- Price: £420 / €450 / $470
- Category: Freeride/Powder (Carving)
- Ability Level: Intermediate, Advanced
- Size: 153GL, 153RL, 157GL, 157RL, 161GW, 161RW
- Flex: 8/10
- Shape: Asym Directional
- Profile: Camber
- Base: Sintered
At even the quickest of glances, you’re going to notice that in 2021 the overriding theme of Nidecker’s offerings is… wonk. Off-centre asymmetry is rife right across their range, lop-siding their boot technologies for a fit more befitting the curves of the human leg, and sending their bindings askew for a more optimal transfer of energy. So we’re not exactly dropping our jaws to the floor at the sight of them laying down some big asym designs in their boards, too. And no more in-your-face than with this, the Nidecker Tracer.
Alright, so asymmetrical sticks aren’t a brand-new concept, but you can’t deny that when Nidecker dropped the Tracer back in 2018/2019, the eye-catching firecracker was a real bold brand talking point to say the least. And with a big hot pink splash of colour on the deck, they weren’t holding back.
“Nidecker claims its rocket-powered weapon to be ‘the most unique high-precision carving machine on the market’”
But whist the colourway for 2021 is a touch more stealthy, Nidecker is still puffing out its chest and proclaiming its rocket-powered weapon to be ‘the most unique high-precision carving machine on the market’. The tighter radius on the heelside sidecut counters any biomechanical inefficiencies to ensure that the board rails its line as well on this edge as it does on the toeside.
Because you don’t want to be hitting Mach 10 on a rail with anything less than the most trustworthy build under your boots, Nidecker have used their Premium Sandwich construction for the Tracer, pumping hard-as-nails modern materials like action hero-strength Kevlar into this puppy to turn the dials up on the power and reactivity.
They’ve also spiked it with a carbon stringer, to give the board an extra hit of pop, and used their highly specific Master Core technologies to achieve a peak weight-performance-power ratio through a stringent wood selection process. Oh, there’s no doubt this thing is absolutely bonkers on every single conceivable front. But then again, in the words of the world’s ultimate crazed lunatic, we all go a little mad sometimes…
