ROME MOD ROCKER SNOWBOARD 2013/14 REVIEW
Rome Snowboards was founded in 2001 by a couple of ex-Burton employees who were disgruntled with what they saw as the “corporatisation” of snowboarding. Despite having grown into one of the biggest and most successful snowboard brands in the world, they’ve somehow managed to keep their anti-corporate rep largely intact, and continue to take a pretty punk rock attitude to snowboarding. As well as sponsoring heavy hitters like LNP, Stale Sandbech and Bjorn Leines, they also have arguably the best (and definitely the most Scottish) team in British snowboarding. Angus Leith, Danny McCormick, Jesse Smith, ‘Disco’ Stu Gairns, Dom Harington, Scott Penman and token southerner Cody Hierons all rep their kit.
The Mod is Rome’s flagship freestyle board, and it’s long been one of the most popular models in their range. The camber version of this board is available in longer lengths (up to a 162) and aimed at who want to take it in powder or charge seriously fast. This rocker board is more freestyle-focussed. That’s not to say for a second that’s it’s low tech. It’s got a high-grade sintered base that’s super-quick and ‘impact plates’ under the bindings that are made of Kevlar (the same stuff they use in bulletproof vests) to help absorb heavy landings.
The profile, despite being described as rocker, is actually flat between the bindings with a rise at the tip and tail, so although it’s more forgiving and easier to ride than the camber version, it’s still pretty solid at speed. The flex – bolstered by Rome’s ‘hotrod’ carbon inserts – is pretty stiff, making this a great board for all-mountain cruising as well as proper park sessions. Our test team agreed that it was probably too stiff for jib purists, but loved it as an all-round freestyle machine.
BUY THIS BOARD AT: freezeproshop.com, absolute-snow.co.uk, bucksboarding.co.uk, surfdome.com, boarderline.co.uk, snowfit.co.uk, eskimowear.co.uk
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