Construction and Materials
As with all Borealis boards, a great deal of care has been taken to make the Tundra environmentally friendly. The brand is a big proponent of bamboo, the lightweight wood that is easy to grow and quick to replenish. You’ll find it in the topsheet, as well as in parts of the core alongside paulownia and ash – all of which come from FSC-certified forests. The resin used to bind the board’s ingredients is partly derived from recycled organic products, too.
It’s not squeaky clean; amongst the biax fibreglass sit carbon ‘power beams’ that run from the inserts to the contact points in an ‘X’ shape, as well as strips of Kevlar and more carbon down the sides. While these materials aren’t flying high in the sustainability stakes, it’s a compromise worth making for the increased response and dampening that you get. Besides, turning your back on an otherwise highly eco-conscious board for this reason alone would be pettiness in the extreme.
“Accessible enough for the journeyman, yet capable of stepping up when called upon”
Roundup
When we think of Borealis, it’s still the head-turning pow shapes like the Leviathan, Koi and Drakkar that spring to mind. While a popsicle-stick number like the Tundra will never match those for visual appeal, it stands shoulder to shoulder with them in terms of quality – not to mention towering over most all-mountain options on the market.
Accessible enough for the journeyman, yet capable of stepping up when called upon, the Tundra is simply remarkable.
Pros:
- A true all-rounder, and one that hasn’t opted for bland, please-all aesthetics
- Eco-points aplenty
Cons:
- Take a guess (*cough* FUNDRA *cough*)
Tester’s Verdict
The Whitelines Pro Team
“On the morning I took the Tundra out for a spin, Rob (the Whitelines editor) told me over breakfast that Borealis had produced one of his all-time favourite boards – the Marauder. After he described a few of the French brand’s freeride specific shapes I was hungry to get down to the lockers and see what was in store for me.
I’ll be honest, when he handed me the Tundra, I was a little underwhelmed. A middle of the road flex, a run of the mill shape and an au-naturale bamboo topsheet wasn’t really doing it for me. Here’s the thing though – I bloody loved it!
The Tundra reminded me of something that is all too often forgotten: you don’t need a quiver of five specialist boards. Sometimes you just need one good one. This is a board that let’s your riding do the talking. There’s no fancy kinks, bumps, bends or wonky outlines and, from what I gather, it’s pretty green on the sustainabiity scale too.
If you’re looking to reduce the impact on your savings acount and the environment, as well as have a board that divies up performance accross the three P’s (park, piste and powder) very evenly, this thing’s an absolute winner.”
Trade Secrets
Ben Hall – Owner/Manager, Borealis Snowboards
“The Tundra is a truly remarkable board. Its lightness, intuitiveness and ability to perform in all conditions are very impressive. It’s a good example of how high-performance (carbon neutral) design combined with sustainable materials can produce great products. Natural bamboo topsheet with Permafrost Technology, FSC©-certified UL Forest Core and Greenpoxy© VOC-free bio-resin made from recycled biomass are some of the materials used in this board”. And as for all Borealis boards, we give back to nature through our membership with the EOCA (European Outdoor Conservation Association).”
