Hello and welcome to my list of what I consider the top freeride snowboards for the 2018/19 season.
As is tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com each board is given a score out of 100.
Some Quick Stats
Of the 32 Freeride boards I looked at:
NOTE: This is a past seasons top 5. For the latest season's Top 10 Freeride Snowboards list, check out the link below:
>>Top 10 Freeride Snowboards (Latest Season)
O.k. let’s get straight into it!
FREERIDE BOARD #5=
Board: Never Summer Chairman
Flex: Stiff (8/10)
Rating: 87.5/100
Starting off the list 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. The 2019 model is the same as the 2018 model.
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
RATING | 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 | 3.0 | 6/10 |
SWITCH | 3.0 | 3/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 87.5/100 |
FREERIDE BOARD #5=
Board: GNU Mullair
Flex: Medium-Stiff (7.5/10)
Rating: 87.5/100
*HARD/ICY SNOW OPTION
The Mullair is the second of 2 boards in this list that have rocker between the feet - though the Mullair has GNUs C3 camber profile, which is pretty much all camber with just a touch of rocker between the feet.
Whilst this profile doesn't suit powder quite as well as something with rocker in the nose, the Mullair floats surprisingly well in powder.
But where it really shines is on a carve. This board can really lay down a carve. But it's also something that you can actually maneuver at slower speeds and is very agile - so you can happily take this through the trees.
All this plus it's ability to bomb at speed, make this a great freeride option.
Learn more about the Mullair in the video below
Score Breakdown for the Mullair
RATING | Contribution to Final Score | |
|---|---|---|
CARVING | 5.0 | 30/30 |
POWDER | 4.0 | 16/20 |
SPEED | 4.5 | 18/20 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 3.0 | 9/15 |
JUMPS | 2.5 | 5/10 |
SWITCH | 2.5 | 2.5/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 87.5/100 |
FREERIDE BOARD #4
Board: Rossignol XV Magtek
Flex: Stiff (8/10)
Rating: 88.0/100
*HARD/ICY SNOW OPTION
Coming in at #4 is the impressive, ever reliable Rossi XV Magtek..
The XV Magtek is quite 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 the XV
RATING | 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 |
FREERIDE BOARD #3
Board: Jones Flagship
Flex: Stiff (8/10)
Rating: 88.6/100
The next board on the list, in at #3, 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 adopted Jones' new Spoon 3.0 tech (learn more in the video below). This helps with float in powder and giving it a surfy feel. The 2017-18 and 2018-19 boards have followed suit and retained that feature. Even though the taper is only subtle on this board, it floats like it's got a massive taper - the Spoon tech likely has something to do with that.
Check out this video for more on the Flagship and to see it in action
Score Breakdown for the Flagship
RATING | Contribution to Final Score | |
|---|---|---|
CARVING | 4.0 | 24/30 |
POWDER | 5.0 | 20/20 |
SPEED | 5.0 | 20/20 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 3.0 | 9/15 |
JUMPS | 3.0 | 6/10 |
SWITCH | 2.5 | 2.5/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 88.6/100 |
FREERIDE BOARD #2
Board: Burton Flight Attendant
Flex: Medium-Stiff (7/10)
Rating: 89.1/100
In the #2 spot, we have Burton’s Flight Attendant.
None of these boards receive extra points for their price - but on a performance for money scale for freeride snowboards the Burton Flight Attendant is great value. It's $36 cheaper than the other boards on this list.
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 (except in really hard/icy conditions), 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
Score Breakdown for the Flight Attendant
RATING | Contribution to Final Score | |
|---|---|---|
CARVING | 4.5 | 27/30 |
POWDER | 4.5 | 18/20 |
SPEED | 4.5 | 18/20 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
JUMPS | 3.0 | 6/10 |
SWITCH | 2.5 | 2.5/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 89.1/100 |
FREERIDE BOARD #1
Board: Yes Pick Your Line
Flex: Medium-Stiff (7.5/10)
Rating: 91.8/100
*HARD/ICY SNOW OPTION
The YES Pick Your Line is a hard charging, big mountain machine, that is also agile & maneuverable.
A well deserved taker of the # 1 spot in this list.
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.
But besides all of that, the PYL has something that can't be described that just made me a better rider.
My carves were better, I had more confidence bombing at speed, whether out in the open or through the trees (where it is surprisingly agile). That and it can handle all terrain well, makes this a very versatile and super-fun freeride deck.
Check out the Video below for some more info on the PYL
Score Breakdown for the PYL
RATING | Contribution to Final Score | |
|---|---|---|
CARVING | 4.5 | 27/30 |
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 |
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 is a past seasons top 5. For the latest season's Top 10 Freeride Snowboards list, check out the link below:
Buying Past Season Models
Often models don't change that much from year to year so if you can find a past season model, it will likely be close enough to the latest model but you can get it cheaper, if available and in a suitable size for you. For past year's models check out the links below to see if they still have any left.
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