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Bataleon Party Wave Twin 2023-2024 Snowboard Review

Tested and selected for our top 100 snowboard products of the year: the Bataleon Party Wave Twin

  • Price: £440 / €490 / $490
  • Category: Freeride + Powder
  • Sizes: 147, 153, 159
  • Flex: 5/10
  • Shape: True Twin
  • Profile: Camber
  • 3D: Yes
  • Base: Extruded

Why We Chose The Bataleon Party Wave Twin: The Party Wave made sweet love to the Magic Carpet and had twins!

The lines between resort and backcountry boards are often blurred, not so much the lines between freeride and freestyle – and this is where the Bataleon Party Wave Twin muscles its way into the crowd. The OG Party Wave made… well, waves, when it was released a while back and short, fat powder boards have been all the rage since. But why stop there? The bods at Bataleon have taken it upon themselves to alter their winning formula and produce a true twin powder board that loves to pop, butter and spin in the sidecountry and beyond.

“This is a great blend of a board that can hold its own in deep snow, but isn’t relegated to purely the best pow days of the season”

It may look super niche, and juuust a little bit weird but the Party Wave Twin is the product of the consummation of the long awaited marriage between park and pow. Don’t be afraid to size down, the width is making up the surface area you’ll be losing in the length, and in turn gives you a more agile and nimble ride.

Who Is The Bataleon Party Wave Twin For?

You love powder, buuuut you also find yourself drifting off to the park whenever you get a spare lap. Why not combine the passions? If lofty back 1’s off pillows and big slashes on windlips make your nipples tingle then you’re sure to love what’s on offer here.

Buy the Bataleon Party Wave Twin: £440 at Blue Tomato UK 

Buy the Bataleon Party Wave Twin: €490 at Blue Tomato EU 

 

Shape, Profile and Sidecut

In this day and age you’re just as likely to see a weird shaped snowboard in the lift queue as you are a traditional one, and we love that. The Party Wave Twin is clearly a bit out of the ordinary, it’s a powder board with no setback, no taper and it’s also a twin!? The Party Wave Twin takes much of its DNA from the original, and if you’ve seen that you’ll notice that same short, wide outline and super pronounced nose scoop here, only this time you’re seeing double.

Bataleon eschews the 3BT formula they use for the majority of their twin boards here, instead they use a much narrower centre base and higher uplifts in the nose and tail. These help to funnel snow out the sides of the board, behaving like the hull of a boat to help the nose (or tail) glide over the top of the snowpack with less drag or likelihood of submarining. So despite it being a twin, you’ll find that there’s bucketloads of float with minimal effort thanks to these pre lifted sidebases.

But having this slimmer midsection has benefits that reach further than deep snow, it also allows for rapid edge to edge transitions on hardpack. Add in the full camber that runs tip to tail and you’ve got a board that’ll perform in the deep snow and when you take it back to resort, be it slushy chunder or freshly groomed corduroy.

“The Party Wave Twin is clearly a bit out of the ordinary, it’s a powder board with no setback, no taper and it’s also a twin!?”

Construction and Materials

Part of what makes the Party Wave Twin such a fun board is that it’s not chock full of high tech ingredients. It’s playful and it’s mellow, it lets your riding do the talking. Having this easy going, middle of the road flex opens you up to a buffet of buttering and flatland buffoonery, but does make it more suited to powder bowls than threading the needle down the fall line.

This softer feel is thanks in part to the Pop Woodcore, it’s full poplar which is one of the most common ingredients in mid-level snowboards thanks to its lightweight and durable properties. It’s also a slightly cheaper option, which is why you’ve not got a crazy price tag slapped onto the Party Wave Twin.

This is sat between biax laminate weave, which again is softer flexing and more forgiving than other options. It’s more malleable and easy to manipulate, so you’re able to better control the board beneath your feet and play around with it. It’s not super reactive, but then again, that’s not the purpose of the Party Wave Twin. Clue’s in the name here people, this is all about the fun and party rather than the razor precision.

“Clue’s in the name here people, this is all about the fun and party rather than the razor precision”

Roundup

Now, let’s be real you’re probably not going to be hitting the pro line kickers with this thing (unless you are, then hats off to you), but this opens up a world of tree bonking, pillow bashing and soaring spins into open powder fields. Backcountry freestyle is back, baby!

This is a great blend of a board that can hold its own in deep snow, but isn’t relegated to purely the best pow days of the season. It’s possibly more of a quiver board than some in the Bataleon line, but it’s definitely more versatile than you may initially give it credit for.

Pros:

  • The unique shape opens up a whole world of backcountry freestyle
  • It’s a powder board that isn’t relegated to the deepest days

Cons:

  • If you’re looking for a cannon for high speed, technical descents- this ain’t it

Tester’s Verdict

The Whitelines Pro Team

“Damn, this was loose! Loose in a good way, though, right? Like in a Bataleon way. It still trucks, it still pops, and it still puts down a turn on the pistes, but the ‘Party’ vibes were strong. In the powder it just skims and flicks it’s way over the snow. It feels like a coiled spring, just waiting for you to boost a drop, throw a spin of a sidehit, and butter for days!

I’m only a UK size 8.5 boot, so I was a little worried about just how wide it might feel, especially having ridden (and kinda struggled!) on the original Party Wave, but this didn’t feel quite as beefy through the waist. That’s a match made in heaven for freestyle fiends who wanna get buck wild on a powder day!”

Trade Secrets

Rubby Kiebert – Sales Director, Bataleon

“A few years ago some of our team riders posed the question: what if we took the nose of the Party Wave and put it on the tail? New for this year is the Party Wave Twin, an ultra wide freestyle powder board inspired by everyone’s favorite all mountain fun board. Thanks to 3BT we’re able to make ultra wide boards like the Party Wave and Party Wave twin that still feel nimble under foot because of the lifted contact points and narrow center base area. Most other brand’s super wide boards are a struggle to get on edge. If you’ve never tried 3BT, these are the shapes where the technology really shines. This board turns the whole mountain into a terrain park, excelling in powder conditions.”

Buy the Bataleon Party Wave Twin: £440 at Blue Tomato UK 

Buy the Bataleon Party Wave Twin: €490 at Blue Tomato EU 

 

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