DC The 156 Snowboard Review

Who is The 156 Most Suited To?

The D.C 156 is best suited to anyone looking for a board that can do a bit of everything but in a more aggressive way, like spending the day riding faster and carving as opposed to cruising around and slashing.

It does have a few weaknesses like riding in deeper snow and jibbing. But if you don't plan on doing things such as these, you are really going to enjoy this board and you could even consider it your one-quiver board.

Certainly not a board for beginners. The 156 its a stiff traditional camber board that will punish you if you have poor technique. I would recommend it to experienced intermediate riders who are looking to make the jump to advanced but otherwise this board is made more for advanced to expert riders.

Bindings angles: +12/-9

Stance width: 22.4″ (570mm)

Stance Setback: Centered

Width at Inserts: 265mm (10.43") 

Rider Height: 6'1"

Rider Weight: 180lbs

Rider Boot Size: US9.5 Adidas Tactical Lexicon ADV

Bindings Used: Fix Yale: M 

Weight: 5lb 9oz (2520grams)

Weight per cm: 16.15 grams/cm

Average Weight per cm: 18.59 grams/cm*

*based on a sample size of around 200 models that I’ve weighed in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2023 models. The DC The 156 is the lightest men's board we've ever weighed - so yeah, you can say it's light! And it feels super light on snow too. 

Powder

Unfortunately there was no powder available to test the 156 in but looking at the specs will do OK.

According to the specs the 156 doesn't have a whole lot going for it powder wise. It's a centered stanced, true twin board with traditional camber underneath the feet. While I'm sure it can handle smaller amounts of snow the 156 isn't ideal for deeper pow days.

Carving & Turning

Carving:  Really capable of laying out nice carves with the traditional camber underfoot being ideal for deeper, more aggressive carves.

Turning: Turned easier than expected. I figured with it being on the stiffer side turning would require more work but it didn't. It felt smooth edge-to-edge and fairly quick while not getting washy whatsoever. I enjoyed it the most turning at moderate to higher speeds as it turned best at these speeds 

Maneuverability at slow speeds: I found it felt pretty average overall. I wouldn't say it's quick edge-to-edge at slow speeds but it's certainly not sluggish either. The camber profile demands you stay on top of it otherwise it can get a little catchy. 

Skidded Turns: It handled them OK but can feel a bit catchy. 

Speed

This board can be a hill bomber if desired. The aggressive camber profile mixed with the stiffness is a great combo, allowing you to really rip down the mountain with a stable damp feeling. And you never really notice any chatter while riding at these higher speeds. Also held an edge really well at higher speeds which was ideal for linking longer turns.

Uneven Terrain

Smashed through crud/chunder with minimal effort never really getting bucked around unless going through a really large amount, but the board was easy enough to correct even in these situations.

Jumps

Overall performed quite nicely

Pop: Has more than the average board but it isn't the easiest to access. Tt requires you to put in some work to get all of it but it rewards you when you do. 

Approach: Felt stable on approach. No chatter. Not the quickest edge-to-edge for smaller jumps where you don't need as much speed on the approach. 

Landing: Absorbed landings nicely especially when you land centered. It could however have been a little catchy on landings were you land frontside or backside heavy. 

Side-hits: Enjoyable on most side hits especially when you load up and use the pop to your advantage.

Small jumps/Big jumps:  Capable on any size jump but I preferred larger jumps with it.

Switch

Felt identical riding either direction which didn't surprise me much as the centered stance and true twin shape should feel like this. I will say it could feel catchy at times in the transition due to the camber.

Spins

Overall not to bad. Fairly easy to setup switch landings/takeoffs.  I would just prefer it more if the pop was easier to access and the switch transitions were less catchy feeling.  

Jibbing

By no means a jibbers dream as the stiff flex makes it require more work for presses/butters but the solid amount of pop with the centered twin shape make it a capable option for more experienced jibbers.

Butters

Buttering is by no means effortless on the 156. It will demand some effort as you will really need to lean into them more than normal and then get some weight behind it to hold it in place.

Overall, the D.C 156 is a board that is going to make you work for everything. You have to ride it hard all the time but the work is worth the reward as it can be seriously fun for laying out carves or popping into something for some bigger air.

It doesn't excel at everything but for the right rider this board is more than capable of doing almost anything. 

And did I mention this thing is light!