Hello and welcome to my Nidecker Thruster review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Thruster as an aggressive all-mountain snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Thruster a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other aggressive all-mountain snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Nidecker Thruster
Price: $579
Style: Aggressive All-Mountain
Flex Rating: Stiff (8/10)
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium-Stiff (7/10)
Rating Score: 84.2/100
Compared to other Men’s Aggressive All-Mountain Boards
Of the 18 current model aggressive all-mountain snowboards that we tested:
❄️ The Thruster ranked 13th out of 18
Overview of the Thruster’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Thruster’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Aggressive All-Mountain |
Price: | $579 - BUYING OPTIONS |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Chattery/Damp: |  |
Smooth/Snappy: |  |
Playful/Aggressive: |  |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | Setback 0.75" (20mm) |
Base: | Sintered (Nidecker's N-9000) |
Weight: | Felt normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (CM) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
147 | 244 | 100-132 | 50-60 |
150 | 248 | 121-143 | 55-65 |
153 | 250 | 132-165 | 60-75 |
156 | 254 | 143-177 | 65-80 |
159 | 258 | 154-187 | 70-85 |
162W | 266 | 177+ | 80+ |
Who is the Thruster Most Suited To?
The Thruster is best suited to someone looking for a board that's aggressive and relatively stiff but not hyper aggressive or stiff - still some forgiveness there. Also good for someone who wants basically full camber, but wants better in powder than most trad camber boards (because of the "sidekick" bevel around the contact points on the nose among other things).
For the more advanced rider, not for beginners and even intermediate might have some trouble, unless a really high end intermediate bordering on advanced.
The Thruster in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Thruster is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Nidecker Thruster 2022, 156cm (254mm waist width)
Date: January 18, 2022
Conditions
Cloudy and a little misty - visibility was OK in spots but quite bad in other spots.
Temperature: 32°F (0°C) - no wind chill - not a breath of wind.
24hr snow: 0" (0cm)
48hr snow: 0" (0cm)
7 day snow: 9" (22cm)
On groomer: Slushy and ungroomed. Very bumpy uneven conditions even on groomer.
Off groomer: Pretty sketchy - mostly slushy with lots of tree debris.
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 21.7″ (550mm)
Stance Setback: 0.75" (20mm)
Width at Inserts: 265.5mm (10.45") at front insert and 263.5mm (10.37") at back insert*
* note that Nidecker publishes the width at inserts (at reference stance) for all their boards - which is really cool. I wish everyone did this! But note that the measurements above are what I took, not Nideckers Measurements. Nidecker have 265mm (10.43") at front insert and 263mm (10.35") at back insert (so basically the same).
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 180lbs
Rider Boot Size: US9.5 Adidas Tactical ADV
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
Weight: 6lbs 8oz (2940 grams)
Weight per cm: 18.85 grams/cm
Average Weight per cm: 18.43 grams/cm*
*based on a sample of boards I’ve weighed in 2019, 2020, 2021 *& 2022 models. The Thruster is really close to the average - and felt that way on snow too.
Flex
I felt it at 7/10 flex. But if I was on the 159, I think it would likely have been more like 7.5/10.
Powder
Nothing to test in, unless you count slush, but based on specs, it should be decent. It's basically traditional camber, which isn't great of powder, but it has "sidekick" which bevels up the contact points at the nose to help with float.
It also has a longer nose than tail, some subtle taper (3mm) and a 0.75" (20mm) setback stance, which also help.
Carving & Turning
Carving: This thing rips a really good carve. There's a big bow of camber (measured at 9mm on the one I rode) and that really helps and it's stiff enough to be able to really lean into that carve. And the combination of the effective edge and sidecut radius felt just in the sweet spot to compliment everything
Ease of Turning: Not effortless to turn/slash on, but not arduous either.
Maneuverability at slow speeds: Takes a bit of muscling and not super quick edge to edge, but not bad at slow speeds either.
Skids: Not super cartchy but not super forgiving of skidded turns either. That sidekick helps to make it less catchy, most likely.
Speed
Felt nice and stable at speed and could generate good speed overall.
Uneven Terrain
Crud: Smashes through crud pretty well - not easily bucked around. When you do get a little bucked on it, it's not super easy to correct but not terrible either. Just gotta commit and find a slightly smoother spot to correct if you get thrown off your line.
Bumps: Not bad but not super quick edge to edge either, for weaving between bumps. Going over top of bumps was fine though and hugged them pretty well.
Jumps
Overall decent for jumps.
Pop: It has good pop when you wind it up, but you've got to load it up to get it to pop. Not super easy access in the pop.
Approach: Nice and stable for bigger approaches. Some maneuverability for trickier approaches, e.g. to less easily accessible sidehits, but not ultra maneuverable.
Landing: Nice and solid on a landing. Not super forgiving of bad landings though.
Side-hits: Not bad, but not amazing. A bit more maneuverability at easier access pop would help there.
Small jumps/Big Jumps: Best for bigger jumps.
Switch
Didn't feel too bad riding switch. With that setback, slight taper and a directional flex pattern, I was a little surprised with how it rode switch - not perfect by any means, but very doable.
Spins
Felt pretty good getting the spin around and OK, without being perfect, setting up and landing switch.
Butters
It's stiffer in the tail and not much press there, but easier to press the nose - not ideal for butters though, with that different feeling between nose and tail (with the nose also being longer than the tail).
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | SCORE WEIGHTING | |
|---|---|---|
SPEED | 4.0 | 20/25 |
CARVING | 4.5 | 18/20 |
TURNS/SLASHING | 3.0 | 3/5 |
JUMPS | 3.0 | 9/15 |
POWDER | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
CRUD/CHUNDER | 4.0 | 8/10 |
TREES/BUMPS | 3.0 | 3/5 |
SWITCH | 3.0 | 3/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 84.2/100 |
The Thruster is an aggressive board for sure, but it's not one that you have to be bombing full speed on all the time. There's that element of forgiveness to it as well - it's not no holds bar or anything.
And it's one of those aggressive all-mountain options that's also decent in powder - so for those who mostly like to (or have to) bomb and carve groomers, but also want something that can accommodate a powder day, the Thruster covers those bases well.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Thruster, 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 aggressive all-mountain snowboard options, or if you want to compare the Thruster to other aggressive all-mountain snowboards, then check out the next link.
Hi Nate!
I am an advanced snowboarder who rides almost exclusively in the pists. I have 0 interest in the park. I like to make some really nice aggressive carving turns, and I like go for full speed in steep black and red slopes. I would like to get your view on if you think the Thruster is a good choice for me, and if you think so, which size do u think would be the best fit, 156 or 159. I’m 5’9, weigh 165 pounds and have size 9 boots. Thanks a lot!
Hi Viktor
Thanks for your message.
The Thruster would work well for what you’re describing, IMO. Certainly other options too, but if you want to keep things simple and have your eyes on this board, it’s a really good choice for how you like to ride, IMO.
Size-wise, I’d be leaning 159 for you. Typically I would say 156, but given that you sound like you like to ride really aggressively and fast, I think you would appreciate the extra length and stability of the 159. That certainly doesn’t make the 156 a bad choice for you though. And if you do like to sometimes slow down and ride more casually at times and want it to be a bit better when riding slower, then the 156 could certainly work, but if you’re looking to maximize in terms of speed/carving and that’s what you’re doing predominantly (and its not like the 159 is something is so big that you couldn’t ride it slow at all or anything, just that the 156 would be more enjoyable for you riding slow, IMO), which it sounds like you are, then I would go 159.
For reference, I would put your “typical all-mountain length” at around 157/158. The reason I would usually say 156 in this case is because with 9s it’s a little on the wider side for you, so sizing down can help it be easier to manage the board when it’s a little wider. However, it’s not super wide for you or anything. Still in a good range, but just at the wide end of that good range. And I think your riding style overrides that and you’ll appreciate the 159 more, given your riding style.
Hope this gives you more to go off for your decision.
Thanks a lot for your quick response!
I’m interested in which other snowboard models would be a good fit for my riding style, which options do you think would be good?
Hi Viktor
For how describe your riding I would check out our >>top aggressive all-mountain snowboard picks. From there I’d particularly be leaning something like the Arbor Wasteland, Jones Aviator 2.0, Burton Custom X and Capita Mega Merc.
Or if you were worried about going too stiff, then something like the Burton Custom, Nitro Team (or Team Pro) or Rome Stale Crewzer.
But the Thruster would work well too, IMO.
Hey Nate, would you say there’s too much overlap between the thruster and the Capita mercury? I’m looking for a board that can carve hard on firm/icy snow
Hey Tom
Thanks for your message.
There’s quite a bit of difference between them, IMO (the full camber profile of the Thruster and being a little stiffer, being two of those differences). They wouldn’t be what I would call your typical pairing in a quiver, certainly not in a 2 board quiver anyway, as they’re not miles apart or anything. But it all depends on what you’re looking to do. A typical 2 board quiver might consist of a freeride/powder board and a more freestyle/park or all-mountain freestyle board. But if you’re not looking to do anything freestyle and have a specific thing you want one of your boards to do, I don’t think they’re so close that they couldn’t be in the same quiver.
The Thruster is better for carving, IMO, so that has you covered there. Not sure how much better for hard/icy conditions, as when I tested it we didn’t have those conditions to test it on.
Hope this gives you more to go off
That helps a lot! Thank you for the quick response
Hi Nate!
I appreciate your work and your reviews on this site!
I am a high-end intermediate level rider. And a beginner at the advanced level.
I snowboard about 30 days a year. Of those days, I spend 7 days in the mountains (groomers with medium snow; and freeride with bumps and crud, sometimes powder and ski tour).
I spend the other days at home, where it takes 1-2 minutes to go down the mountain.
I am primarily looking for a carving snowboard. That can give freeride adventure and has stable on uneven terrain.
So I am in a choice between the Truster and the Frontier.
What do you think of my choice?
I’m leaning more towards the Truster ..
Hi Eugene
Thanks for your message.
I would be leaning Thruster as well, given that you predominantly want a carving board. The Thruster is the better carver, IMO – and while the Frontier is a little better for powder (IMO), it’s not way better or anything and the Thruster should be decent enough.
Hope this helps with your decision