Ride Machete Snowboard Review

Who is the Machete Most Suited To?

The Machete is best suited to those looking for a freestyle oriented board to ride the mountain with, who like to spend some time in the park, but want a board that is a little stiffer and can handle some speed. 

Definitely not for a beginner, IMO - it feels too catchy and is too stiff for that. 

Bindings angles: +15/-15

Stance width: 560mm (22″)

Stance Setback: Centered

Width at Inserts: 258mm (10.16") 

Rider Height: 6'0"

Rider Weight: 185lbs

Rider Boot Size: US10 Vans Aura

Bindings Used: Ride LTD Large*

* Important Note: for all other brands I use my test bindings to test boards. Unfortunately with K2 and Ride they don't allow other bindings to test with. This makes it difficult to really tell what is giving the feel. Whilst the snowboard is typically the bigger difference maker, bindings can certainly alter the feel of a board. Please take this into consideration for this review, as some of the feel may have come from or at least been influenced from the bindings. I try each year to see if they can let me test on my own bindings, but haven't worn them down yet! I am exploring other avenues for testing K2/Ride in the future, so that I can test them more accurately.

Flex

Feels on the stiffer side of medium. Softer tip and tail I think but overall it's medium, bordering on medium-stiff. 

Powder

Pretty average in powder but that was expected given the specs. 

Carving & Turning

Carving: This is a board that wanted to be on edge and you couldn't get too casual with it - but when you committed to get on edge, it had a good carve on it, especially for a twin. 

Maneuverability at slow speeds: Not something that I liked that much in terms of maneuverability at slow speeds. Not that fast edge-to-edge and had a bit of a catchy feel.  

Skids: Not easy to skid turns on. It's something you want to commit to getting properly on edge for and really nail the turn. Getting too casual on this board and it felt a bit catchy to me.

Speed

The Machetes feel at speed was it's most redeeming feature for me. When getting it up to a certain speed and committing to an edge it charged quite well. 

Uneven Terrain

Was OK for getting in and out of bumpy areas, like in trees, but not great. 

It seemed to smash through crud though. I didn't have a lot of it, but once riding this board like it rides best (at speed, on edge) it crashed through crud well.

Let’s Break up this text with a Video

Jumps

Pop:  Decent pop and relatively easily accessible, but not amazing.

Approach: Didn't really enjoy the setup with the grabby/catchy feel I got from it. 

Landing: Good solid landings off straight airs, but didn't feel as comfortable off spins. 

Side-hits: Not maneuverable enough for my liking and that grabby/catchy feeling I got didn't help with the setup either. 

Switch

Pretty much the same riding either direction

Spins

Pretty easy to get the spin around. I just didn't enjoy the setup or landings off them. 

Jibbing

Not great for jibs. Didn't feel that confident jibbing on this board. 

Butters

Some butterability, but not massively buttery. About average. 

Overall, it's not a board that I enjoyed riding. Not sure if there was something going on with it in terms of waxing or edging, or if that's just the way the board is. I got a similar feeling from the 2 K2 boards I also rode that day also, so something was up there. I also rode other boards that day, which didn't feel like that, and the conditions weren't extreme in either direction - not overly soft but not overly hard/icy, so I'm not sure. 

Also, as noted above, I wasn't able to ride the Machete with my test bindings, so it may have also been something to do with the bindings, but it's hard to say how much difference that would have made.