GNU Forest Bailey 4 x 4 Review

Who is the 4x4 Most Suited To?

The GNU 4x4 is best for anyone who's wanting a do-anything style board but in a more aggressive way. It prefers to be ridden with some speed, carving up groomed runs and smashing through crud/chunder, as opposed to cruising around looking for things to slash. That said, it's not ultra aggressive, so you can't get a little casual on it. 

It won't fare well in really deep powder or in the park for jibs, as it just wasn't made to do so but if you're someone who doesn't plan on doing either of these two things much, then the 4x4 could certainly be a one-board-quiver option.

I wouldn't recommend the 4x4 to beginners or newer intermediates as it is too aggressive for that but good if you are an experienced intermediate looking to get on a more advanced style board. Otherwise its made more for advanced-expert riders. 

Bindings angles: +12/-19

Stance width: 560mm (22″)

Stance Setback: 25mm (0.5")

Tester: Fraser

Rider Height: 6'1"

Rider Weight: 180lbs

Rider Boot Size: US9.5 Adidas Tactical Lexicon ADV

Bindings Used: Fix Yale: M 

Powder

We didn't have any to test in but, based on specs and feel of the board, the 4x4 would be able to handle smaller amount of powder alright, due to its setback stance and directional shape. But once in deeper powder, the 4x4 would start to struggle a bit.  

Carving

Carving: Never felt washy or catchy at moderate-high speeds and held a edge with minimal effort, making it quite enjoyable to carve on. Overall, I thought it performed deep long drawn out carves best, especially at higher speeds.

Turning 

Ease of Turning/Slashes: Tail releases with minimal effort, allowing you to initiate turns/slashes quickly and comfortably.

Maneuverability at slow speeds: Due to the boards profile, I didn't expect it to be as nimble as it was but I found it could change edges quickly and easily.

Skids: I didn't find them catchy whatsoever, which is a bit surprising given its profile is mostly camber.  

Speed

Overall the 4x4 felt quick but needed to be pushed to achieve really high speeds as the base has an average amount of glide. Otherwise it felt good when being pushed - never getting wobbly or unstable. 

Uneven Terrain

Crud: I found it smashed through crud/chunder with next to no effort, never feeling unmaneuverable or like you were being bucked around. 

Bumps: It is quick edge-to-edge at any speed, allowing it to avoid bumps/moguls with ease and, if you beared down a bit, it handled ditches or bumps nicely to.

Let’s Break up this text with a Video

Jumps

Really enjoyed taking this board on any jump. It was stable, forgiving and had lots of pop.

Pop: The 4x4 had a lot of easily accessible pop - almost feeling like too much at times as I found myself overshooting things on occasion for the first few laps. But once I became used to it, this wasn't a issue. 

Approach: Approaches felt smooth and in control. The setback stance shortening the tail allows you to make last second adjustments quickly as well.

Landing: Didn't really notice any catchiness and found landings forgiving as long as you didn't land to tail heavy.

Side-hits: Certainly what I enjoyed the 4x4 most on. It felt like you could attack any side-hit comfortably, knowing you weren't going to catch an edge on approach (even in hard packed/icy conditions) and had good easy access pop and could handle less than perfect landing spots well. 

Small jumps/Big Jumps: I didn't have a preference here. I found it did both really well.

Switch

The directional shape and setback stance, making the tail smaller, wasn't ideal for switch riding but with that being said, a rider who's confident at switch riding can still ride it switch pretty easily. 

Spins

The large amount of pop makes it great for getting air when the jump or side-hit is small, allowing you to spin off of anything easily because it is also light and effortless to whip around. Not bad for landing/setting up switch either just have to be mindful of the shorter tail. Overall, enjoyed it for any type of spin big or small.

Butters

I found both nose and tail presses to be pretty easy. It didn't require much effort to initiate either. I found the tail butters felt a bit different from the nose, due to the setback stance but overall they felt pretty similar. 

Overall, the GNU 4x4 is a poppy, lightweight, jumping beast that can really carve well too, allowing you to bomb hills with ease whenever desired. 

The pop is certainly the most noticeable thing with the 4x4 but, besides powder and jibbing, it's a very versatile board that can take you almost anywhere on the mountain and excel.