UPDATE: Check out our review of the YES. 420 Snowboard for 2020/2021 by clicking here.
- Sizes: 145, 148, 152
- Flex: 5
- Profile: Flat
- Shape: Directional
- Price: £449
- BUY DIRECT FROM YES
There are only two examples in life where the short and fat shape has become fully embraced and led to global success. One: Danny De Vito; and two: the YES 420 snowboard.
The theory is simple, but the results are sublime. By drastically reducing the surface area of the snowboard, and replacing that volume across the width, the 420 has all the float you’d find in a board 10+ centimetres its size but also has the edge when it comes to manoeuvrability. Maybe not your best option for charging a no-fall-zone line in Alaska, but for just about every other kind of powder riding – tree runs, pillow drops, and big ol’ wind lip smacks – the 420 is your number.
“By drastically reducing the surface area of the snowboard, and replacing that volume across the width, the 420 has all the float you’d find in a board 10+ centimetres its size”
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A reduction in length also means a reduction in swing weight, which ultimately means an increase in its spinnability. Clocking up 180s, 360s and 540s in the backcountry maybe won’t have that awkward pendulum feeling, so stomping them on the 420 should be a lot more achievable.
Despite taking on the outline and graphic of a tree stump, the guys at YES have managed to inject a bit of agility into the snowboard. It’s got a relatively soft flex, which makes steering something with this much width more manageable, but they’ve also tightened up the sidecut so once it’s on edge it should follow a pretty tight arc.
That might be less prevalent on the groomers. After all, the 420 is predominantly flat cambered with rockers in the nose and tail and doesn’t have any of the Midbite found in other pow quivers, like the 20/20. Then again, what the hell are you doing on the piste with this thing? Get back in the woods!
