- Price: £375
- Sizes: 142, 146, 149, 153
- Flex: 5.5
- Profile: Combo
- Shape: True Twin
- ROXY.COM/SNOW
UPDATE: Check out our review of the 2018/2019 Roxy Smoothie here
It’s now a few years since Quiksilver sold Mervin Manufacturing, but Roxy boards are still made at their factory in Washington State. By sharing build techniques and materials with Lib Tech and Gnu, Roxy now has a unique line of female-specific shred sticks that range from beginner boards to Torah Bright’s pro model. The Roxy Banana Smoothie sits somewhere in between, catering for the rider that already knows the ropes but is keen to push things further.
The EC2 profile is a version of camber/rocker combo that is heavy on the latter. The central rocker section is more pronounced than the camber ones at the feet, so when unweighted this board only makes contact with the ground at the middle. It therefore requires next to no effort to flex the board through the middle and raise the nose, which is great for powder, and butters on piste are dead easy too.
“Unless you want to tear up an icy pipe, this can turn its hand to just about everything that you’ll find in the park”
The Roxy Banana Smoothie is a true twin, so it’d be a shame not to put it through its freestyle paces. Its aforementioned pressability is a definite bonus, even if that means it’s not quite got the pop of some of its rivals. Still, unless you want to tear up an icy pipe, this can turn its hand to just about everything that you’ll find in the park.
As it’s from Mervin, the eco-credentials are worth bringing up. The mid-flexing core is made from FSC-certified wood, and there’s a layer of organic compound in place of traditional fibreglass.
One thing to be aware of is that the Roxy Banana Smoothie no longer features wavy ‘Magne-traction’ edges, so it won’t have quite the same edge hold on hard-pack as it once did. However, given the profile and the shape it’s not really a board for hard carves – if that’s your priority, you probably wouldn’t have been looking at this anyway.
For those who like a loose-feeling ride with which they can get spontaneous, however, that’s what the Roxy Banana Smoothie does best. Take it anywhere you like, as long as it’s fun.
