There’s nothing quite like owning your own board, but a large proportion of riders still opt to rent. It’s not without its advantages; for starters, it means you don’t have to buy a snowboard bag, and then go through the rigmarole of getting it to the mountains. You can also potentially ride more than one board during your trip, and in the short-to-medium term it’s far cheaper than shelling out for a weapon of your own.

In years gone by, however, renting a board once you get to the resort was a massive gamble. For every rider hooked on the shred, there was one put off for life after spending a week wrestling with inappropriate gear, set up badly to boot. Stances far too wide or narrow, nose shorter than tail, zero degrees on each binding… we’ve seen it all.

“If you like turning, be it on hardpack or in bottomless pow, you’ll love these”

That’s all changed now, though; while there are still some cowboys out there, most outlets now offer up far better boards and take the time to match you up with the right one.

This year Intersport have taken things one step further with the addition of the Nitro Quiver series to their fleet of rental sticks. Designed by Bryan Fox and Austin Smith, these unique shapes are designed to make the most out of all snow conditions.

If you like turning, be it on hardpack or in bottomless pow, you’ll love these. You can see Bryan riding his in Travis Rice’s latest movie, Depth Perception, and Austin keeps his set mounted on the side of his epic converted fire truck. We had a shot on the 2017/18 Nitro Squash, and found it to be a proper powerhouse for fans of aggressive riding and big, beautiful carves.

Ed Leigh is old enough to remember the rental realm’s worst days (sorry Ed), so his enthusiasm for the Quiver series is understandable. Here he talks us through three options; the aforementioned Squash, the Cannon, and the Pow.

To see the full range and reserve your board ahead of your next trip to the mountains, head to the Intersport website. Use the code Mpora18 to get an exclusive discount, which depending on your location can be up to as much as a whopping 55%.