Shape, Profile and Sidecut

As we said before, the Greats looks a little funky – but don’t let that put you off. YES. certainly weren’t the first brand to play around with asymmetric shaping, but they are one of the best. Aside from the off-kilter outline, the sidecut on the heel edge is tighter and deeper to allow for more precision, control and power through this side, which allows it to match the human body’s physiologically stronger toeside.

If turning is your thing, then get ready for something that’ll bust the convention of what you expect. The Greats requires less effort and energy to get the board up on, and hold it, its heelside edge allowing your carving experience to be a lot more balanced. Once you get used to the slightly different feel, hold onto your hat because the Greats will lock onto a target and absolutely pin it.

Not only do they have an off-axis sidecut, but they go one step further and rejig their Midbite to further enhance your turning experience. This super narrow zone between the bindings is really nimble and manoeuvrable, whilst the wider zones in the nose and tail offer a stable platform for freestyle and an increased surface area for float in deeper snow.

“Not only do they have an off-axis sidecut, but they go one step further and rejig their Midbite to further enhance your turning experience”

Construction and Materials

YES. haven’t quite thrown the kitchen sink at the Greats, but they’ve certainly not skimped when it comes to the construction. It’s fairly stiff which is to be expected for a board that makes a name for itself with bigger freestyle features and carving, but it’s not such a juggernaut you’ll struggle to control it when you’re not going full gas.

A tri-blend wood core uses a mix of lightweight woods perfect for getting poppy with your aerial tactics, and more resilient and tensile woods for increased power and response. This is sandwiched between reactive triax fibreglass weave with an additional heelside carbon stringer to bolster performance down the crucial zone.

This allows the Greats to be precise at high speed, but light and poppy enough to allow for that playful freestyle personality to shine through when you’re riding in the park. The high-end sintered base not only goes like the clappers but reduces drag in all types of snow conditions.

“YES. went full science geek with the Greats, they studied the body and how it works and applied this to snowboard shaping theory to make a responsive and reactive carving machine that won’t be out of its depth when you step away from the corduroy”

Roundup

Don’t let the look put you off here, it may all seem a little funky and unnecessary, but when you get it on snow and take it for a few laps, you’ll see exactly why we chose The Greats as one of our favourite snowboard products of the year.

YES. went full science geek with the Greats, they studied the body and how it works and applied this to snowboard shaping theory to make a responsive and reactive carving machine that won’t be out of its depth when you step away from the corduroy. A poppy and playful freestyle option for intermediate and up riders also lies beneath this graphic, like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, the YES. Greats very much has a split personality and won’t be afraid to show it.

Pros:

• Knocks it out of the park in both freestyle and on piste
• A unique shape and construction that works in practice as well as it does in theory

Cons:

• Hmm, are you feeling those graphics?

“The human contradictions. Still the best carving twin you’ll ever lay an edge on. This newest design of Greats UnInc has an ever-growing legion of followers. This year we made an art piece of the collection, we worked with Kalonji to showcase the human hypocrisy and he made a piece that spreads over all sizes, each size has it’s own colour but put together it all makes sense. An asymmetrical twin with asym-flex, asymmetrical MidBite was added to the opposing side-cut specs. The result is a high-performance twin that delivers better edge hold and greater stability on landings that will leave a permanent grin on your face.”

Buy the YES. Greats Uninc: £565 at Blue Tomato UK