GNU Finest Snowboard Review

Overview of the Finest's Specs

Who is the Finest Best Suited To?

The Finest is best suited to anyone looking for a board that can ride the park and the mountain equally (jump line in the park more so than jib line) and for an all-mtn-freestyle board is just that little better than average. 

Not for a beginner, but good for solid intermediate riders and up. 

My instinct is that it's well suited to bigger stronger riders. I'm not one of them, but that's my feeling when riding this board (and looking at the weight recommendations). 

The Finest in More Detail

Bindings angles: +15/-15

Stance width: 555mm (21.9″)

Stance Setback: Centered

Width at Inserts: 263mm (10.35") 

Rider Height: 6'0"

Rider Weight: 175lbs

Rider Boot Size: US10 Salomon Lo-Fi

Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M 

Weight: 3120grams (6lb 14oz)

Weight per cm: 19.87 grams/cm

Average Weight per cm: 18.36 grams/cm*

*based on a small sample size of around 80 boards that I've weighed in 2019, 2020 & 2021 models. So, quite a bit heavier than average and felt heavier than average on snow too. Nothing crazy heavy, but a little heavier than average feel. 

Damp or Chattery?

Not hugely damp, not hugely chattery. Somewhere in the middle. 

Smooth or Snappy?

I'd say just on the snappy side of the scale, but pretty much in the middle. It feels like a board that should be more snappy than it felt. Being snappy isn't necessarily better than smooth - it depends what you're going for. But this board felt like it would have been better if it was more snappy. But maybe a bigger or stronger rider would get more snap out of it. 

Powder

None to test in, but from experience with other C2X boards, I would say it's just a bit better than the typical true twin, centered board in powder. 

Carving & Turning

Carving: Felt pretty nice on a carve. Not an ultra carving kind of board, but decent enough. 

Turning: Good for turning in general. At times felt mildly catchy/grabby, but for the most part was a fun board to turn. 

Maneuverability at slow speeds: Pretty maneuverable at slow speeds - not like ultra agile, but certainly no tank

Skids: OK for the most part, but just got that slightly grabby feeling at times. 

Speed

It's OK up to certain speeds, but it's not an out and out bomber, by any means. But you can ride it with confidence up to certain speeds. 

Uneven Terrain

Not bad over bumps and weaving in between. Not amazing, but not bad. 

Same for crud. 

Jumps

A fun board to jump with and great pop for ollies. 

Pop: A good amount of pop and easily accessible too

Approach: Strikes a good balance between stability and agility

Landing: Good solid landing, without being unforgiving. Not a stomper, but solid enough. 

Side-hits: Good for side-hits. Ideally could be a little better for trickier approaches, but all round good - and that nice easy pop was really fun to engage off side-hits.

Small jumps/Big jumps: Good for small to large, with the sweet spot being medium jumps, IMO.

Switch

Basically as good as it gets for riding switch. 

Spins

Great pop and great landing and setting up switch. All round good for spins, but did feel a little heavy for getting the spin around. Just required that little bit more effort for the weight. If you're a strong/big/athletic, this is probably less of an issue though. 

Jibbing

Good all round. I'm not a strong jibber and I could have used something a little easier on the setup for confidence on jibs, but if you're a strong jibber it's fine. 

Butters

It's middle of the road here. It's not really hard to butter, but it's not super easy either. 

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

Overall, the Finest is a great board for jumping with really good pop. It's all round a well made board with a lot going for it. 

I just felt like it was somewhat lacking in liveliness and my instinct is that this board is made for bigger/more athletic riders than I am. It's quite heavy and the weight recommendations suggest that it's made to handle bigger/stronger riders.