Hello and welcome to my list of what I consider the top freeride snowboards this year.
This top 5 will outline what I think are the best men’s freeride snowboards for the 2017/18 season.
As is tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com each board is given a score out of 100. This list has been compiled from reviews of 20 different freeride snowboards.
Some Quick Stats
Of the 20 Freeride boards I looked at:
- The average score was 82.1/100
- The highest score was 91.8/100 (see below)
- The lowest score was 57.1/100
- The average price was $599
NOTE: This list was for the 2017-18 season. For the latest Top 5 Freeride Snowboards List, check out the link below:
>>Latest Season’s Top 5 Freeride Snowboards
O.k. let’s get straight into it!
Men’s Freeride Snowboard #5
Board: Never Summer Chairman
Price: $599
Flex: Stiff (8/10)
Rating: 85.9/100
In at #5 we have the Never Summer Chairman.
The Chairman underwent some changes for the 2018 model and is now a hybrid between the now defunct Twenty Five and the 2017 Chairman.
A welcome change in my opinion – the addition of the Ripsaw Rocker Camber profile on this board has helped to make it a carving machine, which added to it’s already inherent powder prowess.
Now this bomber is made to charge the mountain hard, whether on the groomers or in the deep stuff.
Learn more about the Chairman in the video below
Score Breakdown for the Chairman
| FACTOR | RATING (OUT OF 5) | CONTRIBUTION TO FINAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| Carving: | 4.5 | 27/30 |
| Powder: | 4.0 | 16/20 |
| Speed: | 4.5 | 18/20 |
| Uneven Terrain: | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
| Jumps: | 2.5 | 5/10 |
| Switch: | 2.5 | 2.5/5 |
| TOTAL after normalizing | 85.9/100 |
Men’s Freeride Snowboard #4
Board: Jones Flagship
Price: $599
Flex: Stiff (8/10)
Rating: 86.4/100
The next board on the list, in at #4, the Flagship, is the perfect freeride board if you like to do a bit of freestyle riding off natural terrain – as well as all your typical freeride endeavors.
The Flagship has exceptional float in powder, is super fast and aggressive and can carve with the best of them – but it also allows you to rock some freestyle wherever you are in the backcountry or on the groomers.
New for the 2016-17 season, the Flagship has Jones’ new Spoon 3.0 tech (learn more in the video below). This helps with float in powder and giving it a surfy feel.
Check out this video for more on the Flagship and to see it in action
Flagship Score Breakdown
| FACTOR | RATING (OUT OF 5) | CONTRIBUTION TO FINAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| Carving: | 4.0 | 24/30 |
| Powder: | 5.0 | 20/20 |
| Speed: | 5.0 | 20/20 |
| Uneven Terrain: | 2.5 | 7.5/15 |
| Jumps: | 3.0 | 6/10 |
| Switch: | 2.0 | 2/5 |
| TOTAL after normalizing | 86.4/100 |
Men’s Freeride Snowboard #3
Board: Rossignol XV Magtek
Price: $599
Flex: Stiff (9/10)
Rating: 88.0/100
- HARD/ICY SNOW OPTION
Starting at #5 is the impressive Rossi XV Magtek. There wasn’t much in it in this list so even though the XV Magtek is at # 5 it wasn’t far off being the number 1 board here.
The XV Magtek is super stiff so not for the faint-hearted!
That stiffness will bring with it some awesome responsiveness but will also be very unforgiving of errors.
This board is definitely a big mountain bomber that will float effortlessly over powder, cut straight through the choppiest conditions and grip even the hardest ice (due largely to its magne-traction edges). It is also super fast and super stable at high speeds.
Check out the video for more
Score Breakdown for XV Magtek
| 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: | 3.0 | 9/15 |
| Jumps: | 2.5 | 5/10 |
| Switch: | 2.0 | 2/5 |
| TOTAL after normalizing | 88.0/100 |
Men’s Freeride Snowboard #2
Board: Burton Flight Attendant
Price: $549
Flex: Medium-Stiff (7/10)
Rating: 91.3/100
In the #2 spot, we have Burton’s Flight Attendant.
None of these boards receive extra points for their price – but if they did the Burton Flight Attendant would likely be #1 here. On a performance for money scale for freeride snowboards the Burton Flight Attendant is the top of the lot.
The Flight Attendant has everything you want out of a freeride board. It floats beautifully in powder, carves hard without even the hint of even getting close to washing out, and is super fast and super stable at those high speeds.
And if you like having a slightly more playful ride for the backcountry to rock some freestyle off those natural hits then the flight attendant is a good way to go. It’s got a slightly more forgiving flex than most on this list.
Check out the Video below for more on the Flight Attendant
Flight Attendant Score Breakdown
| FACTOR | RATING (OUT OF 5) | CONTRIBUTION TO FINAL SCORE |
|---|---|---|
| Carving: | 5.0 | 30/30 |
| Powder: | 4.5 | 18/20 |
| Speed: | 4.5 | 18/20 |
| Uneven Terrain: | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
| Jumps: | 2.5 | 5/10 |
| Switch: | 2.5 | 2.5/5 |
| TOTAL after normalizing | 91.3/100 |
Men’s Freeride Snowboard #1
Board: Yes Pick Your Line
Price: $599
Flex: Stiff (8/10)
Rating: 91.8/100
- HARD/ICY SNOW OPTION
The super aggressive, hard carving, big mountain machine, is the Yes Pick Your Line.
A well deserved taker of the # 1 spot in this list.
The Pick Your Line has a really stiff flex of a 9/10 so it’s not for the faint of heart but it is for those that like their riding aggressive and steep.
With equally good float in powder, speed and carving abilities the Pick Your Line can take whatever you throw at it in the backcountry or on the groomers. It achieves a great ability to switch been hard snow and powder and still be great on both. This is down partly to the unique tapered underbite (see more in the video below).
Check out the Video below for some more info on the PYL
Score Breakdown for the PYL
| 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 |
Over to You
Even though I’ve scored these boards and put them in order, what you consider to be the best of this list will depend on your preferences. And this isn’t an exact science, but hopefully this gives you some options and perspective on some great freeride boards and what might suit you the best.
Thanks for reading and I hope this post has helped you find your perfect freeride board.
NOTE: This list was for the 2017-18 season. For the latest Top 5 Freeride Snowboards List, check out the link below:
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