Why We Chose The Rome Rene-Gade: Freestyle boards don’t get any more premium – or, indeed, gnarlier – than this.

“I’ve got the best pun-based name in the entire Rome line”, said the Stale Fish. “Hold my vodka” said the Rene-Gade. Yes, the signature board of Finnish whirlwind Rene Rinnekangas is back for its second season. While it still looks like something that you might have unlocked in Coolboarders 2, its tech and design credentials are cutting edge.

“The Rome Rene-Gade is actually pretty conventional in its shaping – the classic popsicle-stick, essentially”

Who Is The Rome Rene-Gade For?

It feels like you should have to tame this before you get to ride it, like a wild stallion. As such there’s quite a long list of riders who will simply not be up to the task. For those who have the chops, though, say hello to your new favourite board.

Shape, Profile and Sidecut

Despite that name, and the fact that all-mountain boards come in all shapes and sizes these days, the Rome Rene-Gade is actually pretty conventional in its shaping – the classic popsicle-stick, essentially. As expected, using the recommended mounting holes gives you a little more nose than tail, but it’s subtle. Even if you want to pop the kind of 180s that made Rene famous, riding out will be a breeze.

“The signature board of Finnish whirlwind Rene Rinnekangas is back for its second season”

It’s really quite stiff end to end – the stiffest of all Rome’s go-anywhere boards, actually – and boasts an uncompromising camber profile, so you need to keep your wits about you when moving up through the gears on the piste or in the park.

Buy Rome Rene-gade Snowboard: £372 on Absolute-Snow.co.uk

As for the powder, it’s here that the Rene-Gade’s all-mountain credentials will be under the most scrutiny. After all, there’s no early-rise nose, volume-shift outline or periodic let-up in the longitudinal flex to help you out. Confident riders need not worry, though, and the rewards in pop and response are there for the taking.

Construction and Materials

Anticipating some heavy landings and attempts to break the sound barrier, Rome has reinforced the binding insert zones with layers of flax. This lightweight fibre is a gift from Mother Nature to your feet, so adept is it at absorbing and diffusing energy that otherwise would work its way up through your body.

“It’s really quite stiff end to end, and boasts an uncompromising camber profile, so you need to keep your wits about you”

More of the stuff is found tucked between the sidewall and the core, almost all the way around the edge. Again, it provides strength and shock absorption without piling on the grammes or using questionable chemical compounds.

Some of that aforementioned longitudinal stiffness comes courtesy of the carbon rods (two at the back, one at the front) which deliver increased response when charging, and a serious pop boost when it’s time to fly. In a belt ‘n’ braces approach, each is wrapped in an additional sheet of carbon.

Capping it all off (or rather, sitting underneath it all) is Rome’s highest-quality sintered base – one that would even leave the likes of Häkkinen, Bottas and Räikkönen in the dust.

Roundup

At first it might seem odd that Rene Rinnekangas – one of the most spontaneous, creative and infectiously cheery riders of his generation – would slap his name on something quite so stiff and unforgiving.

Remember, though, that part of his appeal has always been how he makes heavy stuff look so damned easy. You might never match him in the effortless-cool stakes, but on the Rome Rene-Gade you can at least feel assured enough to step to anything the mountain – and indeed the street – has to offer.

Buy Rome Rene-gade Snowboard: £372 on Absolute-Snow.co.uk

Pros:

• There’s no compromise with this unashamedly expert-only ride. Even the most demanding rider won’t be left wanting
• With those carbon augments combined with a true camber profile, it’s a pop machine

Cons:

• As a freestyle-focused board, some may wish this was a true twin rather than a directional twin. While Rome does make plenty of those, nothing in the line matches this for stiffness and response

“I took the Rene-Gade straight into a pipe run and this thing was a beast. It felt like a rocket ship and really wanted to go – you’ve definitely got to be ready for it! It feels like a true pro model which is pretty rare these days.

It’s super stiff laterally but still has a bit of play torsionally which gives you a great lock on the rails and you feel like you’ve got really solid landing gear underneath your feet when your pulling tricks and jumps, so if you land back seat you know it’s going to bring you back.

You can really rail it too, it cuts like a knife, you can just do whatever you want with it!

Definitely a high-performance freestyle board, not for the faint hearted!”