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Snowboards

Nidecker Mellow 2021-2022 Snowboard Review

  • Price: £450 / €450 / $470
  • Category: Freeride + Powder
  • Sizes: 150w, 155w, 160w
  • Flex: 8/10
  • Shape: Directional
  • Profile: Combo
  • 3D: No
  • Base: Extruded

The Mellow continues to be a popular choice with soul surfers like Shin Biyajima. It doesn’t have the eye-popping spec sheet of Nidecker’s more aggressive carving boards, but it’s easy for most riders to get on with, combining a relaxed camber profile with a modern directional shape that invites you to draw beautiful turns on hardpack and powder alike.

“The Mellow continues to be a popular choice with soul surfers like Shin Biyajima”

MORE INFO:
NIDECKER.COM

Who Is The Nidecker Mellow For?

Anyone who prefers to express themself using the natural contours of the mountain, and appreciates a good carve – but who likes to take it chill sometimes.

Shape, Profile and Sidecut

The Mellow is a fully directional outline; it’s got a massive nose and a short tail (complete with iPhone-esque notch to help it sink). It’s also pretty wide, which is a bonus for big-footed riders and means that the whole thing packs maximum surface area into a relatively short length. Most of that volume is towards the front, so it floats naturally in deep snow and likes to be ridden off the back foot, surf-style.

The camber, too, is set back, with extended rocker into the nose. Nidecker call it Surfy Camrock. You still get the benefit of spring-loaded turns underfoot, but the lifted nose doubles down on the board’s pow credentials and helps it cruise easily over bumps, slush and crud. Despite the wide waist, the Mellow also turns on a dime thanks to a generous sidecut.

“Despite the wide waist, the Mellow also turns on a dime thanks to a generous sidecut”

Construction and Materials

The Mellow is built around Nidecker’s Master Core, which is as refined a piece of carpentry as it sounds – blending poplar, beech, spruce and paulownia. The beech hardwood gives it plenty of strength, while the other woods bring lightweight spring to the party. This is glassed with triax fibres for a torsionally stiff flex that delivers awesome edge-to-edge response. Carbon fibre from the rear inserts to the tail, and from the front inserts to the nose, adds a little extra snap to your turns and keeps the ride feeling dampened even as the speedo creeps up.

The base claims to be ‘sintruded’ – essentially a halfway house between extruded and sintered. It’s made from a particularly dense piece of extruded P-tex (closer to the molecular densities typically found in higher end sintered bases) with added carbon nanoparticles. What this means in practice is that it’s plenty quick, but requires less regular waxing than a full sintered base.

One element worth pointing out is the finish. We love the Mellow’s ash veneer topsheet, which features a matte texture and an organic-looking graphic that screams ‘tree run’.

“We love the Mellow’s ash veneer topsheet, which features a matte texture and an organic-looking graphic that screams ‘tree run’”

Roundup

There are a ton of directional shapes vying for your wallet these days, but anyone looking for a piste carver-cum-pow slayer would be wise to check out the Mellow. It’s got all the hard-slashing performance you need to up your freeride game without being an intimidating race stick. In fact, with that Surfy Camrock and coffee-coloured artwork, we’d say it’s as laidback as a White Russian at your favourite bowling alley.

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