Yes Hybrid Snowboard Review

Who is the Hybrid Most Suited To?

The Hybrid is first and foremost a powder board - and that's where it excels the most. 

But this is no one-trick-pony. It can carve and bomb groomers well too. Whilst it's not a good freestyle weapon, it can handle straight airs over jumps pretty well for its board type. 

It's a short wide board, so it's best to size down for it. 

Not a beginner board. You want to be at least solid intermediate to ride this board. 

Bindings angles: +15/-15 (Nate) and +12/-9 (Fraser)

Stance width: 23″ (585mm)

Stance Setback: Setback 40mm (1.5")

Width at Inserts: 283mm (11.14") at front insert and 278mm (10.95")

Testers: Nate and Fraser

Fraser Specs: Height: 6'1" | Weight: 180lbs | Boot Size: US9.5 Adidas Tactical Lexicon ADV | Bindings Used: Fix Yale (M) 

Nate Specs: Height: 6'0" | Weight: 180lbs | Boot Size: US9.5 Adidas Tactical ADV | Bindings Used: Burton Malavita (M) 

Weight: 3020grams (6lbs 11oz)

Weight per cm: 19.24 grams/cm

Average Weight per cm: 18.59 grams/cm*

*based on a sample size of around 200 models that I’ve weighed in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 & 2023 models. So, the Hybrid is a little heavier than average. Part of that is down to how wide it is. It's really the equivalent of a regular width 161 or thereabouts at a guess, so it's around average weight for it's surface area. That said, I did find it a little heavier than normal riding it. Fraser felt that it felt normal in terms of weight. I would like to try this board in 153 - in which case, it would feel lighter. 

Powder

We had some powder on the day, which is always nice. It wasn't an epic pow day or anything, but there was still enough to get a feel for how it would perform in powder. Between that feel and the specs of the board I am confident this board would be great in even deep powder. 

It's tapered, directional and is stiff enough to not fold. And it's got a little rocker. The rocker is fairly subtle but it's there. Plus because of the width, there is heaps of surface area. It's even wider than the waist width would suggest. 

Carving

When you get it on edge it can hold a really nice carve. Prefers long drawn out carves. 

Turning

Ease of Turning/Slashing: Takes a little more muscle to turn than I remember it from the previous model I tested. But still quite easy to initiate turns and slash on. 

Maneuverability at slow speeds: Again not as quick edge-to-edge as I remember it. It's not a slow turner or anything, but average/normal. Becomes more at home and more maneuverable in powder. 

Skidded Turns: Nose feels a little catchy at times, but nothing crazy. 

Speed

Nice and quick and really stable at higher speeds. Decent glide too. Was confident opening this board out and riding it fast. 

Uneven Terrain

Crud: If it did get thrown off, it wouldn't be hard to correct but not super easy either. But I didn't feel it at a point where it was getting bucked around. Smashed through or just flew over everything I encountered. 

Bumps: Averagely maneuverable. Less maneuverable than I remember it when I tested a previous model. It's not bad, but nothing that's super weavy or anything. 

Let’s Break up this text with a Video

Jumps

Not bad at all for jumps for the type of board it is. 

Pop: Not super easy to access, but not that hard either. When you do load it up a bit, it gives back some good pop. I wouldn't say epic or anything, but decent.  

Approach: Stable and can definitely hold a line well once you pick it. Speed checking and corrections not super easy but not super hard either.  

Landing: Solid on landings. Somewhat forgiving of errors but not super forgiving - don't want to land too tail heavy. 

Side-hits: Not amazing but decent. 

Small jumps/Big Jumps: Best for medium jumps, IMO. But it can certainly handle bigger jumps. Just that if you do land tail heavy there's more consequence from a bigger jump, so that's the only reason I'd say medium is it's sweet spot but can handle small and large jumps fine. 

Switch

Node ideal being as directional as it is. 

Spins

Not great. Being a little heavier and setting up/landing switch not great. But not what it's made for either. 

Butters

It requires a little muscle to press but nothing too extreme. You can certainly press it. But the tail and nose do feel quite different. Again, not what it's predominantly designed for.  

Overall, the Hybrid is pretty versatile, given how directional it is. Apart from the obvious (powder) it can also carve well and feels stable at speed and when you want to hit the odd jump or side hit it's not too bad there either. 

But it's when you get it into powder that this thing excites. It just feels really at home in powder and should be able to handle the deepest of pow.