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Stepchild Latchkey 2015-2016 Snowboard Review

Freestyle locked up

The Details:

Camber or rocker? It’s different strokes for different folks, obviously, and each profile have its own advantages. As was the case last year, the Stepchild Latchkey is available in both.

Other than the bend (and the flex, more on which later), the two versions share the same properties. Both are true twins, and therefore freestyle focused. The poplar core is reinforced with Kevlar stringers for extra strength and pop without any excess weight, and the extruded base is tough and easy to maintain.

The rocker version is slightly softer than the camber one, which reinforces what we already knew; this one is for messing around, being spontaneous, minimising edge catches and pressing the nose and tail to your heart’s content.

The camber one has a bit of extra stiffness for stability when engaging that edge at high speeds, so will better suit the more accomplished freestylers. Given that low price, it’s not entirely out of the question to get both and take out whichever one you’re feeling that day.

If that’s beyond your budget, no worries; as long as you go for the version that best suits your style, the Stepchild Latchkey could be the one to unlock your freestyle potential.

TESTER’S VERDICT:
Sam McMahon – Whitelines

“In all honesty, I never really ‘got’ the whole reverse camber thing – at no point have I ever thought “boy, what I really need is less control and pop!”. At least, that was until I spent a day on the Latchkey.

Despite the rocker shape, the internal tech means that ollies feel super-spring loaded – and when you’re landing slightly off axis it has the perfect looseness/grip ratio that means while you won’t always ride away clean, you’ll at least keep your teeth intact.

It was a hell of a lot of fun on rails and slushy spring kickers, and I was genuinely sad when I had to return it to the rep.”

“While you won’t always ride away clean, you’ll at least keep your teeth intact”

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