UPDATE: Check out our review of the 2018/2019 Best Park Snowboards here
Snowboarding, as we’re so often reminded in chin-strokey-video-part-narration-waffle form, is a rich tapestry – from big-mountain adventuring to one-week-a-year piste bashing, and everything in-between. Of course, since the first flouro-donned mentalist got himself airborne within sight of a chairlift, freestyle has never gone out of fashion.
With park boards, usually you know one when you see one. You won’t find many faux wood topsheets here; graphics for park boards tend to be pretty eye-catching, and some real classics have appeared for 2015/16.
“Since the first flouro-donned mentalist got himself airborne within sight of a chairlift, freestyle has never gone out of fashion”
It’s the same with the ride. Twin-shaped, twin-flexing boards have a certain feel to them. They tend to be light, lively and with plenty of pop, and often draw you towards side hits and park features like a magnet.
Even in this category, there’s a lot of difference to be found among the boards. Some are soft and buttery, designed to press for as long as you’ve got a surface on which to do so. Others are built for serious airtime, and therefore need to be able to handle high speeds and heavy landings.
Whichever one is right for you will still be a matter of personal preference, but these ten – ranging from street dwellers to kicker killers – certainly stood out to our test team. Take a look:
All boards are in alphabetical order, other than the category winner which can be found at the end of the list.
All photographs by Sami Tuoriniemi
Production: Ed Blomfield / Mike Brindley / Andrew Duthie / Sami Tuoriniemi
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