Hello and welcome to my GNU Headspace review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Headspace as a freestyle snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Headspace a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other freestyle snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: GNU Headspace 2022
Price: $499
Style: Freestyle
Flex Rating: Medium
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium-Soft (4/10)
Rating Score: 87.4/100
Compared to other Men’s Freestyle Boards
Out of the 36 men’s freestyle snowboards that I rated:
Overview of the Headspace’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Headspace’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Freestyle |
Price: | $499 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Smooth/Snappy: |  |
Dampness: |  |
Playful/Aggressive: |  |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | Hybrid Rocker But mostly camber. GNU's "C3 Camber" |
Shape: | True Twin - Asymmetrical |
Setback Stance: | Centered |
Base: | Sintered |
Weight: | Felt Light |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
149 | 250 | 90-160 | 41-73 |
152 | 250 | 100-180 | 45-82 |
155 | 254 | 110-200 | 50-91 |
155W | 264 | 120-240 | 54-109 |
158 | 255 | 120-240 | 54-109 |
Who is the Headspace Best Suited To?
The Headspace is most suited to someone looking for a mostly camber board to be used predominantly in the park - or for freestyle over the mountain, so long as you're not looking for break-neck speed.
For someone that likes to butter, spin, jump, ollie, everything in sight, this thing is super fun.
Not quite beginner suitable, but a pretty easy going ride, so low intermediate or up, looking to step up their freestyle game.
The Headspace in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Headspace is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: GNU Headspace, 2022 152cm (250mm 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: Centered
Width at Inserts: 258mm (10.16")
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 175lbs
Rider Boot Size: US9.5 Adidas Tactical ADV
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
Control Board for Control Laps: Lib Tech Terrain Wrecker
Weight: 2780grams (6lb 2oz)
Weight per cm: 18.29 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. So the Headspace is pretty much right on normal - just a little lighter. It felt light on snow, but part of that is that it was a 152 which is shorter than I'd typically ride. Part of that is that softer flexing boards tend to feel a little lighter on snow.
Powder
We had a bit of fresh snow but nothing super deep or anything. It was fine, but in deeper stuff, this thing would nose dive pretty easy. There's almost no nose and tail past the contact points, it's twin, centered and very little rocker to speak of. Not the board for powder, IMO.
Carving & Turning
Carving: Felt great to carve when it came to short sharp, lower speed carves, but not so much for longer, higher speed drawn out carves. Whilst the sidecut isn't super deep, it's still better suited to shorter, sharper carves.
Turning: Effortless to turn. I was riding the 152 which helped in that factor (I would likely ride this board in a 155).
Maneuverability at Slow Speeds: Super nimble edge to edge at slower speeds. Again though part of that was size, but the 155 would still have been nice and agile.
Skidded Turns: For how effortless and snappy this board was it wasn't super forgiving of skidded turns. Not super punishing either though
Speed
Quite hard to pick up speed and got squirrelly fairly quickly - and the glide wasn't great. Factoring in the shorter size that would have exacerbated this, it's still never going to be a bomber, but that's not what it's designed for, to be fair.
Uneven Terrain
Crud: Gets bucked around pretty easy in crud, but it is easy to correct after getting bucked around.
Bumps: So easy/good for maneuvering between bumps. So fun in the trees. And hugs bumps going over nicely too.
Let's Break this Text up with a video
This video is for the 2021 model. If I can find a 2022 video, will replace it with that.
Jumps
Really fun for jumps.
Pop: Good pop and super easy to access.
Approach: Not super stable and wasn't the easiest to get the speed needed for bigger jumps, but part of that was size. Really easy to correct and adjust your line though.
Landing: Decently solid on landings, even in the smaller size - and nice and forgiving of errors with not-so-perfect landings.
Side-hits: So fun. Super nimble, so lining even the trickiest approaches was easy - and was nice and forgiving for any uneven landings - that plus good easy access pop, made this thing super fun for sidehits.
Small jumps/Big Jumps: Small, but fine on medium too.
Switch
Basically perfection riding switch.
Spins
The way it rides switch, plus the ease of the spin, plus that easy pop. Just so easy and fun to spin on. Only reason it doesn't get full marks is that it's not as ideal for going big.
Jibbing
It's good on approach, good popping off the end, etc. No complaints on jibs except that it wasn't perfectly un-catchy. When going board slide didn't feel super confident on it. But otherwise good.
Butters
Super easy and fun to butter. Plenty of press in the nose and tail.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | Contribution to Final Score | |
|---|---|---|
JUMPS | 4.5 | 18/20 |
JIBBING | 3.5 | 14/20 |
SWITCH | 5.0 | 15/15 |
BUTTERING | 4.5 | 9/10 |
SPINS | 4.5 | 9/10 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
POWDER | 1.5 | 1.5/5 |
CARVING/TURNS | 3.0 | 3/5 |
SPEED | 2.5 | 2.5/5 |
PIPE | 4.0 | 4/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 87.4/100 |
The Headspace is a fun, snappy, park/freestyle deck, that loves jumps, butters, sidehits, ollies, spins etc. If you want to find everything you can on the groomer to hit, butter when there's nothing to find and finish off (or start in or simply lap the park all day) in the park, then the Head Space might be the right tool for you to get creative on.
Don't expect a bomber, but for creative, fun freestyle riding, this thing is dynamite!
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Headspace, or if you are ready to buy, or if you just want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.
If you want to check out some other freestyle snowboard options, or if you want to compare the Headspace to other freestyle snowboards, then check out the next link.
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