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Gear Feature

Prized Possessions – Bataleon Wallie

Bataleon Wallie - A beauty and a beast

Prized Possessions is a space for riders – both pros and Joes – to wax lyrical about their favourite pieces of gear from over the years. We promise you these are genuine and in no way paid for by the brands behind them.

Third in our series of Prized Possessions is one of our own in-house writers, Stella Pentti, giving her honest opinion on her current beauty of a board.

Bataleon Wallie. One of the flexiest member of the Bataleon family. To be honest, at the time I got it, I was stuck between buying The Wallie and another board, and even if one should never admit to it, the design of this board kind of made the choice for me. I still remember my first turns on the thing – it was like when you first discovered ketchup as a kid, love at first try (and sight for that matter as well).

Bataleon Wallie enjoying fresh powder turns at Nordkette, Innsbruck.

I’d never owned a men’s snowboard before, and the thought of getting one had never even really crossed my mind. Not that I would think any less of it, you understand, but as a girl I’d always just looked for girl’s boards to ride. After my good times with the Wallie however, I know it will be so much harder to find a new board to buy as I will forever be looking beyond the women’s lines from now on.

“I still remember my first turns on the thing – it was like when you first discovered ketchup as a kid”

I remember taking this Bataleon beauty out for her first laps, at an extremely sunny Kaunertal Opening a few seasons back, and maybe it was the weather, or the company I was in, but I never once thought about the fact I was riding a men’s board. The length was perfectly suited for a girl my size, and the board wasn’t too heavy for someone who doesn’t reach sky high numbers on the scale. And so off we went, and it didn’t take long for a very big smile to start forming between my ears.

Bataleon Wallie on the lift.

The first thing I noticed about the Wallie was its ability to be so soft but yet so firm – every turn felt very responsive and I found myself being able to speed up without wobbling around too much or catching an edge. I was fast (faster than I’d been before), I had fun (more fun than I’d had before) and I simply didn’t want to stop snowboarding. Ever.

The Wallie, of course, is ideally made for street rats, which I am not, but I wouldn’t necessarily narrow it down to only those kind of riders. I’ve had the time of my life riding this soft 3BT (Triple Base Technology) board – both on and off piste.

“The Bataleon Wallie is a Camber Queen with endless edge control”

This beloved board of mine has already taken a few hits and, due to excessive usage on my part, some bits are starting to fall off, but despite this she’s still the one I love above all others. My Bataleon Wallie might not be the best snowboard ever made but it’s definitely a board that made me love snowboarding even more than I did before (which I didn’t even think was possible).

If you’re on a quest to find your inner child, the Wallie will without doubt help you to find it. It’s a Camber Queen, with endless edge control, that makes snowboarding even more enjoyable than it was to begin with.

Bataleon Wallie looking over Hintertux, Austria.

In case you’re wondering why women sometimes feel the need to ride men’s snowboards, have a look at our article on The Problem With Women’s Snowboard Gear here!

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