maneuverable at slower speeds, but it would also sacrifice a little in terms of stability at speed and float in powder.
Hope this helps
Hi Nate
Thank you so much for your advice. I think I will order the 158 then, I’ll post a comment after riding the board.
Thanks again!
You’re very welcome Anders. Look forward to hearing how you get on.
Hi Nate. Just wanted to follow up. I’ve tried the board out now in a variety of conditions, and it’s really been great. Would definately recommend it to others. Happy I went with the 158. Thank’s again for all the advice!
Hi Anders
Thanks for the feedback. Much appreciated.
Awesome to hear that the board is treating you well! Happy riding!
Hi Nate,
I’m an intermediate snowboarder who has been snowboarding for the past 10 years, but only 3-5 days a season. Recently I moved to Utah, so I can get quite a few more days in. Looking to get 10+ days this season. Right now I have the 2012 T Rowe Price Art of Flight @157 cm and I feel that it is way too stiff and un-playful for me. My goal is to get a lot more comfortable on my snowboard in all types of Freeride environments, but I don’t want to get a board that controls me, I’d rather control it. I don’t ride switch and prefer to bomb groomers, search for powder, hit small jumps(learning), and navigate trees (learning). I don’t care about riding park (rails, boxs, etc)
I’ve been doing a ton of research on your site and think that I’ve narrowed my search down to a handful of boards, all of which are Rocker/Camber/Rocker. Please help me decide which would be best for my needs:
– Capita Navigator
– Jones Frontier
– Jones Twin Mountain Twin
– Salomon Assassin
*Also for reference, I am 6’0, 185 lbs, and wear a size 11 boot.
Hi Will
Thanks for your message.
Based on the style of riding your describing, I would be leaning to either Capita Navigator or Frontier. Mountain Twin would work too, but since you don’t have much freestyle focus, I think going more directional makes the most sense. Either of those 2 would work well for what you’re describing, but I would be leaning Navigator, just because I found it a little better in trees, personally, a little more maneuverable at slower speeds. Frontier not bad in that respect, but Navigator just a little better, in my experience.
Some other options I would consider would be the GNU Hyperkyarve and Lib Tech Dynamo. However, they are Hybrid Rocker (camber/rocker/camber), so if you wanted to stick with hybrid camber (rocker/camber/rocker), then I’d stick with Navigator or Frontier.
Size-wise, for the Navigator I would be looking at the 158. The only question will be the width.
For the Frontier, I would be thinking between the 158W and 159.
Width-wise, the Frontier 158 is 265mm at the back insert, which is pushing it being too narrow for 11s. It might be doable, depending on a few factors.
a. binding angles. If you’re riding with angles like +15/-15 then it gives you more leeway to go a little narrower, less leeway if you’ve got a flatter angle on the back foot
b. profile of boots – if you have low profile boots, then you can afford to go narrower
c. how deep you carve. If you like to really lean into your carves, then you won’t be able to go as narrow without risking boot drag.
I think for 11s, if you have a good angle on the back binding and have low profile boots and don’t carve too aggressively, then you get away with it, but you probably want to have all 3 of things in place.
For the Frontier, the 159 is roughly 268mm at the back insert, so it gives you a little more leeway, but I’d still want at least 2 of the 3 above to be comfortable with 11s.
The Frontier 158W is going to be roughly 276mm at the back insert, which will be plenty wide enough. It’s just whether it’s on the too wide of things. Opposite to the other size options, if you ride with a flat back foot and like to really lean into your carves, then this would be a good width, IMO.
Let me know if you wanted to also consider something like the Hyperkyarve or Dynamo and I would be happy to give sizing opinions for those too.
Hope this helps
Thanks so much for the feedback Nate! Ok, so I think I’m going to cross both Jones boards off my list. The Capita Navigator looks super sick and seems like it could be a good board for me. I also like that you labeled it as “Surfy Freeride”, I grew up surfing, so if it even kinda feels that way, I’ll be happy.
I just measured my feet yesterday and it looks like they are 28cm. I’m still playing around with binding angles, but am naturally a little bit duck footed, so I’m thinking +18 in the front and maybe -6 for my back foot. Do those seem like weird angles, should I just keep my back foot at 0? With that being said, do you still think the 158 board would work for me?
I read a ton of reviews about people really liking Hybrid Camber, but do you think Rocker Camber would be a better fit for my riding style and needs? If so, I’ll take a look at those other two board that you recommended. What benefits do they have over the Capita Navigator?
Finally, I think that I’m going to replace by boots, any good recs for this particular board? Also, I currently have the Union Force bindings, would those be good for this or should I replace my bindings too?
*thanks for not calling me out when I said “T Rowe Price Art of Flight” I work in finance and it was a late night, I meant “T Rice Art of Flight” haha
Hi Will
haha yeah I noticed that, but knew what you meant!
Firstly, +18/-6 aren’t weird angles at all. I personally don’t like a 0 on my back foot, I like to be a little duck even if I’m not riding a mirror duck (mirror duck is like +15/-15, +12/-12, that kind of thing). If I’m riding a more forward stance, then something like +18/-6 is one of my go-tos. Whatever feels best for you. I think those angles would be fine if you were in a low profile boot and if you could get into a 10.5. Feet are kinda weird and fitting isn’t always straight forward, but if I had to guess, you should fit well in a 10.5 boot, which would mean you should be fine. And if you go low profile at the same time, then I would be confident the 158 Navigator would be good width-wise.
In terms of boots for the Navigator, I would be looking at something around 6/10. 7/10 in terms of flex. Some options here:
>>My Top All Mountain (medium to medium-stiff flex) Snowboard Boots
If you look at the score breakdowns you will see which ones are more low profile. I find with Adidas boots that I can get in 1/2 size smaller (I wear 9.5 in Adidas and I’m typically a 10), so you might even fit a 10 in them.
Union Force would be a good match for any of these boards, so I wouldn’t change those.
Hybrid Camber and Hybrid Rocker is a preference. I like both to be honest. I have boards with hybrid rocker and boards with hybrid camber – and I test a lot of boards with all sorts of camber profiles and I like riding both. Some people have strong preferences for one or the other. Hybrid rocker does tend to give a looser, surfier feel, so if you’re looking for that surfy feel, then I think the Hyperkyarve could be a good bet. That rocker between the feet typically gives a looser feel. The Dynamo only has really subtle rocker between the feet, so it’s more of a stable feel. The Navigator too, is more of a stable feel. It’s not “locked-in” but it’s not “loose” feeling either. Think of it as a scale of loose to locked-in with stable being right in the middle, if that makes sense.
You can check out this list too:
>>Top 10 Surfy (mellow) Freeride Snowboards
I think the Navigator would certainly work well for what you’re describing, but if you did want a particularly sufy feel, something like the Hyperkyarve is worth looking into.
You’re awesome Nate, thanks so much for the advice! I’m getting the Capita Navigator and the Adidas Tactical ADV’s.
Have a great season!
You’re very welcome Will. Hope you have a great season too! If you think about it at the time let me know how you get on, once you’ve had a chance to get your new setup out on snow.