Hello and welcome to my YES Hybrid snowboard review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Hybrid as a freeride snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Hybrid a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other freeride snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: YES Hybrid 2020
Price: $549
Style: Freeride
Flex Rating: Medium-Stiff (7/10)
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (6/10)
Rating Score: 87.5/100
Compared to other Men’s Freeride Boards
Out of the 39 men’s freeride snowboards that I rated:
The Hybrid is described by YES as the hybrid of the Pick Your Line and 420 - and I'd say that's a pretty apt description.
It's mostly like a slightly softer more forgiving short/wide PYL.
Overview of the Hybrid’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Hybrid’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Freeride |
Price: | $549 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Turn Initiation: | Medium-Fast |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | Hybrid Camber YES's Camrock 1-4-1 |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | Setback 40mm |
Base: | Sintered |
Weight: | Normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
157 | 264 | 140-190 | 64-86 |
161 | 264 | 170-220+ | 77-100+ |
Who is the Hybrid Most Suited To?
The Hybrid is best suited to anyone looking to go for something short/wide for freeriding. Great in powder and trees and also for carving up groomers and riding fast. Could also work as a non-short-wide option for those with large boot sizes.
Certainly a directional board, but isn't bad for jumps and even spins - but preferably in multiples of 360.
It's got a stable feel for sure, and you can certainly carve on it and there's plenty of camber, but you can also get a more surfy feel out of it too, when you want to.
Not for a beginner, but forgiving enough for an intermediate rider.
The Hybrid in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Hybrid is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: YES Hybrid 2020, 157cm (264mm waist width)
Date: March 19, 2019
Conditions: Sunny and really warm! Perfect visibility.
First thing quite crusty off groomer and quite hard and semi icy on groomer. Poorly groomed too - bumps and ruts and divets everywhere.
Softened up a little later which was nice.
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 585mm (23″)
Stance Setback: Setback 40mm
Width at Inserts: 283mm (11.14") at front insert and 277mm (10.91") at back insert (narrower at the back because of taper, inspite of setback)
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 185lbs
Rider Boot Size: US10 Vans Aura
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
Weight: 2880g
Weight per cm: 18.34 grams/cm
Average Weight per cm: 18.45 grams/cm*
*based on a small sample size of 51 boards that I've weighed in 2019 and 2020 models. The Hybrid is slightly lighter than the average, but given how wide it is, it's quite light. It felt about normal on snow, in terms of weight.
Powder
Unfortunately I had no powder to test the Hybrid in. But based on the feel of the board and the specs, it would float really well in powder. And I felt it would be a good tree board in powder.
It has a reasonable amount of taper, a good amount of setback and a little bit of rocker in the nose and tail. So, all that plus how it felt to ride, and this is board I'm looking forward to getting into some pow in the future.
Carving & Turning.
Overall a fun board to turn on. It's smooth and fun on an S turn and has little consequence when you get off your game, which was a pleasant surprise, given that it's predominantly camber.
Carving: Felt nice to carve on. I wouldn't say it was an overly aggressive carver, but you could get still get quite deep on those carves and it just had a nice feel to those carves.
Maneuverability at slow speeds: It's not lightning, but it's nimble enough. Size-wise, I thought the 157 was getting a bit long for me, given how wide it is. Usually with short-wide I would prefer something more like 154 or less. But I was pleasantly surprised with how the agility of this board and in general the edge-to-edge speed, riding fast or slow.
Skidded Turns: Pretty forgiving of skidded turns. Not catchy at all. More forgiving of skidded turns than I thought it would be.
Speed
Felt really in control of this board at speed. It had a nice stable feeling and felt good at speed on some not-so-even groomers I had on the day.
Uneven Terrain
And going onto that uneven terrain, the Hybrid was really good going around and going over bumps. It did well in the crud that I encountered too.
Let’s Break up this text with a Video
Jumps
Overall a much better jumper than I had anticipated.
Pop: Good pop and that pop was nice and easy to access
Approach: Good and stable for faster approaches and nimble enough for trickier, slower approaches.
Landing: Nice and solid on landings. You could really stomp those landings. It's got that wide landing base, and enough stiffness for bigger jumps, but also forgiving enough for smaller jumps.
Side-hits: I had fun on sidehits with this board. It was nimble enough for trickier approaches, good in uneven terrain for bumpier approaches and landings and had good and easy pop. Not the best for landing switch, but otherwise really good.
Small jumps/Big jumps: It's good for all sizes of jumps. It's sweet spot is probably medium to large.
Switch
Doable riding switch. I've ridden worse. But also not ideal for it. There's a good bit of taper and setback.
Spins
Actually felt relatively light and quick to get the board around. Not the best for landing or taking off switch though. If you keep your spins in multiples of 360 all good though.
Jibbing
Not something I would jib on regularly but it can do it if you want to. Not a master jibber by any means though.
Butters
Like a lot of YES boards, it's more buttery than you expect it to be. It's more buttery than it's flex would suggest. Not something you would typically think about for this type of board, but still nice to have.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | Contribution to Final Score | |
|---|---|---|
CARVING | 4.0 | 24/30 |
POWDER | 4.5 | 18/20 |
SPEED | 4.0 | 16/20 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 4.0 | 12/15 |
JUMPS | 4.0 | 8/10 |
SWITCH | 2.5 | 2.5/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 87.5/100 |
If I had a separate category for short/wide freeride boards, this would have been even higher up that list (but I don't ride enough of them to warrant a separate category).
This board was super fun. It just had that x factor that I get from a lot, though not all, YES boards. The perfect combination of the PYL and 420.
Because of the limited size options, it's not going to work for everyone but I found that the 157 worked well for me specs. I would also give it a go in something like a 154, given it's width. I think that would be really fun on this board. With a few more size options, it would cater to a wider range of riders.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Hybrid, or if you are ready to buy, or if you just want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.
If you want to check out some other freeride snowboard options, or if you want to compare how the Hybrid compares to other freeride snowboards, then check out the next link.
Hi Nate,
Am thinking about the Hybrid for a fun carver and pow/tree board, but I have US8.5 feet. Would the 157 be too wide for me? (eg on hardpack) I can pick one up on sale at the moment. Or best to wait for the 153 to come out? (or another board)
Am also considering the PYL, but I need something that works at slow speeds as well as fast and suspect its too stiff
P.S I’m 180 lbs
Cheers
Hi Baz
Thanks for the message.
For your specs and what you’re describing. I think the 153 would be the better option in the Hybrid. And I think the Hybrid in that size would suit what you’re describing well, but I feel it will lack the maneuverability you are probably looking for for riding in the trees, if you were to get it in the 157.
The PYL is better at slow speeds than you would think. It always surprises me. It’s not going to be as maneuverable at slow speeds as the Jackpot 154 (looking back at our previous messages), but better than you would think for its flex. I think if you were to size to the 156, it would be a good balance of float in powder and good maneuverability in trees – and in the 156 would feel a little softer than if you were to get it in the 159. So, I think that’s certainly an option – and would be a good compliment to the Jackpot. The Hybrid 153 would also be a good compliment to the Jackpot and would definitely work also. Just depends on if you want to wait for it, or try to find a past season PYL 156. But I think they would both work, in those particular sizes for what you’re describing.
Hope this helps
Hi Nate
Thanks for replying to my post so quickly. Wow, it looks like I nailed it, just goes to show how detailed your reviews and support information is.
The widths at the inserts are great detail. That Hybrid front insert is really wide.
Whilst there may be some logic to sticking with Never Summer, I am thinking that the extra width of the Hybrid won’t hold me back and the underbite will give the Hybrid the better hold of the two on hard/icy steeps?
Do you personally recommend one or the other for my specs?
Thanks again
Hi Dave
I don’t think there’s a bad choice between them. The Hybrid is that little bit better in hard/icy conditions. The West Bound isn’t bad there though, but the Hybrid just a little better. Another reason to potentially lean to Hybrid is that you do get something that’s a different brand and you get that different brand feel. Though that said, the West Bound is a quite different board to the Funslinger, of course.
Thanks for the advice Nate. Ordered the Hybrid 157
You’re very welcome Dave. Awesome that you have the board coming. Hope it treats you well, when you get a chance to take it out. If you think of it at the time, let me know how you get on, once you get it out on snow
Hi Nate,
Thanks for your reviews, they make great reading and have helped me narrow down the board to buy.
Stats: 183lbs, 5’10, 11 boot. Level 5-6 using your system. I ride 12-15 days a year with 3 years experience.
I feel I am level 5-6 as I am confident, competent with turns on blues and reds but slide out when trying to control speed on steeper reds. Not felt confident in my speed control to ride blacks yet.
I have a NS Funslinger in 154x and Jones MT 2018 154. The Jones I bought too small and I use the Funslinger mostly. I now want a Freeride/All mountain board as I try to finish my turns without skidding and progress to off piste, trees etc.
I am looking to have something competent in resort powder (if I’m lucky), gives me more confidence to ride faster and suits my progression to make good turns on steeper terrain. No park.
I don’t want a 160+ length board and your review has made me think that the Yes Hybrid 157 or NS West Bound 158x could be suitable considering my experience and stats.
I have considered the NS Proto tt but I feel that it would make sense to get something directional.
Please would you give me your opinion and feel free to make any siggestions
Hi Dave
Thanks for your message.
I agree that your Mountain Twin is too short for your specs for what you’re looking to do. The 154X Funslinger is a good length for that board though, if you’re using it mostly for freestyle riding. But yeah, definitely going with a more freeride oriented board in a longer size to complement the Funslinger is a good idea.
I also agree that going with something directional is a good idea as a compliment to the Funslinger. The Hybrid or Westbound are great options for what you’re describing and I think you’re on the right track with something like that, for sure. Size-wise, again (I’m very agreeable today!) I think you’re right on in terms of sizing for those 2 boards.
The Hybrid is a little wider overall. They’re both the same at the waist, but the Hybrid is a little wider tip/tail and at the inserts. Width at inserts of the two boards:
Hybrid 157: 277mm at back insert, 283mm front insert
West Bound 158X: 273mm at back insert, 274mm at front insert
So depending on how wide you wanted to go.
But yeah, both would work really well for your specs and what you’re looking to achieve on them, IMO. And would both be a good compliment to your Funslinger, IMO.
Hope this helps with your decision