Open toggle below to see the past season reviews.
PAST REVIEWS OF THE PYL
Hello and welcome to my YES Pick Your Line review.
In this review I will take a look at the Pick Your Line as a Freeride snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Pick Your Line a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and also see how it compares with other Freeride snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: YES Pick Your Line (PYL)
Price: $549 (USD recommended retail)
Style: Freeride
Flex Rating: Mid-Stiff (7/10)
Flex Feel: Mid-Stiff (7/10)
Rating Score: 90.8/100
Compared to other Men’s Freeride Boards
Of the 40 current model freeride snowboards that we tested:
- The average score was 83.8/100
- The highest score was 90.8/100
- The lowest score was 75.0/100
- The average price was $644
- The Pick Your Line ranked 1st out of 40!
Overview of the Pick Your Line’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Pick Your Line’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Freeride |
Price: | $549 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Smooth/Snappy: |  |
Dampness: |  |
Playful/Aggressive: |  |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | Hybrid Camber | 1-4-2 (rocker-camber-rocker) |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | 10mm (0.4") |
Base: | Sintered |
Weight: | Felt Normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
156 | 250 | 130-180 | 59-82 |
159 | 253 | 140-190 | 64-86 |
160W | 260 | 160-210 | 73-95 |
162 | 255 | 160-210 | 73-95 |
164W | 265 | 170-220+ | 77-100+ |
165 | 258 | 170-220+ | 77-100+ |
Who is the Pick Your Line Most Suited To?
The PYL is great for anyone looking for a freeride board that isn't oppressively stiff but is still burly enough to bomb and lay down some deep carves. But at the same time is pretty easy to turn and something that doesn't feel like a tank when riding slower.
It is well setup for powder and holds an edge really well in hard/icy conditions, so it's something you can take out in all conditions.
Not for beginner riders, but suitable for anyone from a solid intermediate level up to an expert level.
THE PYL IN MORE DETAIL
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Pick Your Line is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: YES PYL 2023, 159cm (253mm waist width)
Date: February 23, 2022
Conditions
Sunny with cloudy periods. 100% visibility.
Temperature was pretty cold, ranging from -10°C (14°F) to -12°C (10°F) through the day. -13°C (9°F) with wind. Wind pretty much non existent though.
24 hour snow: 0cm (0")
48 hour snow: 0cm (0")
7 day snow: 8cm (3")
On groomer: Hard pack with icy patches for the most part. But mostly hard pack until we got lower down the mountain and then it was really icy.
Off groomer: Crunchy and icy for the most part. But still doable higher up the mountain.
Set Up
Bindings angles: +12/-9
Stance width: 22.4″ (570mm)
Stance Setback: Setback 3/4" (10mm)*
Width at Inserts: 10.35" (263mm) at front insert and 10.28" (261mm) at back insert.
Rider Height: 6'1"
Rider Weight: 180lbs
Rider Boot Size: US9.5 Adidas Tactical Lexicon ADV
Bindings Used: Fix Yale: M
Weight: 6lbs 10oz (3000grams)
Weight per cm: 18.87 grams/cm
Average Weight per cm: 18.59 grams/cm*
*based on a sample size of around 200 models that I’ve weighed in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2023 models. So the PYL is a touch heavier than average on the scales, but felt normal when riding.
Changes for 2023 Model
The 2023 model has been softened up a little bit. It's a little softer than the 2022 model and overall a bit easier to maneuver at slower speeds, without losing too much in terms of stability at higher speeds. It's a change that I prefer, but for those who prefer stiffer, YES has brought out the PYL UNINC, which is stiffer - more like the 2022 model (not exactly but close).
Powder
No powder to play in, unfortunately, but from feel and specs, and previous experience in a little powder, the PYL is a good floater.
It's tapered, has a longer nose than tail and has rocker sections before the nose and tail (which is more pronounced at the nose). It also has a small setback. Not quite up there with specialized powder boards, but should be all good for most depths of powder.
Carving
Really fun laying into deep carves on this board - particularly good for long drawn out carves with a decent amount of speed on.
And whilst it does have taper, the taper is relatively subtle and the way the tapered underbite is supposed to work is that it doesn't get that washy feeling that taper can sometimes provide. Not sure if it's that tapered underbite at work or something else, or just the relative subtleness of the taper, but whatever it is, it doesn't feel washy on a carve.
Turning
Ease of Turns/Slashing: For a stiffer, more aggressive board, the PYL is surprisingly easy to turn and slash. It's not ultra stiff or anything, so that helps. And whatever else is helping it there, it's got a nice easy turn feel, which belies how well you can lay an aggressive carve.
Maneuverability at slow speeds (nimbleness): It's not lightning edge-to-edge at slow speeds but it is really really decent, especially for it's flex.
Skidded Turns: You can get away with them and really doesn't feel catchy at all. Now, it's not like a beginner board level of uncatchiness, but it's still something you can get lazy on, when you want to.
Speed
The PYL is really stable at speed. This is where you'd think it's stiffer than it is. You can bomb with board and hold your line with minimal chatter.
Uneven Terrain
Crud: Smashes through crud really well. Hardly gets bucked around at all, you can just mash through it. But even if you were to get bucked around, the relative ease of maneuverability would allow you correct your line fairly easily.
Trees/Bumps: It's pretty quick edge-to-edge and not something that requires a heap of muscle to get edge-to-edge at slower speeds, so weaving between trees and bumps is pretty fun on this board.
Jumps
Not what this board is really designed for but it still does a decent job at it.
Pop: Nothing crazy, but decent pop. Not super easy to access but there is some that's easy access. But for most of it you've got to wind it up a bit.
Approach: Super stable, you can lock into you line and hold it. But when you do need to make quick adjustments it's all good there too.
Landing: Smooth and solid, and doesn't punish you too easily for bad landings either.
Side-hits: Actually decent. Maneuverable enough. A little more easy access pop would make it better/more fun.
Small jumps/Big jumps: Best for bigger jumps.
Switch
It's pretty directional so it's never going to be amazing. But you can ride it switch when you need to.
Butters
You've got to put some muscle/weight into it, when you want to butter it, but when you do throw a little weight into it, you can get it to butter.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | SCORE WEIGHTING | |
|---|---|---|
POWDER | 4.5 | 22.5/25 |
SPEED | 4.5 | 18/20 |
CARVING | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
TURNS/SLASHING | 4.0 | 8/10 |
CRUD/CHUNDER | 4.0 | 8/10 |
TREES/BUMPS | 4.0 | 8/10 |
JUMPS | 3.0 | 3/5 |
SWITCH | 2.5 | 2.5/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 90.8/100 |
The PYL is an awesome all-round freeride board. Until you hit the powder it feels like an aggressive (but not super aggressive) all-mountain board. And when the snow gets deeper it's got the pedigree to float with ease.
An unreal board that feels good wherever you take it. Would score just as well as all-mountain board, yet is so good as a freeride board too.
Holds an edge super well in hard/icy conditions too, so if you experience those conditions often, it's got you covered there as well.
--PICK YOUR LINE 2022--
Hello and welcome to my YES Pick Your Line Review.
In this review I will take a look at the Pick Your Line as a Freeride snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Pick Your Line a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and also see how it compares with other Freeride snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: YES Pick Your Line
Price: $599 (USD recommended retail)
Style: Freeride
Flex Rating: Mid-Stiff (8/10 on YES’s flex scale)
Flex Feel: Mid-Stiff (8/10)
Rating Score: 90.7/100
Compared to other Men’s Freeride Boards
Out of the 32 Men’s Freeride snowboards that I rated:
- The average score was 82.8/100
- The highest score was 90.7/100
- The lowest score was 70.9/100
- The average price was $619 (USD)
- The Pick Your Line ranked 1st out of 32!
Overview of the Pick Your Line’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Pick Your Line’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Freeride |
Price: | $599 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: | |
Smooth/Snappy: |  |
Dampness: |  |
Playful/Aggressive: | |
Edge-hold: | |
Camber Profile: | Hybrid Camber | 1-4-2 (rocker-camber-rocker) |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | 10mm (0.4") |
Base: | Sintered |
Weight: | Mildly heavier than normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
156 | 250 | 130-180 | 59-82 |
159 | 253 | 140-190 | 64-86 |
160W | 260 | 160-210 | 73-95 |
162 | 255 | 160-210 | 73-95 |
164W | 265 | 170-220+ | 77-100+ |
165 | 258 | 170-220+ | 77-100+ |
Who is the Pick Your Line Most Suited To?
The Pick Your Line is best suited to an advanced rider who likes their board quite stiff and needs good stability at speed, good float in powder and a board that can carve trenches.
Not well suited to park riding, but if you don't really ride the park, it's a great daily driver if all of the above describes what you're looking for. Or if you have a softer more park/freestyle board in your quiver, this would provide a great compliment.
Not for the beginner. Far too stiff and aggressive for that. You want to be advanced to ride this board - and preferably quite strong or athletic too.
The Pick Your Line in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Pick Your Line is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: YES Pick Your Line (PYL) 2022, 159cm (253mm waist width)
Date: March 23, 2021
Conditions:
Sunny with cloudy patches.
Feels quite warm when the sun came out, but quite cold when it wasn't there or when the wind picked up. Wasn't super windy, but just enough to bring the chill when the sun was behind the clouds.
Temp -3°C (27°F) and -6°C (21°F) with wind chill factor.
24hr snow: 0
48hr snow: 4cm
7 day snow: 46cm
On groomer: Somewhere between medium and hard with some harder spots bordering on icy.
Off groomer: Quite crunchy/icy in patches, not too bad in others - more medium to hard.
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 575mm (22.6″)
Stance Setback: Setback 10mm (0.4")
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: 3040grams (6lbs 11oz)
Weight per cm: 19.12 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 PYL is a bit heavier than normal. And on snow feels a little heavier than normal too - but very close to normal.
Flex
The 2022 model feels stiffer than previous models. There's nothing that I could find that they've obviously changed with the board. But to me it's stiffened up since the 2019 model. More like an 8/10 flex now, where it felt more like 7.5/10 bordering on 7/10 previously.
Powder
I had a few pockets of powder to test with - nothing serious, but something - and it felt really good in there. Plus previously I've had other models in a little powder too.
And the specs certainly suggest good powder performance too. It only has a 10mm reference setback (which of course can be increased, but the basis is off the reference stance), but the long nose to relatively short tail, makes the overall setback a lot more than that.
That plus a 6mm taper and a decent amount of rocker in the nose all help this board to float nicely in the pow.
Carving & Turning
Carving: This thing really rails a carve. You can just lean so deep into it and it just holds on and at any speeds. Great board for big carves.
Turning: Not as effortless for turns as I remember, but still nice to turn and still pretty easy to turn considering it's stiffness.
Maneuverability at slow speeds (nimbleness): Takes a bit of muscle to turn this board at slower speeds. Not as nimble riding slow as I found the 2019 model.
Skidded Turns: It's non un-skiddable, but can punish you if you get off your game and start skidding out those turns too much. It's not a full camber profile, but there's not a lot of torsional flex going on, so it can punish you, if you're being too lazy.
Speed
Super stable at high speeds. Felt like I could bomb with this confidently at any speed.
Glide on flats isn't amazing. It's not bad either. It's a sintered base, but compared to some other boards, it doesn't glide quite as quickly/far.
Uneven Terrain
Crud: Just smashes through it like it's not there. If it were to get bucked around at all, it would take a bit of effort to correct, but I can't confirm that because it just wouldn't be bucked!
Bumps: Not super nimble at slow speeds, so weaving through wasn't effortless, but when you threw some muscle into it it responded in kind. Going over bumps it's not the most "huggy" but handled bumps fine overall.
Let’s Break up this text with a Video
Jumps
Stable as anything, but some effort to extract pop and lacking a little forgiveness of errors.
Pop: There's good pop there when you load it up. The pop ceiling is decent. But it's not easy to reach that ceiling. You've got to put in the effort to get it out.
Approach: Super stable and getting wobbly or thrown off your line is never an issue on this board. Not super maneuverable for those more nuanced approaches though - e.g. lining up a trickier to access side hit.
Landing: Solid as it gets. When you nail it, this board certainly ain't going to bounce around. But it comes at the cost of being a bit too unforgiving of errors. If you don't get the landing right, it's not going to help you to hold onto it.
Side-hits: OK, but not great. Would be better if it was more nimble with easier access pop.
Small jumps/Big jumps: Big jumps for sure. And for experienced jumpers. Like everything with this board, if you do it right it rewards you. If you do it wrong it punishes you. It doesn't have a lot of compromise in it.
Switch
Not too bad to ride switch. Borderline 3/5. It's only setback 10mm along the effective edge, so it's not really setback much on effective edge. However, the camber profile is directional, the sidecut is directional and then there's the taper. It certainly doesn't feel ideal riding switch, but it's not undoable either.
Spins
Because it's not ideal setting up or taking off switch, that makes 1s, 5s etc more difficult. Also, the relative hard to access pop means you've really got to load up before the spin to get air - which is fine for bigger tricks, but when you're trying to spin off small jumps/side hits, it's a little trickier. Also, whilst it's not super heavy, it's also not super light.
Butters
It's not un-butterable, but it certainly takes some muscling. It's not an effortless butterer - you'd want some good weight and strength if you want to be buttering with this board.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | SCORE WEIGHTING | |
|---|---|---|
CARVING | 4.5 | 18/20 |
TURNING | 4.0 | 8/10 |
POWDER | 4.5 | 18/20 |
SPEED | 4.5 | 18/20 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 4.0 | 12/15 |
JUMPS | 3.0 | 6/10 |
SWITCH | 2.5 | 2.5/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 90.7/100 |
The PYL is a lot of board. Even more so than it felt in the past.
It's the kind of board that rewards you in spades, when you do everything right and give it the kind of energy it needs. But it's one that doesn't compromise. If you get it wrong or get lazy, it's not going to be super forgiving.
For anyone looking for a hard charging board that's a carving machine and also need powder performance and good edge-hold in hard/icy conditions, the PYL has got your back.
--YES PICK YOUR LINE 2019--
Hello and welcome to my YES Pick Your Line Review.
In this review I will take a look at the Pick Your Line as a Freeride snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Pick Your Line a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and also see how it compares with other Freeride snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: YES Pick Your Line
Price: $599 (USD recommended retail)
Style: Freeride
Flex Rating: Medium-Stiff (7/10 on YES’s flex scale)
Flex Feel: Medium-Stiff (7.5/10)
Rating Score: 91.8/100
Compared to other Men’s Freeride Boards
Out of the 36 Men’s Freeride snowboards that I rated:
- The average score was 82.0/100
- The highest score was 91.8/100
- The lowest score was 70.1/100
- The average price was $596 (USD)
- The Pick Your Line ranked 1st out of 36!
Overview of the Pick Your Line’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Pick Your Line’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Freeride |
Price: | $599 |
Ability Level: | |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Turn Initiation: | Fast |
Edge-hold: | |
Camber Profile: | Hybrid Camber | 1-4-2 (rocker-camber-rocker) |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | 10mm (0.4") |
Base: | Sintered |
Weight: | Normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
156 | 250 | 130-180 | 59-82 |
159 | 253 | 140-190 | 64-86 |
160W | 260 | 160-210 | 73-95 |
162 | 255 | 160-210 | 73-95 |
164W | 265 | 170-220+ | 77-100+ |
165 | 258 | 170-220+ | 77-100+ |
Who is the Pick Your Line Most Suited To?
This board is for anyone who wants to adventure and explore the backcountry/sidecountry – and rip it up on the groomers when the powder’s not around.
For anyone who needs a board that is fast, stable at speed, a great carver and performs brilliantly in powder, but is also agile and quick edge-to-edge – the Pick Your Line is a great choice.
Definitely not for the park and not for the beginner or intermediate rider.
The Pick Your Line in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Pick Your Line is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: YES Pick Your Line 2019, 159cm, 253mm waist width
Date: March 14, 2018
Conditions: Raining at bottom snowing from half way up to top . Good snow up top. Visibility actually OK. A good 4-5cm fresh up top. Some powder to play in.
Bindings angles: +18/-6
Stance width: 570mm (22.4”)
Stance Setback: 10mm (0.4″)
Width at Inserts: 260mm (10.2″) at the back insert and 263mm (10.4″) at the front insert
Weight: 2900grams (6lb 6oz)
Weight per cm: 18.24grams/cm
Average Weight per cm: 18.21grams/cm*
*based on a small sample size of 24 boards that I weighed. So pretty much bang on the average of the boards I weighed.
Powder
Even though the setback on the PYL is only 10mm, it still has great float in powder.
And that’s not a big surprise, given that, whilst it’s only setback 10mm on the effective edge, the nose is considerably longer than the tail. So where you sit on the board is a good bit further back, when in powder. Set up on the reference stance I had 54cm to the nose from my front binding and 48mm to the tail from my back binding.
That plus a reasonable amount of taper and more rocker in the nose than the tail, all help this board to float well in the deep stuff.
Carving
The Pick Your Line is a fun, fast, aggressive board to wield. You can lay down big carves on it, but at the same time you can actually slow it up a bit and it’s surprisingly agile and quick edge-to-edge.
And that maneuverability made this board super fun in trees – something that not all freeride boards are.
It’s also got great edge-hold in hard/icy patches. I didn’t have any of those for the 2019 model, but I did when I rode the 2017 model.
This is one of one of the most fun boards I’ve ridden for turning and carving on – it’s on of those boards that can just instantly make me a better carver. Just gave me heaps of confidence to lay into carves.
Speed
This board just feels so good at speed. It bombs!
Feels really stable at speed and felt so comfortable really opening out, even on chopped up snow. Really good and confidence inspiring on steeps too.
Uneven Terrain
Surprisingly good in uneven terrain. I don’t usually like stiffer boards in messy snow but this board just creamed it. Felt confident to bomb and carve even in messy, chopped up snow and felt good through undulating terrain.
Jumps
At risk of over using the term “surprisingly good”, this board jumps really well for a freeride board. Again, I’m don’t often love jumping with freeride boards, but the PYL is better than most. It’s stable on approach and landings, like most freeride boards, but what I liked more was that it had the maneuverability to find trickier side-hits that I would often skip with other freeride/stiffer boards.
Not great for spins though and especially not if you’re wanting to land or take off switch.
And it’s got good pop, but you do need to put in a bit of effort to extract that pop. When you do, it is there.
Switch
Switch is doable on this board, but not natural. I’ve ridden worse though – and the fact that it’s only setback 10mm on the effective edge helps for riding switch on the groomers. Worse for riding switch in pow though.
Changes from the 2020 Model
The 2021 model looks to be exactly the same as the 2020 model, even the graphic.
Changes from the 2019 Model
The 2020 model looks to be exactly the same as the 2019 model, except for the graphic.
They have also brought in a new size – 164W – which might open this up to some that couldn’t find the right size previously.
Changes from the 2018 Model
Apart from the graphic, the 2019 model is the exactly the same as the 2018 model, as far as I can tell.
Changes from the 2017 Model
The 2018 model is mildly stiffer than the 2017 model but subtly so – this was already a quite stiff board. The reference stance has also been narrowed – as it has on a lot of YES boards.
Changes from the 2016 Model
The 2016 model changed quite a bit from the 2015 model and the 2017 model has also had some tweaks. The 2015 model was actually quite decent at riding switch and was a little less directional.
But the 2016 changed to be a more pure freeride deck and brought in that Tapered Underbite tech. I personally think it was an improvement.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | SCORE WEIGHTING | |
|---|---|---|
CARVING | 4.5 | 18/20 |
TURNING | 4.5 | 9/10 |
POWDER | 4.5 | 18/20 |
SPEED | 4.5 | 18/20 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 4.0 | 12/15 |
JUMPS | 3.5 | 7/10 |
SWITCH | 2.5 | 2.5/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 91.8/100 |
Overall the PYL is one of those boards that just has that X-Factor. It has that elusive balance between being hard charging, aggressive but at the same time agile and maneuverable even at relatively slow speeds.
It can play in powder & hard pack with equal aplomb and for this kind of board, is great in the trees, and even good for jumps and side hits.
Riding this board, it just made me feel like a better rider and gave me the confidence to really open out and charge the mountain.
--YES PICK YOUR LINE 2017--
Hello and welcome to my YES Pick Your Line Review.
In this review I will take a look at the Pick Your Line 2017 model as a Freeride snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Pick Your Line a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and also see how it compares with other Freeride snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: YES Pick Your Line
Price: $599 (USD recommended retail)
Style: Freeride
Flex Rating: Stiff (4.5/5 on YES’s flex scale)
Flex Feel: Stiff (8/10)
Rating Score: 91.8/100
Compared to other Men’s Freeride Boards
Out of all the Men’s Freeride snowboards that I rated:
- I looked at 20 different Men’s Freeride boards
- The average price was $599 (USD)
- The average score was 82.1/100
- The highest score was 91.8/100
- The lowest score was 57.1/100
- The Pick Your Line ranked 1st out of 20!
Overview of the Pick Your Line’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Pick Your Line’s specs and available sizes in the charts below.
Specs
| Style | Freeride | Flex | Medium-Stiff (8 out of 10) |
| Ability Level | Advanced to Expert | Feel | Stable |
| Weight | Normal | Turn Initiation | Fast |
| Camber Profile | Hybrid Camber | Shape | Tapered Directional |
| Stance Setback | Setback 25mm | Edge-hold | Icy snow |
| Price | $599 (USD) | Base | Sintered |
Sizing
| Size (Length) | 156 | 159 | 160W | 162 | 165 |
| Waist Width (mm) | 250 | 253 | 260 | 255 | 258 |
| Weight Range (kgs) | 59-77 | 66-84 | 68-86 | 70-88 | 77-95 |
| Weight Range (lbs) | 130-170 | 145-185 | 150-190 | 155-195 | 170-210 |
Who is the Pick Your Line Most Suited to?
This board is for anyone who wants to adventure and explore the backcountry – and rip it up on the groomers when the powder’s not around – but it’s in the powder that this board really comes into its own.
For anyone who needs a board that is fast, stable at speed, a great carver and performs brilliantly in powder – the Pick Your Line is a great choice.
Definitely not for the park and not for the beginner or intermediate rider.
The Pick Your Line in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Pick Your Line is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: YES Pick Your Line 2017, 159cm, 253mm waist width
Date: Tuesday March 30th
Conditions: Groomed on piste – hard packed but slushy especially in the afternoon. Icy patches in spots particularly in the morning. Mostly slushy conditions on groomers and off the trails. Very slow conditions in general (bar the occasional icy spots) – cascade concrete for sure. Which made it a point and shoot day in order to keep up speed. But there was plenty of slush to float over.
Bindings angles: +18/+3
Powder
Had terrific float in the slush. You could really just point and shoot this board and it floated over effortlessly.
And that’s not really a surprise given the boards specs – a hybrid camber profile (great for powder with the rocker sections tip and tail) and a 25mm setback stance.
Carving
The Pick Your Line was a fun, fast, aggressive board to wield. You really feel like you are wielding this thing – and like a large sword it is harder to control until you’ve built up the strength to control it and the technique to control it – but once you do you have a more powerful weapon.
You really feel like you have a powerful weapon under your feet with this deck. Opened out into a carve like the best of them.
In the icy patches I encountered in the shady spots it held an edge really well – better than most boards I’ve had to deal with ice on. Part of that is down to the underbite edge tech that YES now uses on their boards.
In terms of flex, YES say this is a 4.5/5 (which in my mind translates to a 9/10) but I would say it’s more of an 8/10.
The board isn’t technically tapered, even though I’ve said it’s tapered directional. They use gradually tapered sections in the side-cut, instead of just pinching in the tail. This helps to stop that washy feel you can get with a tapered board, which part of the reason why it’s so good on hard and icy snow as well as in powder.
Speed
This is a really fast deck. Even though I had very slow cascade concrete conditions on the day it was still fast – and I was very thankful to have a fast deck that day.
It has a sintered base which is nice and quick – so long as you keep it well waxed. The directional shape and stiff flex help to make this deck quick too.
Uneven Terrain
Too stiff to really hug the bumps so you want to just fly over them. You really want powder or groomed hardpack with this board so when you get that you won’t have to worry too much about it.
That said, it didn’t feel too bad in the bumpy stuff.
Jumps
It’s the kind of deck that’s designed to grip and lock into the snow – not leave it. But it actually jumps pretty well and landings felt pretty stable.
Of course this is great to have, not so much for jumps in the park, but for popping over lips and the likes.
Switch
Switch was possible but felt unnatural and weird – not what it’s made for and not something I did a lot on it!
Changes from the 2017 Model
The 2018 model is mildly stiffer than the 2017 model but subtly so – this was already a rather stiff board. The reference stance has also been narrowed – as it has on a lot of YES boards.
Changes from the 2016 Model
The 2016 model changed quite a bit from the 2015 model and the 2017 model has also had some tweaks. The 2015 model was actually quite decent at riding switch and was a little less directional.
But the 2016 changed to be a more pure freeride deck and brought in that Tapered Underbite tech. I personally think it was an improvement. The 2017 hasn’t changed as much as from 2016-17 but the setback has changed from 10mm to 25mm making it just that bit better at floating in powder.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
| FACTOR | RATING (OUT OF 5) | CONTRIBUTION TO FINAL SCORE |
| Carving: | 4.5 | 27/30 |
| Powder: | 5.0 | 20/20 |
| Speed: | 4.5 | 18/20 |
| Uneven Terrain: | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
| Jumps: | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Switch: | 2.0 | 2/5 |
| TOTAL after normalizing | 91.8/100 |
The Pick Your Line is a great choice for those that want a board that rips it up when they’re in the powder but also if you want to still be able to have a blast when riding it on the groomers when the powder isn’t around. It’s one of the better free-ride boards I’ve ridden for groomer riding.
Of course freeride boards, in my opinion, should also be good at carving on groomers (or they’d be a powder board in my books) but the PYL just does it that little bit better than others.
Recent Comments