- Price: £450
- Sizes: 157, 160, 163
- Flex: 7
- Profile: Hybrid Camber
- Shape: Directional
- NITROUSA.COM
Bryan Fox and Austin Smith get looked after pretty well at Nitro. Bryan has his pro model boot, and the pair of them get free reign to design a quiver of curious-looking snowboards that are built for the pow. It was this process that last year birthed the Nitro Mountain, a board that has now graduated to the main line.
You wouldn’t expect a board called the Mountain to be a jibstick, and sure enough this one prioritises exploring natural terrain over boom-gnarly stunt tricks in the park. It’s got a tapered directional shape, as well as a progressive sidecut that uses varying sizes of radius to power between carves.
“There’s plenty of pop thanks to the beech stringers that run the length of the otherwise all-poplar core”
Having said that, just a cursory glance at the Nitro Mountain confirms that freestyle isn’t entirely off the table. Indeed, as Knut Eliasson explains below, it was designed to be able to handle switch stuff better than most pow boards. It’s not for chucking cab 900s, but it’ll gladly oblige should you wish to get a little spontaneous on your way down a pillow line.
There’s plenty of pop thanks to the beech stringers that run the length of the otherwise all-poplar core, and the profile features a strong camber middle with rocker at each end. So you still get plenty of ollie power and strong edge hold, but whichever way you point it through the powder it won’t take much to keep it afloat. The high-density sintered base is top quality, and if looked after properly will send you screaming down the powder and groomers alike.
The graphics come courtesy of Nitro Art Director Paul Brown, and they give you a hint as to what the Nitro Mountain is all about. Most of your time spent on this should be far away from the lifts, getting after natural drops and spines and launching the occasional spin. With the Nitro Mountain, powder is your playground.
