Endeavor Pioneer Snowboard Review

* note the 155W is a new size for the 2021 model.

Who is the Pioneer Most Suited To?

The Pioneer is great for anyone who wants to ride the park or wants to ride the mountain like a park. It excels in all things freestyle - and is a very well rounded board for riding freestyle. 

It's not un-rideable if you want to carve and ride at speed but not its forte. 

A pretty easy going ride overall, but not strictly beginner friendly. A high-end beginner will probably be fine on it, but not for the complete beginner. Intermediate to advanced freestyle riding is where this board fits best. 

Bindings angles: +15/-15

Stance width: 560mm (22″)

Stance Setback: Centered

Width at Inserts: 264mm (10.39") 

Rider Height: 6'0"

Rider Weight: 185lbs

Rider Boot Size: US10 Vans Aura

Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M 

Weight: 2780 grams (6lb 2oz)

Weight per cm: 18.05 grams/cm

Average Weight per cm: 18.45 grams/cm*

*based on a small sample size of 51 boards that I've weighed in 2019 and 2020 models. So the Pioneer just on the lighter side of normal. The actual weight of a board and feel on snow is often very different though. The Pioneer felt lighter on snow than normal.  

Powder

Didn't have any fresh powder to test it in, but based on specs, not the kind of board you get for riding powder. Fine for the occasional pocket but not for being regularly in deeper powder. 

Carving & Turning

Fun for all types of turns. Nice and maneuverable all round, whether riding fast or slow. 

Not an aggressive carver by any means. Could get into a carve but not something that's going to have you elbows deep in a carve.  A longer size would have been better for carving, but not what this board's forte is in any case. 

It was the loosest feeling of all the Endeavor boards I rode. Not ultra-loose by any means, but just very slightly on the looser side of stable. 

Speed

Decent at speed - again in a longer size would be a bit better again, but again, speed not its forte. Not what this board is best at, but not what I would be buying this type of board for anyway. 

Uneven Terrain

For bumpy terrain it felt really good. Going over bumps it hugged the terrain well and was nimble enough to easily weave through bumpy areas. 

Was fine in crud too.   

Let’s Break up this text with a Video

Jumps

Now we get into the Pioneer's territory! 

Good pop - and super easy to access that pop, and all round super fun board for jumps. 

Approach: Great approach for everything from small to large jumps and sidehits. 

Landing: Really solid. It's sweet spot is off medium jumps, but doable for large jumps too. 

Side-hits: Ideal for sidehits. Really good, easy to access pop - nimble on approach for those trickier to get to sidehits, easy to spin and to take off and land riding switch.   

Small jumps: Small to medium jumps this thing was super fun. Just about ideal. 

Big jumps: Maybe not the boss of large jumps, but doable. 

Switch

Basically the same either way. 

Spins

I found the board really easy to get around. Yes I was riding a 154, which is a little shorter than I'm used to, so keep that in mind. But even so, for this type of board I would consider the 154 and no longer than the 156 anyway. 

That plus great pop and works really well for taking off and landing switch, makes this a great spinner. Only half a point off for those that like to go massive with their spins - a board with a slightly stiffer platform would likely be better then, but for most of us, that's not part of our repertoire anyway. 

Jibbing

A good little jibber too - a good all-rounder for freestyle riding. 

Butters

I found the Pioneer to be the most buttery of the Endeavor boards I rode. I thought that would go to the Ranger, but I actually found this a little more buttery. And the Ranger is good for buttering, so this is a great little butterer.   

Overall, the Pioneer has everything you need for riding freestyle. It's predominantly a jumper and spinner, but can certainly hold it's own down the jib line too. It's also really buttery, but without feeling flimsy at all. 

One of the funnest freestyle decks I rode last winter.