Published in Whitelines Magazine Issue 94, January 2011

DRAKE

DF1 – £370

AVAILABLE SIZES: 153, 156, 158

CONTACT: NORTHWAVE.COM

This all-terrain killer has been a constant in Drake’s line-up for a number of years, and its stable, responsive spec has kept it constantly popular. It’s designed with a camber shape, which helps it hold and edge at speed, and a stiff end to-end flex that gives it a nice snappy pop. Add Drake’s ‘Gum Wall’ tech, which they reckon helps it power through crud, and you have a great all-mountain package. OK so street rail missions might be out, but if you want something to ride pipe, big kickers and snow-laden steeps, then this is well worth a look.

ARBOR

ELEMENT RX – £490

AVAILABLE SIZES: 153, 157, 161, 165

CONTACT: ARBORCOLLECTIVE.COM

Founded by a bunch of Californian hippies, Arbor was going green long before it was ‘cool’. Their environmentally-friendly boards traditionally catered for the freeride end of the market – ridden by the kind of people who’d bond over a shared love of the music of Jerry Garcia. More recently they’ve made some sick jibby freestyle sticks too. But as the wood-style graphic suggests, the Element RX plays more to the brand’s traditional strengths. Its stiff flex and rocker profile make this a mean pow stick. But that directional twin shape means you can still ride this switch comfortably too, all the while feeling good about not damaging the planet!

GNU

DANNY KASS – £470

AVAILABLE SIZES: 153, 155, 158

CONTACT: GNU.COM

By anyone’s standards, Danny Kassis a pretty successful snowboarder. He’s racked up two Olympic medals, a string of US Open victories and a whole host of classy video parts, as well as founding his own company, Grenade. Yet despite the fact that perhaps only Shaun White has greater name recognition in the states, Danny is still universally recognised as a totally down-to earth dude, who shreds for the love not the money. This stiff -flexing, freestyle-focused banana board is Danny’s weapon of choice. Whether he’s kicking back and riding pow or charging hard in the pipe, the rocker camber combo and magne-traction wavy edges serve him well.

BURTON

CUSTOM X – £550

AVAILABLE SIZES: 152, 156, 158, 160, 164 – 159W, 162W, 164W

CONTACT: BURTON.COM

If the M&S socks and the reindeer jumper you got for Christmas failed to bring on paroxysms of genuine joy, worry not. A Burton Custom X will restore a smile to even the most miserable of faces. Basically a Custom on steroids, this cambered directional twin is a precision engineered freestyle machine. It’s got a stiff fl ex that helps it hold an edge on even the iciest of slopes, and keeps it stable at seriously high speeds. Ridden by Burton’s all iteratively named pipe-slayers Kazu Kokubo and Peetu Piiroinen, it’s aimed at experienced riders who looking for a board that’ll push them to the next level.