The Best Mellow Freeride Snowboards 2023-2024

MELLOW FREERIDE BOARD #10=

Board: Arbor Single

Flex: Medium (5/10)

Rating: 86.5/100

Feel: Stable

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Starting the list off at #10 we have Arbor's Single.

The Single is a short/wide snowboard and excels in powder. But it holds it's own on groomers too - so when there's no pow to be had, it's still a fun ride. 

It's awesome for riding in the trees pow or not (though of course, more fun when there is pow!)

Score Breakdown for the Single

MELLOW FREERIDE BOARD #10=

Board: GNU Hyper

Flex: Medium (5.5/10)

Rating: 86.5/100

Feel: Surfy

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Next up we have GNU's Hyper. 

The Hyper is a great snowboard for those looking for a surfy option that floats well in powder but is also really fun on the groomers, if you like a really easy turning board that feels like it's surfing powder even on hard pack! OK maybe not quite, but it has that looser more easy going feel even on groomers.

It's really good in tight spaces too, so can maneuver between trees with ease.  

But in spite of all of that, it can still carve and handles a bit of speed well too - and not bad for jumping. So overall quite versatile.  

Learn more about the The Hyper in the video below

Score Breakdown for the Hyper

MELLOW FREERIDE BOARD #9

Board: Bataleon Cruiser

Flex: Medium (6/10)

Rating: 86.5/100

Feel: Stable

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 At #9, we have Bataleon's Cruiser. 

The Cruiser is a great tool for surfing the powder and weaving through trees. It's also got a nice easy going feeling when cruising the groomers and is easy to turn and slash with. 

But it can also hold down a decent carve and feels good at moderately fast speeds too. 

Score Breakdown for the Cruiser

MELLOW FREERIDE BOARD #8

Board: Salomon Dancehaul

Flex: Medium (6/10)

Rating: 87.1/100

Feel: Stable

The Dancehaul is another short/wide snowboard that loves powder and trees - combine the two and this board is in its zone. 

But when there's no powder around, this board is still fun in hard pack. It's no speed demon, but it can lay down some good lower speed carves and get slashy around the groomers, when you're not ducking into the trees. 

Learn more about the Dancehaul in the video below

Score Breakdown for the Dancehaul

MELLOW FREERIDE BOARD #7

Board: Burton Family Tree Pow Wrench

Flex: Medium (5/10)

Rating: 87.1/100

Feel: Surfy

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And in at #7 is Burton's Family Tree Pow Wrench. 

The Pow Wrench is more of a powder specialist and not what I would consider as a daily driver but rather your powder board in your quiver. As part of a quiver it's an awesome tool for surfing powder and exploring trees - and anywhere else off groomer for that matter. 

Learn more about the Pow Wrench in the video below

The Pow Wrench starts at around 4:35 in this video.

Score Breakdown for the Pow Wrench

MELLOW FREERIDE BOARD #6

Board: Jones Mind Expander

Flex: Medium (5.5/10)

Rating: 87.1/100

Feel: Stable

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At #6, we have the Jones Mind Expander.

Like the Pow Wrench above the Mind Expander used to be more of a powder specialist, but it got a new profile for 2023 (which it keeps for 2024) and is now a more well rounded board. And whilst it's not quite the same in powder as it was, it's still really good in powder. 

But now it's a bit better at speed, better on a carve and has a more stable, rather than surfy, overall feel compared to previous iterations. 

Score Breakdown for the Mind Expander

MELLOW FREERIDE BOARD #5

Board: Burton Skeleton Key

Flex: Medium (5.5/10)

Rating: 88.2/100

Feel: Semi-locked in/precise

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Next up at #5, we have the Burton Skeleton Key. 

The Skeleton Key is a great option for someone who wants a freeride board that has that locked in/precise feel, rather than a looser/surfier feel, but wants a more forgiving, softer flex still. 

Great in pow, but also equally at home carving up the groomers and a nice easy going mid flex, so you can just cruise on it as well and slash around, when you want to. 

Score Breakdown for the Skeleton Key

MELLOW FREERIDE BOARD #4

Board: Yes Hybrid

Flex: Medium (6/10)

Rating: 89.3/100

Feel: Stable

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Next up we have the YES Hybrid. 

The Hybrid is the love child of YES' Pick Your Line and 420 - and it's a super fun ride. 

It sits perfectly in that middle ground between surfy and precise and is really versatile - you can slash it up, float the pow or carve and bomb, and it's even really nice for jumps too. 

The Hybrid is rather wide - so another one that you want to size down for in terms of length (depending on boot size). 

Score Breakdown for the Hybrid

MELLOW FREERIDE BOARD #3

Board: Capita Navigator

Flex: Medium (6/10)

Rating: 90.4/100

Feel: Stable

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And our #3 pick this year is Capita's Navigator. 

The Navigator is a nice softer freeride snowboard that is at it's best in powder and in the trees, but it's also surprisingly good on groomers.  

You can whip this thing around easily in tight spaces, but it can lay down fairly decent carves on groomers and isn't bad on jumps either.   

Check out this video for more on the Navigator

Score Breakdown for the Navigator

MELLOW FREERIDE BOARD #2

Board: Burton Deep Thinker

Flex: Medium (6/10)

Rating: 92.1/100

Feel: STABLE

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In the penultimate #2 spot, we have Burton's Deep Thinker. 

There would have been no way I would have had this in as a mellow freeride board previously. But the Deep Thinker is now a quick turning, snappy, lightweight board that has somehow not lost much of its carving and speed prowess but gained so much in terms of its tree and jump performance. 

One that could definitely be one-board-quiver, such is it's versatility, but even if all you wanted to do was cruise groomers, this board would be a great choice just for how fun it is to turn with. 

Score Breakdown for the Deep Thinker

MELLOW FREERIDE BOARD #1

Board: NEVER SUMMER SWIFT

Flex: Medium (6/10)

Rating: 93.8/100

Feel: STABLE BORDERING ON SEMI-LOOSE

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And finally, in at #1, we have Never Summer's Swift. 

I've tested 100s of boards and there's not much that surprises me these days. Still plenty that excites me, but not much that surprises me. But when I got the Swift this past winter, the edge-to-edge quickness of the Swift left me with my jaw around my ankles!

With that quickness of turns, coupled with its powder ability, the Swift becomes the ultimate tree weapon, with or without powder in there. 

And given that description you might be forgiven for thinking that it's a powder/tree specialist. But far from it. This thing was decent at speed and could actually lay down a nice deep carve. Wasn't bad for jumps either. 

Score Breakdown for the Swift