Best of Test 2010: #1 Ride Machete

08.24.2009

Ride Machete

“It’s got the right stiffness to it, but yet it’s still poppy when you play on it.”
-Shaun, Mount Holly
(Holly, MI)

Lengths: 152, 155, 157W, 158, 160, 161W, 162, 164W

Waist Widths: 245, 247, 249, 250, 252, 261, 262, 263 (mm)

Base Material: Fusion 4000 Base

Core: Performance Tuned Core

Shape: Twin with LowRize Rocker

Flex (from 1-10): 6

MSRP: $429.00

“5 out of 5. A good solid board.”
-Sal, Ski Barn
(New Jersey)

Mammoth Mountain, CA, Stratton, VT, Mission Ridge, WA, Boyne Mountain, MI, Snowbasin, UT, and Keystone, CO played host to our on-hill investigation as we queried more than a hundred riders to find their picks from literally thousands of demoed models, and when the final votes were in, we whittled it down to the top three men’s and the number-one women’s ride. This is SNOWBOARDER Magazine’s 2009 Best of Test Men’s #1, the Ride Machete. Get learned.

Austin Hironaka, St. Paul, MN. Photo: Terry Ratzlaff.

Austin Hironaka, St. Paul, MN. Photo: Terry Ratzlaff.

“It has rocker, but not too much, so it doesn’t feel like you’re cheating, and you can still play around and have fun on it.”
-Ryan, MC Sports (Grand Rapids, MI)

“I really liked this board a lot, as unlike other boards with rocker, it actually was stable at higher speeds and during aggressive turns. Many of the rocker/reverse camber decks I have ridden have the same problem. During a turn radius, when you shift your weight to hold or start to exit the turn, the nose of the board will come up. When this happens, the board becomes unstable and washy. The Machete’s nose and tail stay down during your turns, and you don’t get that washy/unstable feeling that you do on other decks with this technology. The carbon array tech that they use is really felt in this application.”
-James, Backcountry.com (Salt Lake City, UT)

“Very neutral, poppy, carved well, light and responsive.”
-Adam, Snowboard Connection (Seattle, WA)

“Fun and playful flex. Love the rocker.”
-Taylor, Mt. Shop (Portland, OR)

“This was just a fun board to ride. It was not a noodle like the Hero from Burton. I would feel really confident selling this board to any of our customers.”
-Eddie, St. Bernard Sports (Austin, TX)

“I’ve become a fan of reverse-camber boards, having ridden a few. I found this board versatile and easy-turning, with good pop.”
-George, Experience Snowboards (Taos, NM)

“Fun and loose jibster board—anyone can have fun on it.”
-John, Board of Provo (Provo, UT)

Snowboarder Magazine's September 2009 Cover This content was originally published in SNOWBOARDER’s September 2009 issue.

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Comments

  1. mel on August 24, 2009 at 3:55 pm

    YEAH AUSTIN!

  2. James, Backcountry.com on August 25, 2009 at 3:46 pm

    I was so stoked to see my reviews in the magazine when it arrived to my house a couple weeks back.

  3. Chris Engelsman on August 25, 2009 at 6:18 pm

    James, A big thanks to all who took the time to give their feedback!

  4. suckfest on August 25, 2009 at 9:50 pm

    Thanks for the kickback for my ad buy! See you at SIA Snowboarder!

  5. rbr on August 26, 2009 at 11:25 am

    e-tree, that fact that you answer questions and leave comments on these posts is rad. Maybe they should give you a raise. Hell maybe you should go into politics………….. someone that gives a shit about what everyday folks think and say.

  6. tee.bird on August 31, 2009 at 9:46 pm

    did someone say “raise?”

  7. Blue Mt. Freerider on September 15, 2009 at 7:31 pm

    were the lib-techs in this test??? cuz im looking at a T.rice C2 BTX and want to see how it did in the board tests. i ride a 07 K2 jibpan and love it but i kicked the crap out of it so time for a new baby

  8. Chris Engelsman on September 17, 2009 at 8:24 am

    Hi Blue Mt. Freerider, Lib Tech and Gnu were present at all the on snow demos this year, although none of their boards surfaced to the top three. I think people might have been a little confused with all the different options that Lib offers – banana, C2, etc. Top pros seems to like the C2 better. It still allows for the buttery ride of a banana, but has similar pop to a cambered board.

  9. Jernej on January 25, 2010 at 10:16 am

    how did Capita Horroscope preform?

  10. Chris Engelsman on January 27, 2010 at 9:09 am

    It did well, just not quite well enough to rise to the top. Remember that board tests/reviews are subjective to those riding the board. Everyone rides differently. Best bet, get out and demo a board if you can.

  11. samuel vieder on May 5, 2010 at 11:17 am

    Ride Machette is the best board you can buy, f**k the rest ! ha ha

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