- Price: €449
- Sizes: 150, 156, 163
- Flex: 9
- Profile: Setback Camber
- Shape: Directional
- KORUASHAPES.COM
Korua Shapes have drawn inspiration from Japan’s snow surfing culture to produce a range of interesting, unconventional-looking shapes aimed at those with a ‘yearning for turning‘ and the Korua Stealth is arguably the most striking. If you’ve ever witnessed a blur of red-and-while screeching down the piste or the pow, then you’ve just had a close encounter with a Stealth.
By making the board significantly wider, Korua has increased the surface area which makes for a far more stable ride – especially off-piste. It goes without saying that you won’t be able to turn on a ten-pence-piece, but on a board of this style you wouldn’t want to either. There are plenty of options in the Korua line for ducking in and out of the trees, but this one’s about drawing big, broad turns at high speeds.
“It goes without saying that you won’t be able to turn on a ten-pence-piece, but on a board of this style you wouldn’t want to either”
It features the brand’s ‘Float Camber’ profile, which is essentially a mellow rocker bend in the nose that turns to camber as you move towards the tail. This is ideal for directional pow sticks, as you get power and pop from the camber but won’t ever go over the handlebars in deeper snow. Camber is still the best profile for gripping your edge into firmer snow, so carving on the hard-pack is a doddle on this too (at least once you get used to the slightly slower edge change).
The board has a slight swallowtail, which further improves the float and means that the Stealth isn’t too stiff at the back. Generally speaking, however, this is pretty rigid, so leave all notions of buttering the piste back at home. Master the pop and you can still spend some good time in the air – but perhaps avoid any switch landings…
Sizing options in the Stealth’s inaugural year left a lot of room for improvement, with only a 163cm version available to buy. This year it comes in two new sizes as well, meaning smaller, lighter riders won’t miss out. As long as you’re down for swooping carves, bombing pow faces and generally gunning it at all times, there’s a Korua Stealth for you.
