Hello and welcome to my Flow Era snowboard review.
Flow’s Era has been around for a while now and it’s developed into a really sweet deck in my opinion.
As per tradition here at Snowboarding Profiles the Era will be given a rating out of 100. I’ll also look at:
- How this board compares to other all-mountain-freestyle snowboards
- Overview of the Era’s specs
- Who this board is most suited to
- Looking at the Era’s performance in more detail; and
- The breakdown of the Era’s score
NOTE: This review was last updated for the 2018 model.
Overall Rating
Board: Flow Era
Price: $409 (USD Recommended Retail)
Style: All-Mountain-Freestyle
Flex: Medium-soft (4/10)
Rating Score: 80.9/100
Compared to other Men’s All-Mountain-Freestyle Boards
Out of the 24 men’s all-mountain-freestyle snowboards that I rated:
- The average score was 81.3/100
- The highest score was 93.3/100 (see below)
- The lowest score was 70.8/100
- The average price was $507
- The Era ranked 11th= out of 24
Overview of the Era’s Specs
Check out the table’s below for the Era’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
| Style | All-Mountain-Freestyle | Flex | Medium-Soft (4 out of 10) |
| Ability Level | Beginner to Expert | Feel | Semi-Stable |
| Weight | Normal | Turn Initiation | Medium-Fast |
| Camber Profile | Hybrid Rocker | Shape | True Twin |
| Stance Setback | Centered | Edge-hold | Medium snow |
| Price | $409 (USD) | Base | Sintruded |
Sizing
| Size (Length) | 150 | 153 | 155 | 158 | 155W |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waist Width (mm) | 247 | 250 | 252 | 259 | 262 |
| Weight Range (kgs) | 52 - 75 | 57 - 88 | 61 - 88 | 68 - 91+ | 63 - 88+ |
| Weight Range (lbs) | 115 - 165 | 125 - 195 | 135 - 195 | 150 - 200+ | 140 - 195+ |
Who is the Era most Suited to?
The Era is a great deck for riding freestyle in the park but it will also take you out of the park onto the groomers. It’s at its best when you’re riding freestyle whether that be in the park or on the trails using natural hits.
But it’s also great for casual riders who just want a playful, casual feeling deck for riding the groomers.
It comes with a great price-tag for its performance so anyone who doesn’t want to spend too much but who also doesn’t want to compromise too much on performance will love this deck.
It can pretty much do anything you throw at it but it excels mostly in the park and riding freestyle on the groomers. I’ve taken it in to the backcountry and you can survive but it’s quite hard work out there – not what it’s designed for.
The Era in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a look at the Era in more detail starting with how it does in powder.
Powder
Powder is the Era’s weakest feature. And that comes as no surprise really – it has a true twin shape and a centered stance which means you’ve got to work pretty hard to keep the nose up.
Also I don’t find the hybrid rocker shape the best in powder either – but it is brilliant for other things. I prefer to have more rocker out towards the tip and tail for riding powder personally.
Carving
For a deck made more for freestyle – and one that has a pretty mellow side-cut and a medium-soft flex, I didn’t actually find the Era too bad for carving when I felt the need.
Now I’m not going to tell you it was a carving demon – there are definitely better carving boards out there – but given it’s not setup for it you can still do it when you want.
If carving is your bread and butter obviously there are better boards – but if you want to lay down the occasional carve but otherwise prefer to ride freestyle then the carving is sufficient with the Era.
Speed
It’s not a speed demon but again that’s not what it was designed for – but it’s not a snail either.
It has something called a Sintruded 3000 base – based on the name I can only assume this is somehow a hybrid between a sintered and an extruded base.
Either way it’s not slow and not super-fast either. But it can take a hit and is pretty low maintenance.
O.k. let’s break up this text with a Video
Check out the Era in action and learn more tech details.
Uneven Terrain
I found the Era to be pretty good at negotiating the bumps. The slightly softer than average flex (Medium-Soft) gives it good “suspension” on the bumpy stuff.
Switch
It’s basically ideal for riding switch and feels very natural in whatever direction you’re riding. And that’s no surprise because of its centered stance and true twin shape.
Transition between switch and your normal stance is nice and easy and feels pretty catch-free too.
Jumps
I really enjoy this board for jumps. It’s got decent pop for getting extra height off jumps and ollies off lips and rollers and the landings are smooth and easy.
It’s maybe not perfect for really large jumps but for small to medium jumps and hitting off natural terrain it’s really fun. I’d probably give it closer to a 4.5/5 for smaller jumps and 3.5/5 for larger jumps – for a 4/5 overall.
Jibbing
This board is pretty stable on jibs and the base can handle a lot of punishment. The rocker between the feet is also nice for hitting board-slide and also good for 50/50s.
Pipe
I’d prefer a faster, slightly stiffer board for the pipe but this is decent in the small pipe. It’s centered stance and true twin shape were pluses in the pipe.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the score breakdown for all of the above factors in the table below.
| FACTOR | RATING (OUT OF 5) | CONTRIBUTION TO FINAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| Switch: | 4.5 | 18/20 |
| Jumps: | 4.0 | 16/20 |
| Jibbing: | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Carving: | 3.0 | 6/10 |
| Powder: | 2.5 | 5/10 |
| Speed: | 3.0 | 6/10 |
| Uneven Terrain: | 4.0 | 8/10 |
| Pipe: | 3.0 | 6/10 |
| TOTAL after normalizing | 80.9/100 |
I own the 2013 version of this deck and it’s still really fun to ride. Not much has changed between then and the 2018 version but it has been tweaked to be just that little bit better at what it does.
This is a really fun board for riding freestyle on the groomers and in the park and just for the riding the groomers if you like your riding casual and fun.
It’s not the very best all-mountain-freestyle deck I’ve ridden but it is one of the best for its price-point – it’s almost $100 cheaper than the average all-mtn-freestyle deck.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
Check out the following links for more info on the Era, plus current prices at a couple of different stores.
Thanks for reading. I hope you found this review helpful. If you’re keen to check out some other all-mountain-freestyle decks check out what I think are the top 5 at the link below.
Hello Nate. I am from Argentina and here we dont have a lot brands available to choose. But there is a guy who is offering this board for 300usd. I am wondering is you recommend this board for beginners. Thanks in advance and sorry for my english. Best. Esteban
Hi Esteban
Thanks for your message.
I would say it’s not ideal for the complete beginner. But for a high-end beginner/low intermediate, I think it’s fine. It’s a pretty easy to ride board.
But given the last time Flow made snowboards was 2018, it must be a 2018 model at the most recent (Nidecker took over the branding for flow boards for the 2018-19 season), I feel like 300usd is a little too much. And that’s assuming it’s brand new – if it’s used, then that’s definitely too much, IMO. This board retailed for 409usd in 2018. 300usd would be a 26% discount. Typically a board of that vintage would get a larger discount than that. Although I’m not sure if that’s also the case in Argentina. If you can get it for 260 or less, then I think it’s a better deal. If it’s used you shouldn’t be paying more than half price for a used 2018 board, IMO. But again, maybe it’s not the same in Argentina if boards are harder to come by, but just how I would look at it.
Thanks Nate for your reply.
Here in Argentina everything is more complicated than anywhere else, trust me.
The board is brand new. And I will try to get it for 250us.
I define myself as a beginner because I want an easy board to ride. But I have 5 season experience snowboarding. I am 43 years old and a few injuties on my knees. Basically that’s the reason I want something gentile :/
Thanks again for your advice. I gonna get it.
Best.
Esteban
You’re very welcome Esteban. Hope it treats you well. And hope you have a great season!