With a name like the Boss, it’s pretty apparent who’s calling the shots here. This is Bataleon’s highest specced true twin snowboard – a purpose-built park powerhouse. However, for those who know their way around the jump and rail line, you’re not entirely at the mercy of the Boss’s orders. Show this one who’s really in charge and you’ll find yourself director of the board.

Take the performance you’d find in a run-of-the-mill freestyle deck, then add 20% to it. Then 5% more. Rather than settle for a regular tip to tail camber, the Boss features the most aggressive bend available in Bataleon’s line and enhances its pop further with the addition of a hollow carbon tube, milled into the core, between the inserts.

“Take the performance you’d find in a run-of-the-mill freestyle deck, then add 20% to it. Then 5% more”

The second dose of carbon is found directly under the feet, where stringers have been laid out in a X-brace formation. Rather than affecting the snowboard’s torsional flex, these act as underfoot dampening and provide additional response on edge when you’re carving into your setup turn.

Naturally, the shape is twin, as is the 3BT Profile. Bataleon’s trademarked construction divides the nose and tail of the snowboard into a section of flat base, flanked on either side by uplifted sidebase sections, most notably around the contact areas, known as Sidekicks. In the park, this limits the risk of hooking up or catching an edge on features. Beyond that, it makes the Boss a deceptively versatile carving, powder and crud blasting true twin snowboard.

For 2020/2021, there’s a couple of upgrades under the hood. Firstly, the Super Ultra Light core is (go figure) Bataleon’s lightest 80:20 paulownia and poplar wood blend. It’s still extremely tough and durable but feels incredibly nimble in the air.

What’s lighter than Super Ultra Light, you say? Air. That’s what. AirRide is a polyurethane composite, built into the 3BT crease points, to dampen out chatter and vibrations. The benefits of this will be felt over the whole mountain, but most noticeably when you’re going full tilt on the run-in to the jumps and need to hold your pre-flight line… and nerves.