Hello and welcome to my Capita Pathfinder snowboard review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Pathfinder as an all-mountain snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Pathfinder a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other all-mountain snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Capita Pathfinder
Price: $429
Style: All-Mountain/All-Mountain Freestyle
Flex Rating: Medium-Soft (4/10)
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium-Soft (4/10)
Rating Score: 81.3/100
Compared to other Men’s All-Mountain Boards
Of the 30 current model all-mountain snowboards that we tested:
❄️ The Pathfinder ranked 29th out of 30
Overview of the Pathfinder’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Pathfinder’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | All-Mountain to All-Mountain-Freestyle |
Price: | $429 - BUYING OPTIONS |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Turn Initiation: | Medium-Fast |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | Hybrid Camber - mostly camber |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | 12.5mm (0.5") |
Base: | Extruded Base (Superdrive EX) |
Weight: | Normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
145 | 246 | 80-120 | 36-54 |
147 | 248 | 90-140 | 41-63 |
149 | 250 | 95-150 | 43-68 |
151 | 252 | 100-155 | 45-70 |
153 | 254 | 110-170 | 50-77 |
155 | 256 | 120-180 | 54-81 |
157 | 258 | 140-200+ | 63-90+ |
151W | 258 | 110-150 | 50-68 |
153W | 260 | 110-170 | 50-77 |
155W | 261 | 130-190 | 59-86 |
157W | 263 | 140-200 | 64-91 |
159W | 265 | 150-210 | 68-95 |
162W | 268 | 160-220+ | 73-100+ |
Who is the Pathfinder Most Suited To?
The Pathfinder has the specs of an all-mountain board (at least how I typically classify them) but has an overall feel closer to an all-mountain freestyle board. The softer flex and snappy light board is easy to throw around, butter and plays well in the park too.
It can still lay down a pretty good carve, particularly for how soft it is, though.
And despite how camber dominant it is it's quite an easy board to ride and pretty forgiving of skidded turns. So if you're a beginner but wanting to start out on a camber board, this board is a great option for that.
Ideal for someone looking for an all-mountain to all-mountain freestyle board, likes their board softer flexing, but camber dominant and has a smaller budget (really reasonably priced).
The Pathfinder in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Pathfinder is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Capita Pathfinder 2022, 153cm (254mm waist width)
Date: February 26, 2021
Conditions: Sunny, not a cloud in the sky - 100% visibility.
Temperature was -4°C (25°F) - and -7°C (19°F) with wind chill factor. But felt warmer than that in the sun for sure.
24 hour snow: 4cm (1.5")
7 day snow: 61cm (24")
On groomer: Perfectly groomed to start and got a little choppier as the day went on, but smooth groomers for the most part. Overall mid-firm snow. Definitely not icy and wouldn't call it hard either. In between medium and hard.
Off groomer: Initially looked like it would be a little crusty but actually quite good. That 4cm (1.5") had filled in the tracks from yesterday and was soft on top. But not dust on crust. Underneath was pretty soft too. All good!
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 530mm (20.9″)
Stance Setback: 12.5mm (0.5")
Width at Front Insert: 263mm (10.35")
Width at Back Insert: 264mm (10.39")
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 175lbs
Rider Boot Size: US9.5 Adidas Tactical ADV
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
Weight: 2810grams (6lbs 3oz)
Weight per cm: 18.37 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. The Pathfinder is pretty much bang on average. Which is heavy for a Capita board (which tend to be lighter than average). On snow the board felt really light though - which is the main test - but it is also a 153, and I'd typically ride a board like this in the 155 to 158 range.
Flex
I felt like the flex was around 3.5/10, even bordering on 3/10. It was certainly quite soft flexing - but given I was riding a 153, I would say the 157, which would be more my typical size, would be more like 4/10.
Damp or Chattery?
More chattery than damp. Quite chattery overall.
Smooth or Snappy?
Really snappy feeling from this board. It's light, agile, springs well out of turns and has nice easy pop.
Powder
Did fine in the shallow stiff we had, but if it was deeper wouldn't be amazing from feel. And from specs, it's a little directional which helps, but with a virtually all camber profile and only being very subtly directional, it's not going to be an amazing option for the deeper days.
Carving & Turning
Carving: Could lay down a real nice carve for how soft it is (and given I was riding the 153). Not something that absolutely rips a big high speed, wide arcing carve, but fun to carve on, particularly for shorter carves at lower speeds.
Turning: Really easy to turn and fun to turn on. Good spring out of turns. Almost feels like it turns too far sometimes though, like it wants to spin you into switch even when you're not wanting it.
Maneuverability at slow speeds: I found this board super nimble when riding slow. Part of that was size, but even in a longer size (based on riding other boards in different sizes) this board would be nice and nimble at slow speeds.
Skidded Turns: Despite all that camber, skidded turns were really easy on this board. Part of the reason I think this would be a great option for a beginner who wants to start out with camber.
Speed
Better than I thought it would be for the 153, with that soft a flex. Still does get a bit wobbly when you really open it out, and the groomers were pretty smooth on the day, so that certainly helped too - and does feel the chatter - so not a speed demon, but took a higher speed than I though it would, to start to feel unstable.
Uneven Terrain
Crud: It gets a bit bucked around in crud - doesn't smash through it. I didn't have a lot of crud to content with on the day, but what was there did throw the Pathfinder off pretty easy - but it was super easy to correct with how nimble it is.
Bumps: Flexes easily with bumps when going over them and weaving through them it was a champ! Really nimble and quick edge to edge at slower speeds - a fun ride in the trees.
Let’s Break up this text with a Video
Jumps
Overall Impressions, fun, snappy and good easy pop.
Pop: Good overall pop and really easy to access
Approach: A little squirrelly for faster take offs, but fine otherwise
Landing: Not super solid but decent enough stability on landing off 20-30 foot jumps. Anything bigger a little more sketchy though.
Side-hits: Really good. Easy to maneuver and nice easy pop. Easy to correct on slightly choppy landings too.
Small jumps or Big jumps?: Best for small jumps and good for medium jumps. Less suitable to larger jumps.
Switch
It feels pretty good riding switch. It's not perfect but it's not bad. The only real complaint I had was with it trying to overturn a bit - which felt worse when riding switch.
Spins
Really easy to get the spin around (some of that was down to size, but would still be a n easy spinning boar). Setting up and landing switch pretty good too. Light and easy to access pop. A little overturn on landings though. Also hitting bigger tricks not as suitable.
Jibbing
Pretty good on jibs. I felt confident hitting jibs on it and I'm not an overly competent jibber.
Butters
Not as buttery as I was expecting for it's flex and size, but was still pretty easy to butter on. Certainly easier than the Outsiders that I also rode that day, but not as buttery as my control board (Lib Tech Terrain Wrecker).
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
| Factor | Rating (/5) | Weighted |
|---|---|---|
| Powder | 2 | 6/15 |
| Carving | 3 | 6/10 |
| Turns | 4.5 | 9/10 |
| Speed | 3 | 6/10 |
| Crud | 3 | 6/10 |
| Trees | 4 | 8/10 |
| Switch | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Jumps | 4 | 8/10 |
| Spins | 4 | 4/5 |
| Butters | 4 | 4/5 |
| Rails | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
| TOTAL (after normalizing): | 81.3/100 |
Overall, the Pathfinder is a super affordable all-mountain to all-mountain-freestyle board that's overall more playful than precise but it's not overly loose or anything and has a camber dominant feel, giving it a snappy, springy, easy pop feel to go with it's playfulness.
Not for those who prefer the steep and deep but for a playful, poppy all-mountain ride or even park board, this one is really fun - and won't break the bank.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Pathfinder, 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 all-mountain snowboard options, or if you want to compare how the Pathfinder compares to other all-mountain snowboards, then check out the next link.
Hello. When can we expect a review about Pathfinder Rev model? I am a beginner and looking for my first board. I’ve heard a lot of positive reviews about Pathfinder Rev. Is Rocker/Flat/Rocker good(best) option for beginner? PS i hope to see Pathfinder Rev in TOP 10-15 beginners list 😉
Hi Gediminas
I don’t typically do full reviews for beginner boards, but yes, I would consider the Pathfinder Rev a good beginner option. Flat-to-rocker is, IMO, a good stance for beginners – a hybrid camber or hybrid rocker can also be a good bet as long as the camber is subtle or it’s a rocker dominant hybrid profile.
Thank You Nate
What snowboard size do you recommend for 172-174 cm and 72-74kg? For learning in the park, for beginner. Boots size US 8.5-9. I was thinking about 149, 151, 153 snowboard size, something like that.
Hi Gediminas
I would put you on roughly a 156 as your “standard all-mountain” size, but for learning in the park for a beginner, you want to take quite a bit of size off that. I would be looking at something in the 150-152 range.
Thanks for that great, in depth review. I just purchased this board after reading your review. I was wondering if you have any plans on reviewing the pathfinder rev? I am starting to wonder if maybe i purchased the wrong board and should have purchased the rev instead. i looked for a horrorscope (basically pf rev?) review on your site and couldn’t find one.
I have been riding for a long time (20 years), but only hit the mountains a handful of times each year. I have never really messed around much with freestyling and park stuff, but I want to start. Which is why i purchased the pathfinder.
My question is, “what’s the main differences that somebody would feel between the two boards and are they focused towards different riders/styles?”
Thanks again for the great resource you provide.
Hi Shane
Thanks for your message.
Yeah the Horrorscope and Pathfinder Rev are basically the same boards – I haven’t got a review up for either (haven’t ridden the Pathfinder Rev yet – often harder to get hold of more beginner boards).
Given that you’ve been riding for a long time, I think the Pathfinder camber should work well for you. It’s certainly a playful board – but it’s camber, so not as beginner friendly as the Pathfinder Rev. But I’m guessing you’re very used to camber.
I think it’s certainly suitable for learning freestyle/park stuff if you otherwise have decent technique.
The main differences between the feel is that the Rev is a looser feel and the Camber version more stable. The camber version will give you more pop and be better on a carve. The Rev is likely a little easier to butter and a little more suited to jibs, but the camber version is still decent for those things. And the camber version better for jumps.
Hope this helps
Hi. Great reviews. Keep up The good work.
Im 171 cm tall and my Weight is 82kg.
Im looking for a snowboard to start doing butter on.
Im not so into the park area just the flstground tricks. And im ridning down hills. Im pretty good snowboard rider but a real noob on butters on flatground.
What snowboard size do you recomend for 171 cm 82kg?
Also do you recomend the capita pathfinder or maybe another board thats easy to butter on and ridning some down hills?
All The best to you 🙂
Hi Victor
Thanks for your message.
For what you’re describing you want to do with it, and your specs, I would go with the 155 if you want it to be a little bit versatile, but still on the buttery side (the 157 would be your length if you wanted to use it as an all-mountain board, IMO, but going a little shorter to help with buttering – shorter boards are easier to butter, in my experience). But if you want to really focus this board on those butters and ground tricks, and not worried at all about stability at speed or anything like that, then I’d go 153. This is all assuming a boot size of 10.5 or less.
This board is easy to butter. Certainly a good bit easier to butter than the average board, but if you wanted the easiest board to butter there are more buttery boards out there. You could check out the following for some other options (pay attention to the score breakdowns), if you did think you’d want something as buttery as possible:
>>My Top 10 Men’s Freestyle Snowboards
Hope this helps