Shape, Profile and Sidecut

Camber is king (or queen) when it comes to dynamic snowboards, sure, it’s a little more aggressive and potentially unwieldy than a hybrid profile, but for the right rider, there’s no compromise. The positive camber bend functions as a springboard, giving you bags of natural pop and life underfoot, just hit the lip and let the board do the heavy lifting. It’s not just useful in the park though, the four contact points give added stability when you’re charging on piste and offer superior edge hold when you’re cutting up the corduroy.

Where the Rival really starts to pull away from the pack is YES.’ Midbite edge profile. This clever tech pulls in the sidecut between the bindings, giving you wider platforms in the nose and tail for stability, and a nippy waist for rapid edge-to-edge transitions. You’ll feel the benefit with take-offs and landings when you’re getting airborne, but outside of the park not only does the extra surface area in the nose and tail translate to extra float in the deeper snow, but also gives you a snowboard that’ll carve like it was born to do that.

“This clever tech pulls in the sidecut between the bindings, giving you wider platforms in the nose and tail for stability, and a nippy waist for rapid edge-to-edge transitions”

Construction and Materials

Camber alone does not a park board make, what’s under the hood is just as important, the Rival isn’t catered to beginners and as such YES. don’t hold back with its construction. You’ll find a snappy full poplar core sandwiched by reactive triax laminates, together these give you a snowboard that hits the sweet spot between torsional responsiveness and tip-to-tail predictability.

Upping the performance yet again is the super slick sintered base. When you want to gun in and go full hog this is a base that will let you do just that. Keep it waxed and you’ll be pleasantly surprised just how much speed you can hold.

“If you’re looking to up your park game then there aren’t many other snowboards that can compete with the YES. Rival”

Roundup

If you’re looking to up your park game then there aren’t many other snowboards that can compete with the YES. Rival. As we’ve said, less confident riders will probably be out of their depth with this level of performance, but if you’re looking for a snowboard that can match your performance in the park and beyond then look no further.

Pros:

• One of the most lively and dynamic snowboards on the market
• Not just a park board, you’ll reap the benefits all over the mountain

Cons:

• Less confident riders will be in a bit over their heads

“Before I rode Midbite I thought it was a bit of a gimmick, but after trying the Rival I was sold. It felt great blasting through the park, I’m no pro rider by any means but even on the smaller kickers you could feel how much life and energy the Rival gives. It fet really balanced in the air, even encouraging me to try and dust off some tricks I swore I was too old to attempt again. It holds its edges really well on hardpack and feels really nimble and agile when you’re putting in fast turns. A freestyle board that doesn’t struggle outside of the park? Sign me up.”