Hello and welcome to my YES Dicey review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Dicey as a freestyle snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Dicey a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other freestyle snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: YES Dicey
Price: $429
Style: Freestyle
Flex Rating: Medium (6/10)
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium-Soft (4/10)
Rating Score: 88.5/100
Compared to other Men’s Freestyle Boards
Out of the 36 men’s freestyle snowboards that I rated:
Overview of the Dicey’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Dicey’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Freestyle |
Price: | $429 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Turn Initiation: | Fast |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | Hybrid Camber YES's "CamRock 2-4-2" |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | Centered |
Base: | Extruded |
Weight: | Felt very slightly lighter than normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
152 | 250 | 110-150 | 50-68 |
154 | 252 | 120-160 | 54-72 |
156 | 254 | 140-190 | 63-86 |
158 | 256 | 150-200 | 68-91 |
Who is the Dicey Best Suited To?
The Dicey is a great option for those looking for a reasonably priced board for riding the park or treating the rest of the mountain like a park.
It's for those looking for a snappy, light, easy going yet more powerful than you'd think, buttery, spinny, lively ride, that doesn't break the bank.
Not quite for beginners, but fine for low intermediate and up.
The Dicey in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Dicey is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: YES Dicey 2021, 156cm (254mm waist width)
Date: March 5, 2020
Conditions: Rather windy, especially at first and that wind was super cold. -1°C (30.2°F) and -8°C (17.6°F) with wind.
No fresh snow, initially but off groomer was still OK. Medium. Then it started snowing half way through testing.
On groomer quite hard for the most part without being icy. But also medium in places.
Overcast but vis pretty good. It was high clouds. 90% vis.
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 585mm (23″)
Stance Setback: Centered
Width at Inserts: 271mm (10.67")
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 175lbs
Rider Boot Size: US10 Salomon Lo-Fi
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
Weight: 2860grams (6lb 5oz)
Weight per cm: 18.33 grams/cm
Average Weight per cm: 18.36 grams/cm*
*based on a small sample size of around 80 boards that I've weighed in 2019, 2020 & 2021 models. So, bang on average for actual weight but felt a little lighter than average on snow.
Damp or Chattery?
Just on chattery side but very close to the middle of the scale.
Smooth or Snappy?
Snappy for sure!
Powder
It had started snowing while I was testing the Dicey, but not enough had accumulated to test it in pow. But based on specs, I think it's just slightly better than the average twin centered board. It's got rocker in the tip and tail and it has a slightly wider than average base for more surface area. Not a powder hound by any means though.
Carving & Turning
Carving: For what it is it lays down a pretty good carve. Not ultra aggressive or a carving machine, but pretty decent laying down a carve for the flex.
Turning: Felt comfortable (and excited) turning on this board right away. Very snappy and lively with minimal effort.
Maneuverability at Slow Speeds: Really nimble at slow speeds. Super fun to slow down and play around on and fun weaving through trees too.
Skidded Turns: Nice and easy. Not beginner easy but still pretty easy.
Speed
Not amazing, not a bomber as such, but not bad either. A little better than it's flex feel would suggest.
Uneven Terrain
It's snappy and nimble for weaving between bumps and it's easy to correct if you get thrown around a bit by crud. You do feel the chatter a bit but otherwise it works well around bumps over bumps and through crud.
Jumps
Really nice and poppy and just super fun overall.
Pop: Nice and poppy and that pop is super easy to access.
Approach: Stable enough and nice and nimble
Landing: Solid for landings but with just the right amount of forgivness too.
Side-hits: Super fun - nice and nimble and just that nice easy pop
Small jumps/Big Jumps: Equally as good for small and medium - you can get a lot of snap off those and just approach, pop and landings work really well. Not quite as good for larger jumps but certainly doable.
Switch
Awesome for riding switch.
Spins
Really good - easy to get the spin around. Felt light and snappy and great for landing and setting up switch.
Jibbing
Good on jibs too. I'm not a strong jibber by any means, but I was comfortable hitting them with my limited repertoire.
Butters
Nice and easy to butter and with good spring off the tip and tail.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | SCORE WEIGHTING | |
|---|---|---|
JUMPS | 4.5 | 18/20 |
JIBBING | 3.5 | 14/20 |
SWITCH | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
BUTTERING | 4.5 | 9/10 |
SPINS | 4.5 | 9/10 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 4.0 | 4/5 |
POWDER | 3.0 | 3/5 |
CARVING/TURNS | 3.0 | 3/5 |
SPEED | 3.0 | 3/5 |
PIPE | 4.0 | 4/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 88.5/100 |
For a board of this price, you should be expecting less than what you get. In terms of bang for buck, this board is right up there. But this review and score doesn't take price into account so it's all of this regardless of price.
It does have an extruded base and that's probably a large reason why it's priced so well, so if you can live with an extruded base for the kind of freestyle performance you get out of this board, then it's an amazing buy, IMO.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Dicey, or if you are ready to buy, or if you just want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.
- CANADA
If you want to check out some other freestyle snowboard options, or if you want to compare how the Dicey compares to other freestyle snowboards, then check out the next link.
great board reviews. i recently snapped the rail on my lib tech box knife. i really liked the board. rode as 157 cm. i am 6 ft and 195 lbs. solid intermediate park rider getinto the black diamond level at places like whistler and killington. mostly ride east coast man made , more on hard pack side. trying to figure out a yes dicey or jack pot. 156 or 158. seems like 158 may be big for park, but weight wise seems to match the specs. i hit the rails and jumps about equal. like to have fun with board doing out of park playing also, but this board is primarily buying it for park . any help or thoughts is appreciated.
Hi barleykorn
Thanks for your message.
Size-wise, if you could let me know your boot size as well, that’d be awesome. Important for sizing, particularly for wider boards like the Dicey and Jackpot.
Between the Dicey and Jackpot it’s a close call. Because you do quite a lot of rails, the slightly softer Dicey might be more appealing there – but I found the Jackpot to still be pretty good on rails. I think if you end up going 156 (which I think is probably fine, given it’s going to be predominantly for park), then the board will feel a little softer than I felt it, being a little bigger than I am – so if you wanted to keep something around that mid flex mark, then the Jackpot would be the better bet. If you wanted to go softer – like more like soft-medium, then the Dicey should feel quite soft in the 156 for you, IMO.
Hope this helps
Hi Nate, I’ve been riding for 3-4 seasons now and I’m finally pulling the trigger on buying my first board. I’ve gone snowboarding about 20 times now and I have gravitated more towards park/freestyle riding. As far as my riding ability goes, I feel very comfortable riding on beginner and intermediate slopes and I can even ride on black diamonds. I’ve learned how to ride switch, ollie, butter and do front and backside 180s. The past 10 times that I went I mainly focused on learning how to do small to medium jumps, side jumps, and hit box jumps. I definitely have enjoyed learning park a lot more than riding all mountain and want to buy a board to mainly focus on park progression. After doing my research I think I either want to go with the YES Dicey or Capita Asymulator. Which board do you think would be best for a park board? Is there a softer freestyle board that I should consider instead that would better? What size would you recommend? I am 5’11, weigh 145lbs, and wear size 9.5 US Men snowboard boots.
Hi David
Thanks for your message.
If you’re going to be focusing predominantly on park/freestyle, then I think the Dicey. The Asymulator is good for park/freestyle, IMO, but it’s a middle ground between park and all-mountain. The Dicey is a more pure park board – and it’s fairly soft already (4/10 by my feel, versus 5/10 on the Asymulator). You could go softer if you wanted to go really soft, but the Dicey is already pretty soft, by my feel. If you did want to check out other freestyle/park options, take a look at:
>>My Top 10 Men’s Freestyle Snowboards
Size-wise:
Dicey: You could go 154, but I think the 152 would be better. It’s a wider board and given that you’ll be focusing more on freestyle/park, I think the 152 would be the best size for the riding your describing.
Asymulator: Also 152
Hope this helps with your decision
Hi Nate, thank you for the response! I think I am going to go with the Dicey since I will mainly spend my time trying to progress my park game. Would the Union Contact Pro be a good set of biddings to pair with the Dicey?
Hi David
The Contact Pros would be a great match to both the Dicey and how you want to ride, IMO.
Hi Nate, one last question. For someone like me who’s learning how to ride park. Would you recommend the Yes Jackpot or Yes Dicey?
Hi David
For someone learning to ride park, I would recommend the Dicey over the Jackpot. For an experienced park rider, particularly one who wanted to focus more on jumps than jibs, I’d say Jackpot, but for someone learning park, Dicey for sure, IMO.
Hi Nate, one more question. Given my experience level and the riding style I want to focus on. Would the Yes Dicey or the Yes Basic be a better fit for me? I put my pre-order in for the Dicey and that is why I have had all this time to make a decision lol
Hi David
I think the Basic would work for sure. But I think Dicey will be fine for your focus and ability level, and, IMO the better park board, so I’d stick with the Dicey
Hi Nate,
190 lbs. 5’11” size 10
Last season you helped me with picking the YES Standard as my all-in-one board. Which I love! Now I am looking to get a board to learn more freestyle riding where I will be more playful and hitting side hits. Will want to learn the park this season. Therefore, thining to get this YES Dicey as my dedicated freestyle board. I am using Uinon Force with Addidas Tatical ADV. What are your thoughts on this board? or if there is any other boards you recommend? Also would a 156 or 154 be better for me?
Thanks!
Hi Hi Wing
Thanks for your message.
I think the Dicey would work well for your dedicated freestyle/park board. If you wanted to check out other options you could also look at >>my top 10 Freestyle snowboards, but I think the Dicey would work well.
Because it’s going to be your dedicated freestyle board, I would be leaning 154. If you were going to be using it as your only board, certainly 156, but as your dedicated park/freestyle board, I’d go 154.
Hope this helps with your decision
Hey Nate,
Lowish intermediate rider here, no problem linking turns on blues with only about 10 days on the mountain, i feel Im progressing rather quick and have outgrown my Rossignol district. I say this only because i often times feel pretty unstable and as if the board wants to wash out on me when i push it. Could also be lack of experience but it’s just the way i feel… i feel I’m confident and comfortable enough when I’m pushing but the board itself
is what starts to give me an uneasy and unstable feel. Anyways, I don’t venture into the park much and don’t plan on spending much time there since i only get maybe 10-15 days a season and enjoy the groomed runs, but I’d rather make the whole mountain my park hitting side hits and what not. Do you think
the dicey is the board I’m looking for? Something i can go just about anywhere with and have fun with it?
Thanks in advance!
Btw I’m 5’9, 175-180 lbs, size 9 boot
Hi Brandon
Thanks for your message.
With the Dicey you’ll definitely get a bit more in terms of stability at speed and less washy on a carve, but it’s not a carving machine or a speed demon. If you’re looking for something that’s still freestyle focused but something that you can push a little more but is still easy to ride, it could definitely work for what you’re describing. Definitely expect to be able to push a little more, but just don’t expect it to be a speed machine or anything.
Size-wise, I think probably the 156. You could go a little longer in a narrower board, but for this board, it’s too wide for 9s to go longer than that. The 154 would also work, but given that you’re looking for something more stable at speed, the 156 probably works better.
Hope this helps
Hi Nate please if you have this board I will buy it off you. Looked everywhere and this god of a board is nowhere to be found. I’ll even have my mother kiss each dollar bill I send in order to buy this board.
Hi Mike
I don’t own this board (borrowed it for testing, then had to return it (unfortunately!) but I like your enthusiasm, it is a great deck!
Not sure where you can find the 2021 model, but you can pre-order the 2022 model here.
Hope this helps