Korua Pin Tonic 2025-2026 Snowboard Review

Why We Chose The Korua Pin Tonic 

Who says longer boards can’t also be nimble? The Pin Tonic combines straightline speed and stability with a truly eyebrow-raising amount of manoeuvrability. 

“The new topsheet is stronger and more environmentally friendly, and snow has a hard time sticking to it”

Who Is The Korua Pin Tonic for?

Even amongst the Korua-curoious – already a bold bunch – the Pin Tonic is for those who truly want a break from the norm, and are happy to sacrifice airtime to get it. Now that a (relatively!) smaller size has been added for 2025/26, more riders than ever can experience its unique appeal. 

Shape, Profile and Sidecut

Yes, the Korua Pin Tonic is a big ‘un, but the relatively short effective edge means that it’ll feel a bit more conventional on piste than you might expect. It’s actually shorter on the 166 Pin Tonic than what you’ll find on the 161 Krua Otto, the brand’s most traditionally-shaped all-mountain board. 

Get it into powder, however, and you’ll learn that size does indeed matter. Even on the shallowest of pitches or the stickiest of spring pow, you’ll stay afloat – aided by the pin tail, of course, as well as that extra length up top. . 

If you’re not lucky enough to get those conditions, the Korua Pin Tonic remains a blast on the piste. The taper is pronounced, so you’ll feel it working for you at every turn initiation. The rockered section of base at the nose is obviously handy in the deep stuff, but on groomers it delivers smooth edge-to-edge transfer, as well as a solid platform for bashing through cruddier terrain. 

“The relatively short effective edge means that it’ll feel a bit more conventional on piste than you might expect”

Construction and Materials

Korua won’t be abandoning its distinctive colour palette any time soon, but look closer at some of the new ones and you’ll notice a slight difference. While you can still get hold of boards with the classic reflective topsheets, new for 2025/26 is a ‘brushed polyamide’ variant – essentially you can now choose matte as well as glossy. It’s not just about looks, though; the new one is stronger and more environmentally friendly, and snow has a hard time sticking to it. And you may notice the slight weight saving, too (estimated at something approaching 10% of the overall total). 

Under the hood the Korua Pin Tonic uses biax fibreglass, which makes sense given that this one is wide as well as long. You won’t have to work too hard when you want to twist the waist and really engage that edge in the turn. Elsewhere, as one might expect for a brand that prioritises shape design, the build is fairly straightforward, with an all-poplar core and sintered base. No additional bells and whistles, but then that would be gilding the lily. 

“Get it into powder and you’ll learn that size does indeed matter”

Roundup

There are long snowboards, and there are long snowboards, and the distinction is important. Size up in every respect and you will have a seriously good time breaking speed records, but that’s about it. On the other hand, if you pick something that’s smart in the way that it uses that extra length by pairing it with a shorter effective edge – like the Korua Pin Tonic – then it opens up a lot of new opportunities. In or out of the powder, and with or without the new topsheet, this delivers; and if you’re looking to blow away the cobwebs and reset your ride, this is just the tonic. 

Pros

• A unique ride that nevertheless doesn’t require a full reset to get your head round.
• The new topsheet option increases the eco-rating, durability and looks great too. 
• Increased total surface area allows for high speeds, especially in low angle terrain.
• Wider waist width makes for smooth deep carves, and alleviates boot drag.

Cons 

• Other than the occasional side-hit, don’t expect to deepen your trick bag. 

“This is a fantastic board for carving and freeriding. Amazing edge grip, but with enough flex that you can push through and adjust the turn radius. It has a shorter effective edge than the length would suggest, which makes it super stable through chop, but it still handles well in the trees. At this size, it’s not the easiest to fully swing round for a nimble slash – but I’d still quite like to own it as my big board!”

Buy the Korua Pin Tonic Snowboard 2025-2026: from €549 at KORUASHAPES.COM