Best of Test: Best Snowboards of Colorado

Colorado may be known for its overly high college population, but longtime locals and transplants alike appreciate its terrain. We headed to Keystone to test the tastes of some rugged Colorado mountain people, and it didn’t surprise us in the least to find the top boards chosen were freeride and all mountain freestyle shapes With mild winter temp’s in the mid 20’s, resident rippers came out to test the best and rank the new rides accordingly. Interestingly enough, Colorado, a place where camaraderie and local support is high, was the only stop on our radar where a local board company made the list.
- Jenna Klein

Keystone Trail Map: Click to Enlarge

COLORADO TOP SNOWBOARDS

Best of Test CO: Venture Storm

VENTURE STORM

“Great control and precision, great construction method, and really nice people at the company”
- Jeff, Otero Cyclery, (Salida, CO)

“This thing charged all over where the mountain I just didnt have the right size for me at the demo so it was a bit stiff”
- Erik, Emagenetwork, (Denver, CO)

Best of Test CO: Rossignol Decoy

ROSSIGNOL DECOY

“It has a lot of pop! Fun to jib on and has great edge hold all over the mountain. And it rides the steep and deep stuff awesome!”
- Cameron, AMR ski and board, (Breckenridge, CO)

“Best board for soft stuff. Most playful pow board I’ve ever ridden. Tip and Tail are a little too soft for aggressive riding on crud, but best pow freestyle board ever. Landing switch in pow was easy.”
- Allen, Christy Sports, (Lakewood, CO)

Best of Test CO: Capita Indoor Survival

CAPITA INDOOR SURVIVAL

“It was like a skateboard. Really buttery, but super stable at high speeds. Fun, skate-like, easy to ride.”
–Jon, Blindside, (Colorado Springs, CO)

TOP SNOWBOARDS BY REGION

Northwest: Mission Ridge, WA

West Coast: Mammoth Mt, CA

Intermountain: Snowbasin, UT

Rockies: Keystone, CO

Midwest: Boyne Mt, MI

New England: Stratton, VT

Comments

1. 

   hater hater

   09/16/09 - 8:16 pm

   

   why are there never burton boards in these reviews? you can’t tell me there is not one board in the burton lineup that rides better than a damn capita indoor survival for colorado mountains.
   these write-ups are horseshit

2. 

   Chris Engelsman

   09/17/09 - 8:19 am

   

   Thanks for the input. While Burton and all brands make great riding boards. Reviews are subjective to each individual person. That’s why it’s great if you can ride before you buy. That being said, Burton makes a lot of great boards for specific types of riding. These are the three boards that people liked the most at the Keystone on snow demo.

3. 

   hater hater

   09/17/09 - 12:14 pm

   

   hahah i didnt expect the editor of snowboarder to reply to that but im impressed that you care that much about your board reviews. Sorry I have such a bias to burton boards but i guess theres more wood in the forest that i havent tried. By the way, congradulations on being in the sickest snowboard film of all time ( in my opinion of course) AfterLame!

4. 

   Stefano

   09/17/09 - 12:39 pm

   

   hater, you can be surprised by a lot of board companies you thought were no good. I thought I would ride burton for life, now I have a k2 Afterblack and it’s my favourite board.

   Burton has crap customer service also, they wouldn’t even replace a toe strap that broke off while I was riding (I couldn’t believe they charged me $25 for toe straps on a $250 pair of bindings). I’m done with Burton forever!

5. 

   graciegreyson

   09/18/09 - 7:57 am

   

   Hello!
   I’m new here, just sign up today! Hoping to make new friends!

6. 

   Jesse

   01/17/10 - 9:35 am

   

   Im loving the capita. Great board. Has never let me down. Just Awesome!!!
   http://www.thebestsnowboard.net

7. 

   ChipBoard

   02/23/10 - 11:32 pm

   

   Burton has crap customer service?!.. They replaced a broken lace in my Ions with one sent from Austria when I lived in the UK and a mate has just had a year old AK jacket replaced without question because the zip began to fail… pretty good imho..