• Price: €440
• Category: All-Mountain
• Ability Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
• Size: 156, 159, 163
• Flex: 6/10
• Shape: Directional Twin
• Profile: Camber
• Base: Extruded
• New for 2020/21

Snowboarding is expensive. Since when did it become the norm that a week-long lift ticket could cost the same as your snowboard? While Amplid aren’t (to our knowledge) in a position to shift the entire economic landscape of the winter resorts industry, they can at least offset some of the financial burden on the other end of the scale. The all-new Ticket snowboard takes the winning formula of the Paradigma and reconfigures it into one of their most affordable snowboards to date.

Much of the shape and construction remains the same. The outline is still a directional twin and there’s no taper to speak of, so switch riding is very much on the cards here. The slight increase of length in the nose provides some versatility and improved handling in variable or powdery conditions. That’s also aided by the All Terrain Tips, which shift the volume in the nose and tail of the board to help with float, but leave the swing weight unaffected, allowing things to still feel balanced in the air.

“Performance wise, the only noticeable trade off between the Ticket and the Paradigma will be felt by riders who tend to go full hog across the whole mountain and rarely take their foot off the gas”

There’s also a mellow camber – something that will appeal to the purists out there – but it’s not so aggressive as to completely dominate the Ticket’s more forgiving nature. That’s also down to it’s smooth and progressive flex, created from a combination of biax glass laminates with a full, poplar wood core. There’s more than enough grip and rebound when you want to push it, but it’s a board that’s primed and ready for flatland jibbing and buttering at a second’s notice.

Performance-wise, the only noticeable trade-off between the Ticket and the Paradigma will be felt by riders who tend to go full hog across the whole mountain and rarely take their foot off the gas. Instead of a rapid (and ultimately more costly) sintered base, Amplid have fitted an extruded one instead. This rules out those face-warping top speeds, but therefore eliminates the necessity for the other pricey performance add-ons, like Visco Damp or Basalt Suspension Strips.

The arrival of the Ticket (and the Ticket Twin) feels like a big missing piece of the Amplid puzzle just slotted into place. While they probably won’t appeal to the loyal, long-time riders of the German-based brand, this tamed version of the Paradigma isn’t aimed at them. Amplid have opened their arms wide and extended a big hug to the masses who, up until now, had to find their daily drivers from other brands.