APO DRAGON SNOWBOARD 2013/14 REVIEW

Apo is a brand with a history almost as long as snowboarding itself. Founded in the 80s by Regis Rolland, one of the first Frenchmen ever to step on a snowboard, the company was originally called Apocalypse Snowboards, after the ridiculous Apocalypse Snow films in which Regis starred. In the 90s its name changed to A Boards, before changing once again to Apo in 2003. The company has always been hugely popular in its native France, where Apo boards are standard issue for the local snowpark rudebwoys in most resorts. Until recently however it sometimes struggled to gain traction outside of Europe. However a recent influx of investment has seen Apo expand its range massively and snapped up big name North Americans, like slopestyle specialists Sage Kotsenberg and Spencer O’Brien, and backcountry king Eero Niemela to rep its kit.

The Dragon is definitely an Apo board built for this new school generation. It’s aimed squarely at park riders like Kotsenberg, with a mid-stiff flex that enables it to tackle both rails and decent-sized kickers with ease. The rocker profile shape makes buttering and pressing easy, and the tighter-than-normal sidecut radius (which Apo call the ‘freestyle shape’) means it turns quickly and easily. The core is poplar, so pretty standard, but they’ve mixed basalt in with the fibreglass weave to help keep the weight down. Nothing in this board is mind-blowing technologically speaking, but it’s a perfect combo for anyone with more than a passing interest in the park. Given that it retails at £340, it definitely deserves its spot in our top 100.

APO DRAGON SNOWBOARD 2013/14 – VIDEO REVIEW – BY WHITELINES

BUY THIS BOARD AT: snowandrock.com, surfdome.com, snowfit.co.uk

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