Hello and welcome to my GNU Banked Country review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Banked Country as a freeride snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Banked Country a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other freeride snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: GNU Banked Country
Price: $599
Style: Freeride
Flex Rating: Medium-Stiff
Flex Feel on Snow: Stiff (7.5/10)
Rating Score: 85.9/100
Compared to other Men’s Freeride Boards
Out of the 35 men’s freeride snowboards that I rated:
Overview of the Banked Country’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Banked Country’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Freeride |
Price: | $599 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | Hybrid Rocker - but predominantly camber (GNU's C3 Camber) |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | Setback 38mm (1.5") |
Base: | Sintered (GNU's "Sintered Knife Cut") |
Weight: | Felt Heavier than Normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
155 | 253 | 130-230 | 59-104 |
159 | 254 | 140-240 | 64-109 |
160W | 265 | 145-245 | 66-111 |
162 | 255 | 150-250 | 68-113 |
163W | 265 | 150-250 | 68-113 |
* the 2023 model gains a 163W but loses the 151 that the 2022 model had
Who is the Banked Country Most Suited To?
The Banked Country is for those who like to bomb and carve trenches on the groomers when there's nothing fresh - and then when the powder is calling, want to get off the groomer and get amongst it.
Definitely not for the beginner - this thing is quite the beast. Advanced and up rider's only for this one. And ideally relatively athletic or heavier too.
If all of the above is speaking to you and you tend to ride in hard/icy conditions quite often, then this should be a good match.
The Banked Country in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Banked Country is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: GNU Banked Country 2022, 159cm (254mm waist width)
Date: April 9, 2021
Conditions: Snowing! Visibility around 70%
Temperatute -4°C (25°F) - so quite cold for April!. -9°C (16°F) with wind chill.
15kph (10mph) winds.
24 hour snow: 15cm (6") (and more snow while we were testing)
7 day snow: 20cm (8")
On Groomer: Was a little crunchy and even icy in patches to start, which was really surprising given the snow. But it was good in other patches. Then as the day wore on, the snow got softer and softer.
Off Groomer: Pretty good but a little crunchy with some icy patches on steeper slopes to start. As the snow kept falling it got better and better though, until it felt like a proper pow day by the end.
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 560mm (22″)
Stance Setback: Setback 38mm (1.5")
Width at Inserts: 265mm (10.43") at front insert and 263mm (10.35") at back insert
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 175lbs
Rider Boot Size: US9.5 Adidas Tactical ADV
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
Weight: 3140grams (6lbs 15oz)
Weight per cm: 19.75 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 Banked Country is quite a bit heavier than normal. And it felt that way on snow. For smashing through crud, this was a real advantage. But for things like easy air, it had it's downsides - and a downside if you're less athletic.
Damp or Chattery?
Really damp. This thing has very minimal chatter.
Smooth or Snappy?
Super smooth. Well down the smooth side of the scale.
Powder
Was a fun board to ride in powder. Was easy to float and didn't take too much effort to keep the nose from sinking.
It's predominantly camber and the taper is only subtle, so it's never going to be a powder specialist, but still really good - and the setback, directional shape, long nose and short tail certainly help it.
Carving & Turning
Carving: Carving machine for high speed long drawn out carves! Not quite as good for slower short sharp carves. But when you really commit to a carve on this thing, it rewards you with oodles of stoke!
Turning: You gotta put a bit of effort into this to get it to do regular turns. It's not a boat or anything, but it's not super effortless to turn either.
Maneuverability at slow speeds: Better than I though it would be, but you've still got to muscle it a bit.
Skidded Turns: Not un-skiddable, but you want to have good technique riding this thing and it will punish you if you get it too wrong.
Speed
Just really fast and super stable at speed, even in cruddy conditions. I found it had good glide as well - which is something that I only really notice when it's obviously better or obviously worse.
Uneven Terrain
Crud: Absolutely smashes through crud like it's not there. Not something you want to try to dance around or over - just commit and smash through and it takes care of it. Probably not the easiest board to correct if it got bucked around but didn't experience that in the slightest, so can't say for sure. I think part of the Banked Country's ability to smash through crud is it's weight. Typically people don't look for heavier boards, but that extra weight is a real asset in this case.
Bumps: It was a little better weaving through bumps and maneuvering in trees than I had expected, but there was definitely some effort involved in doing it - not a effortlessly maneuverable and didn't hug bumps effortlessly when going over, but it did respond when you put the effort in. Could get tiring by the end of the day, but for a more athletic/fit rider, don't think it would be a problem.
Jumps
That extra weight helps in crud for sure, but it's to its detriment for jumps.
Pop: It's there and actually pretty good, when you put the effort in, but it definitely takes some winding up to extract that pop.
Approach: Super stable for faster approaches, but not as easy to hit last minute side-hit sightings or for that maneuverability for adjusting your line last second.
Landing: Super solid landings when you stomp it. Not very forgiving of slightly off landings if you get it wrong though.
Side-hits: Not ideal, particularly for those with trickier approaches. That harder to access pop doesn't help and whilst the maneuverability isn't terrible, it's not super maneuverable either.
Small jumps/Big jumps: Big jumps for sure.
Switch
You can definitely ride it switch, but it's not ideally suited to it. It's quite directional.
Spins
A combination of not being super switch friendly for those 1s, 5s, etc, not having easy access pop and being quite heavy made it a bit of an effort for spinning.
Jibbing
Not it's forte for sure, but also definitely not made for it.
Butters
It takes quite some strength to butter this thing. It's not un-butterable, but it's certainly not easy to butter - not a lot of flex in that tip and tail.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | SCORE WEIGHTING | |
|---|---|---|
POWDER | 4.0 | 20/25 |
SPEED | 4.5 | 18/20 |
CARVING | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
TURNS/SLASHING | 3.5 | 7/10 |
CRUD/CHUNDER | 4.0 | 8/10 |
TREES/BUMPS | 3.5 | 7/10 |
JUMPS | 3.0 | 3/5 |
SWITCH | 2.5 | 2.5/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 85.9/100 |
Overall, the Banked Country is a beast. If bombing, carving trenches and finding powder is your go to and you're relatively athletic and an advanced rider, this thing should treat you well.
Also has great edge hold in hard/icy conditions.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Banked Country, or if you are ready to buy, or if you just want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.
- US
- UK/EU
If you want to check out some other freeride snowboard options, or if you want to compare how the Banked Country compares to other freeride snowboards, then check out the next link.
Do you think the 159 would fit 10.5 boots? My back foot is normally -3 degrees, thanks
Hi Dave
It’s in that borderline territory for 10.5s, IMO. So it’s a close call. I measured the 159 at 26.3cm at the back insert. With a regular footprint 10.5 boot, you’re looking at around 31.5cm on the outersole. So around 5.2cm of overhang straight across the board at the inserts (assuming a 22″ stance width). With a 3 degree angle, it’s not too much different to straight across. With that level of overhang, it’s pushing it and I wouldn’t be super confident, but you’d probably get away with it. Certainly some risk though. If you have lower profile boots. then I would be more confident. E.g. some boots have as little as 1.7cm difference between the mondo of the boot and the outersole length. So in the case of a 10.5, that would mean an outsole length of around 30.2cm – in which case that would be a total overhang of 3.9cm – less than 2cm per edge. That I would be very confident with.
The last thing to think about is how deep you like to carve. If you like to carve deep and have an average footprint boot, then I think having that 5.2cm overhang would be risky and I’d probably only do it, if you had low profile boots. If you carve moderately deeply, you’ll possibly get away with that overhang.
Hope this helps
Thanks for the detailed answer again. I’ve been looking at a fair number of sites that review snowboards and you give the best information by far. Thanks Dave
You’re very welcome Dave. And thanks for the kind words and for visiting the site. Happy riding!
Hi Erik,
great review. I’m thinking of buying this board. I have another GNU (old Carbon Credit) and I think this one totally fits my style: 80-90% Carving + 20-10% freeride/pow. In my country, Spain, We usually have hard snow and few pow days but I like to take advantage of them.
I have two doubt to see if you can solve it for me:
I’m 6′-6’1″ and 190-210lbs and my boot size is US10.5 (in some brand US10). My carve style is pretty aggressive. What size do you see as more suitable? I think the safest is 160W.
The other question: I have is whether Gnu Gremlin or Gnu Essential Service are better suited to my environment and me. What do you think?
Thank you very much!!! Best regards from Madrid.
Hi Oscar
Thanks for your message.
I think the Gremlin and Essential Service would work for what you’re describing, but given you like to carve aggressively and bomb, then I would go Banked Country over Essential Service (which can bomb and carve well, but just not quite as well as the Banked Country, IMO) – and given that you don’t see too many powder days, I would take Banked Country over Gremlin. Gremlin is still good for carving as well as powder, but it’s best in powder. So yeah, I would be leaning Banked Country. One more thing to take into account, is that going from Carbon Credit to Banked Country is a big difference. Carbon Credit quite soft flexing and loose, with it’s almost all rocker profile. The Essential Service is certainly stiffer than it, and the camber profile has more camber, but it’s less of a difference to the Carbon Credit compared to the difference between the Banked Country and the Carbon Credit. Just something else to take into account.
Size-wise, I would be leaning 160W as well. The 162 would be doable length-wise, and is probably OK width-wise, but it’s pushing it width-wise if you like to carve aggressively – especially if you have that back binding angle quite flat (e.g. if it’s something like +21/+3 or something. It could be pushing it in terms of being too narrow. If you were in 10s, then I’d be more comfortable recommending the 162. With 10.5s, I think 160W. It’s going to be on the wider side, but it’s also a little shorter, so I think that works out.
Hope this helps
Hi Nate,
Thank you very much for your help. I will consider your advice.
I know that the difference between the Carbon Credit and any other is so big. But if I carve with the Carbon Credit, I hope to improve with a more specific board for that use. I feel like it’s what I need. Always looking to improve my ride!!!
Regarding the angle of the back binding, it has been totally successful. At the moment I’m pretty flat and I’m slowly adding degrees. I will take it very much into account for the width of the board. Thanks for the information.
Right now I am also looking at the Korua boards: Cafe Racer, Pencil and Pin Tail…
Blessed problem having so many good boards to choose!!!
You’re very welcome Oscar
Yes, it’s a high quality problem having so many options for sure!
Hi Nate,
How are you? I finally found a great offer for the Banked Country (329€, $370 to change, 160W).
I was able to use it last weekend. WOW, this thing is a beast. This requires always going on the attack mentality with it, when you relax it reminds you that it does not forgive. It really is unforgiving.
At first we had freezing snow and I had a hard time finding the edge. But when I have been improving my feeling with it, it’s really powerful, it asks for more and more speed. Zero vibrations, totally driven.
In wet and destroyed snow (15pm), it destroys the trash.
I was surprised that it allows skidding as long as you have control, but this is not friendly, always ask for your effort.
One day it snowed lightly on us, but unfortunately, the off groomer tracks were in poor condition and I couldn’t enjoy them.
My previous board was heavier and I’m relatively strong, so the weight was not an issue. But it’s true that at low speed or short turns it demands physical and technical work.
I’m really happy with the purchase and I want to try it in powder.
In March I will return to a resort in France, I hope to continue improving my feeling with it. I feel like this thing is beyond me at the moment!!!
I feel like this thing is beyond me at the moment!!!
Happy riding!!!
Hi Oscar
Thanks for your update. Always great to hear how others experience boards. Hope you get some powder in March!
With a fresh hot wax every week on this beast I am bombing past everyone at the resort, such a fun carving board. I agree with your size assessment as well. I also rode switch all day on this last week (groomers only, it’s so dry in WA) and it holds up surprisingly well for a directional IMO.
Thanks for the update Erik. Glad to hear it. Happy riding!
Really appreciated your review! I got this board for 2022 and i’m stoked to charge on it. I was in the market for essentially the fastest board I could find, I don’t expect this one to let me down. 🙂
Happy shredding
Hi Erik
Thanks for your message. Hope it treats you well. If you think of it at the time let me know how you get on, once you’ve had a chance to get it out on snow. Happy riding!
Got to put in a couple amazing days on this beast over Christmas weekend and here is my review: The Banked Country is extremely well built board that absolutely eats steeps, uneven terrain, powder, and groomers. It is very fast and seemingly gains stability at higher speeds. Very floaty in powder and absolutely rips on groomers, which makes it an excellent all around board. Only negatives are it is quite heavy and very stiff, which makes it not very playful. This board did not want to naturally pop off the ground compared to other boards I own, and it was a little more difficult to navigate the board at slower speeds. That being said I had no issues getting pop on this board at higher speeds, but its just not meant to be used in the park. Board rides switch decently well for a directional board, although that’s not the primary use of this beast. I would not rec this board to anyone who is not advanced as this board requires a lot of physicality to handle and control, and its most fun on steep terrain.
Hi Erik
Thanks for the update and your insights. Much appreciated. Your comments are exactly what I felt from the board. Certainly one that’s better at high speeds, steeps, powder etc, versus park/slow speeds.
I’m almost wondering if I should have gotten this board in a smaller size? I’m on the 155cm at 5’8″ 180lbs but I think the 151cm might have actually worked for me with how stiff this board is and how much float it has in the nose. Just thinking out loud.
Hi Erik
I think you’ve got the best size for your specs, IMO. I think the 151 would be too small for you. This board is designed to be fast, floaty and stiff. Of course going smaller would make it feel less stiff, less stable and less floaty, a little more playful, but if that’s what you’re going for, I think you’d be better to get a different board, in a more appropriate size. So yeah, I think you’re fine with the size you got.