Shape, Profile and Sidecut

With its squared-off crescent tail and matte black finish, the Mosquito has gone full Batmobile. Funnily enough, the nose has gained a subtle point where once it was square, so we guess you could say the styling has been flipped around vs the previous version. At its heart, though, it remains the same short fish.

Sinking the tail in deep snow comes naturally when it’s this short, and with bags of surface area at the nose you’ll be surfing the pow quicker than you can say ‘SHAKA!’ A ‘Surfy Camrock’ profile focuses the spring-loaded camber between the inserts, with extended rocker up front that keeps you hovering over bumps and chop. The whole ‘surf/snow’ thing is everywhere at the moment, and it can feel overplayed – at the end of the day, we’re still snowboarding – but the back-foot oriented stance of this board really does have echoes in wave riding. It feels tailor made for hacking banks at the edge of the run or smashing little powder lips and enjoying a cover-up. Y’see what we did there?

Of course, stubby pow sticks are nothing new, but as we’ve mentioned already, the Mosquito is more than just a handy quiver option. The sidecut makes the most of the length at its disposal, with a tight radius and solid flex (see below) that generate precise edge hold even on icy hardpack. You certainly wouldn’t look out of place slashing your way down the pipe; heck, you could even send it off a few park jumps – but you’d be wise to stick to straight airs and threes!

“With bags of surface area at the nose you’ll be surfing the pow quicker than you can say ‘SHAKA!”

Construction and Materials

At only 148 or 152cm the Mosquito was never going to be heavy, but with the inclusion of Nidecker’s lightest poplar/paulownia core it’s positively featherweight. That makes it even easier to throw around, yet flex-wise it’s no pushover. A combination of biax and triax fibreglass ensure it’s stiff enough for a full size rider to enjoy rail-like carves when you’re putting the hammer down.

Edge grip is further improved via a novel approach to sidewalls called ‘Nidactive Sandwich’. Essentially, it’s a kind of halfway house between tried and trusted sandwich and cap construction. There’s still a sidewall to protect the core and minimise the chances of delam, but it’s elegantly thin, while the fibreglass wraps around the top edge to meet it. In theory, that means more direct power transfer into the edges, and though it’s hard for us to verify where the response is coming from (construction or simply flex) we can confirm that the board snaps quickly across the base and turns feel locked in. A dampening layer within the lay-up takes care of any excess vibrations.

Despite its short size, speed will never be a problem for the Mosquito thanks to a sintered N9000 base that’s the fastest in the Nidecker line. Just bear in mind you’ll need to keep it waxed to get the most out of it.

There’s not a lot to say about the graphic except it’s… black. Like black leather. Simple, beautiful, classic. In fact there’s something about it that’s so black it’s like, well how much more black could it be? And the answer is none. None more black.

“Speed will never be a problem for the Mosquito thanks to a sintered N9000 base that’s the fastest in the Nidecker line”

Roundup

The latest iteration of Nidecker’s smallest surf-inspired board represents an evolution rather than a revolution. They’ve fiddled around the edges (literally) but kept the same nippy character that’s earned the Mosquito widespread acclaim. Sure, it makes an excellent powder board, but leaving this beautiful deck in the board bag on all but the deepest days would be to waste an opportunity to attack almost any terrain with the pure turning performance that only a directional shape can offer.

Pros:

• Super agile performance
• Lightning quick base

Cons:

• It certainly ain’t made for riding switch

“I absolutely love seeing people ride this board for the first time. People come back like “What the hell is that?! It’s freakin’ grippy, freakin turny, freakin reactive, I’ve never ridden such freakin’ board!!” If I got paid according to the smiles that this board creates, I’d be a millionaire by now.”

Buy the Nidecker Mosquito: €630 at Blue Tomato EU