YES Greats Snowboard Review

Hello and welcome to my YES Greats snowboard review.

In this review, I will take a look at the Greats (or to use its full name, the YES The Greats Uninc!) as an all-mountain-freestyle snowboard.

As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Greats a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other all-mountain-freestyle snowboards.

Overall Rating

Board: YES The Greats Uninc

Price: $549 (USD recommended retail)

Style: All-Mountain-Freestyle

Flex Rating: 7/10 on YES’ flex scale

Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (5.5/10)

Rating Score: 92.7/100

Compared to other Men’s All-mountain-Freestyle Boards

Out of the 24 men’s all-mountain-freestyle snowboards that I rated:

O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Greats is capable of.

Demo Info

Board: YES The Greats 2019, 156cm (259mm waist width)

Date: March 13, 2018

Conditions: Overcast plus a little rain, getting a bit heavier around 2:30 in the afternoon but not too bad. Wet snow higher up the mountain. Visibility all good though. Slushy snow in patches.

Bindings angles: +15/-15

Stance width: 540mm (21.3”)  -quite a narrow reference stance. But riding that stance likely adds back some of the maneuverability lost with the extra width of the 2019 model.

Stance Setback: Centered

Width at Inserts: 273mm (10.75“) – wide given the waist width (courtesy of the mid-bite that the 2019 model now has)

Weight: 2920grams (6lb 7oz)

Weight per cm: 18.72grams/cm

Average Weight per cm: 18.21grams/cm*

*based on a small sample size of 24 boards that I weighed. So pretty close to the average.

Powder

You can definitely ride this board in powder – you can ride any board in powder – but it’s not ideally suited to it. It gets a bit sinky in deeper powder, I found. But that’s not completely unexpected given that it’s a twin with a centered stance.

There is a bit of rocker tip and tail, so that helps to make this board better in the powder than a similar board without that.

Also, the 2019 model has more surface area per length due to the wider shape, which makes the 2019 model a little better in powder – but still not ideal.

Carving & Turning

This board is super fun to carve on and for any kind of turning you want to do. It’s pretty forgiving for when you skid your turns but can get up on the edge nicely for when you want to really rail your turns.

The edge-to-edge speed was a lot faster than I thought it would be given the width, but somehow it turns faster than most board would at this width. Thought not as fast as the 2018 model (but that was super quick turning). The asymmetry really does help, IMO, getting those heel side turns sharper. Also the narrower stance plus the fact that the waist width is still relatively normal, help this board to continue to be a pretty sharp turner despite the width.

It’s still a fun board in the trees – and it might be the case that you size down for this board compared to the 2018 model, depending on boot size, which also helps in the trees.

The edge-hold is greatly improved now that the mid-bite has been incorporated (2019 model) and is now a great hard/icy snow option.

Speed

This is the kind of board you can ride fast on and feel really stable on at speed. It’s not like a stiff, setback, tapered, big mountain board for speed – but as far as this type of board goes, it’s one of the better ones for speed.

Uneven Terrain

I found it to be a forgiving ride in bumpy areas and in crud. This is still the case for the 2019 model.

Jumps

This is basically as good as it gets for jumps. It’s great for the approach, a great spinner and has a solid landing base (could I use ‘great’ more in a review about a board called the Greats!  )

It performs well on any kind of jumps too, be they small, medium, large or anything natural you find on or off the trails.

This is still the case for the 2019 model – and that wider base now adds more stability to landings.

Also, the 2019 model has a lighter core, which helps to get more air and is better for spins.

Switch

This was one of the most enjoyable and best boards I’ve ridden switch on. It’s ideal for it.

Jibbing/Buttering

It’s no jibbing specialist. If you do a lot of jibbing, it’s a good idea to get different board for jibbing – but if you like to hit the occasional box, rail etc – then you can definitely do it pretty confidently on the Greats.

In terms of buttering/pressing, I think the flex tip and tail must be softer than it is in the middle, because this board butters really easily.

Pipe

I haven’t ridden it in the pipe – but it’s fast, has a great edge-hold in hard/icy conditions and has heaps of pop. It’s true twin and centered. I can’t see how a pipe rider wouldn’t love this thing in the pipe.

Changes from the 2020 Model

The 2021 model is the same as the 2020 and 2019 models, as far as I can tell, apart from the graphic.

Changes from the 2019 Model

The 2020 model is exactly the same as the 2019 model as far as I can tell, bar the graphic.

Changes from the 2018 Model

The 2019 model underwent a big overhaul, so it’s quite different to the 2018 model. The following were the main changes:

1 The board is now wider – not only are the waist widths wider – the width at the inserts is wider relative to the waist width too (thanks to the mid-bite)

2 The Greats now has YES’s mid-bite tech. This essentially allows for a narrow waist width compared to the inserts (see video above for more). This was already on their Standard, Jackpot and Ghost and now is on the Greats. This allows for a wider platform for landings, allows you to really get your carves deep without fear of drag (depending on boot size of course) – but keeping a waist width that still allows for good maneuverability

3 The core is now lighter.

4 The camber profile changed from a 4-4-4 (rocker-camber-rocker) to a 2-4-2 (rocker-camber-rocker)

5 The sidecuts have changed

6 The effective edge and contact length have changed ever so slightly but have been kept very close to the 2018 model

7 There is now a 151 (in place of the 152 for the 2018 model) and a 159 (in place of the 158 for the 2018 model)

Changes from the 2017 Model

The 2018 model is essentially the same as the 2017 model, as far as I can tell. I think they narrowed the reference stance – but you can always widen that if you don’t want to go on the reference stance. I rode the 2018 model with a slightly wider than reference stance because the reference seemed to narrow for me for that board.

Hello and welcome to my YES Greats snowboard review.

In this review, I will take a look at the Greats (or to use its full name, the YES The Greats Uninc!) as an all-mountain-freestyle snowboard.

As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Greats a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other all-mountain-freestyle snowboards.

Overall Rating

Board: YES The Greats Uninc 2018

Price: $549 (USD recommended retail)

Style: All-Mountain-Freestyle

Flex Rating: 4/5 on YES’ flex scale

Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (5/10)

Rating Score: 93.3/100

Compared to other Men’s All-mountain-Freestyle Boards

Out of the 24 men’s all-mountain-freestyle snowboards that I rated:

• The average score was 81.3/100
• The highest score was 93.3/100 (see below)
• The lowest score was 70.8/100
• The average price was $507
• The Greats ranked 1st= out of 24

Overview of the Greats’ Specs

Check out the tables for the Great’s specs and available sizes.

Specs

Sizing

Who is the Greats Most Suited to?

The Greats is great for anyone who likes to ride the whole mountain, including the groomers, the park, trees and off-groomer but who want to ride freestyle, or at least have the option to ride freestyle (i.e. jumps, jibs natural hits, flat tricks etc) in all those areas.

It’s the kind of board you can use as an all-mountain board and as a park board or use the mountain as a park.

Probably the biggest weakness of the Greats is in powder – which is usually the case for all-mountain-freestyle decks.

So, if you ride a lot in deep powder and don’t have another board to do that on, then there are probably better options – but otherwise, if you want to shred in anyway that takes your fancy, whether that be carving, jumps, in the park, the trees, steeps, or bombing down or just cruising down the mountain, then this is a great option.

The Greats in More Detail

O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Greats is capable of.

Demo Info

Board: YES The Greats, 156cm (251mm waist width)

Date: March 9, 2017

Conditions: Plenty of fresh snow overnight! The norm for the season really – so much snow! The groomers were freshly groomed and there was a nice layer of fresh snow off piste. Visibility was decent but not perfect.

Bindings angles: +15/-15

Powder

You can definitely ride this board in powder – you can ride any board in powder – but it’s not ideally suited to it. It gets a bit sinky in deeper powder, I found. But that’s not completely unexpected given that it’s a twin with a centered stance.

There is a bit of rocker tip and tail, so that helps to make this board better in the powder than a similar board without that.

Carving & Turning

This board is super fun to carve on and for any kind of turning you want to do. It’s pretty forgiving for when you skid your turns but can get up on the edge nicely for when you want to really rail your turns.

When doing tight turns this board was amazing – and the edge-to-edge speed was super fast. It’s a very sharp and agile board to ride and that asymmetry really does help, IMO, getting those heel side turns sharper.

For wide arcing turns it wasn’t quite as good as it was for the sharper turns – more suited to resort riding and riding through trees and in the park. But in saying that you could definitely have fun with wider arcing turns – just not quite as good as it performs with sharper turns.

This was a really fun board in the trees. Really nimble.

Speed

This is the kind of board you can ride fast on and feel really stable on at speed. It’s not like a stiff, setback, tapered, big mountain board for speed – but as far as this type of board goes, it’s one of the better ones for speed

Uneven Terrain

I found it to be a forgiving ride in bumpy areas and in crud.

Jumps

This is basically as good as it gets for jumps. It’s great for the approach, a great spinner and has a solid landing base (could I use ‘great’ more in a review about a board called the Greats! ” /> )

It performs well on any kind of jumps too, be they small, medium, large or anything natural you find on or off the trails.

Switch

This was one of the most enjoyable and best boards I’ve ridden switch on. It’s ideal for it.

Jibbing

It’s no jibbing specialist. If you do a lot of jibbing, it’s a good idea to get different board for jibbing – but if you like to hit the occasional box, rail etc – then you can definitely do it pretty confidently on the Greats.

Pipe

I haven’t ridden it in the pipe – but it’s fast, has a good edge-hold in hard conditions and has heaps of pop. It’s true twin and centered. I can’t see how a pipe rider wouldn’t love this thing in the pipe.

Changes from the 2017 Model

The 2018 model is essentially the same as the 2017 model, as far as I can tell. I think they narrowed the reference stance – but you can always widen that if you don’t want to go on the reference stance. I rode it with a slightly wider than reference stance because the reference seemed to narrow for me.

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.

The first couple of runs I did on this board I had to get used to the response of the heelside turns – but once I did – and it didn’t take long – I loved the feel of it.

Overall this board had plenty of pop, was great for spins, amazing over jumps, basically as good as it gets for riding switch and was a good little carver – and did I mention how agile and nimble this thing felt? Holy!