KORUA Shapes has come a long way in a short time. Launched in 2014 – a full couple of decades after most of the competition – Nicholas and his riding buddy-turned-business partner Stephan Maurer sold around 15 snowboards in that first season (“mostly to friends,” he admits). Today, it’s firmly established as one of the coolest board builders in the business.
The name KORUA brings images of tropical islands and palm trees to mind, but it was the snowy Japanese hills that truly inspired the birth of the brand. Nicholas had been on a trip to Japan and had seen snowboarding in a different light, one that prioritised carving, freeriding and snow surfing instead of the triple corks and behemoth kickers that dominated much of Europe and North America.
KORUA Shapes was born with its focus solely on turning and along with their Yearning For Turning video series helped to boost the profile. As of 2022, carving is very much back in fashion. The art of the turn has seen a huge resurgence in popularity, and KORUA Shapes were in prime position to take advantage of this surge in demand for snowboards that excelled on their edges.
As of today, KORUA have one of the most exciting and innovative product lines in snowboarding. You’ll see experimental shapes like the Pocket Rocket rubbing shoulders with tried and trusted classics like the Dart. Every new KORUA video gets a Whitelines office-wide premiere, but one that genuinely stopped us in our tracks was rider footage of the new Nose Rider. Just go watch it, trust us.
Fully content to let the boards do the talking, KORUA are known for their understated graphics and product carryover. By using the same subtle colour palette for each of their snowboards, they don’t subscribe to the yearly rat race product drop. The idea came from a sustainability point of view, as well as a way to guard the time and resources they had.
KORUA may not be the only brand on the market to cater to carving, but they are undisputedly one of the best. “My favourite shape is always the one that’s not yet out there. That’s what keeps us going.” – Nicholas Wolken
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Scroll down or select from the links below to check out our reviews of this season’s best KORUA Shapes snowboard gear.