2018-2019 Top Snowboard picks for Powder, All Mountain and Freestyle
Today more than ever before it’s tough to find one board that excels above the rest in the three categories of Powder, Park and Freestyle riding. We hand picked and tested several 2018-2019 snowboards over the last season and we’ve chosen the top 3 in each category. We really feel the boards listed here will serve you well in each category.
Powder
Never Summer snowboards are bound to perform great anywhere, we really feel the Shaper Twin and Big gun are exceptional in powder. You can take the Never Summer shaper twin and the Ride WarPig anywhere but we give them both high marks for quick maneuverability and float in powder. The Big Gun is just a powder demon that you’ll want in your quiver for those deep days.
All Mountain
All three of these boards can handle everything from pow days to park laps and they all can surely carve up any terrain like a knife through soft butter. The Terry Kidwell RT2 is amazing to carve. I will say that the Kwon and the Invasion may easily transfer over to your freestyle board as well, but don’t be fooled they will keep you smiling all over the mountain in any condition.
Freestyle
The Proto Type Two is my (Chris) go to board for everything, I would ride this board anywhere but I absolutely still love the pop, flex and control it provides on park features. The Academy Propaganda has sparked my interest into what a zero camber board can do on rails and in the park. It makes you giggle like a kid similarly to when you had brain freeze from that Slurpie from 7-eleven, maybe that was just me though. It’s just forgiving and very fun! The Dealer’s Choice from SIMS has a fun shape and rules the park like a locomotive, with it’s micro-camber and rocker tip and tail it just feels good in the park and all over the mountain too.
Thanks for taking a look at our top picks for 2018-2019! Check out our YouTube channel for all of our snowboard reviews to see many more amazing snowboards coming out for the 2018-2019 season!
I have a quivering question that I hope you can shed some light on, I´m not sure if this is the right place to put this comment.
The last two seasons I have been riding a Jones Ultra Mountain Twin 164w, its a great board that I have been using for everything. But our luxury problem for those two last seasons is that we have had so much powder here on the west coast of Norway, we have spent the early season freeriding in fantastic conditions. December to end of February have been spent in the back/side country finding great lines above tree level or in the (often tight trees) below. For the rest of the season is more in the resorts time with groomers and some park, messing around the entire mountain, freestyling, hitting natural features, messing around and often rad-dadding a bunch of kids around spreading the stoke to the next generation.
My UMT is great for fast resort charging, carving, going switch and jumping. Its a bit too stiff for slow buttering, messing around and its ok for freeriding in the backcountry, but I would love to have more float, still good edge grip and the stability to drop off some cliffs.
I have had my eyes on the NS Proto Type Two for a long time, and I would like to pair it with another freeride / powderish freeride board.
I’ve been snowboarding for 19 years, advanced to expert level, 215lbs, boot size 12 and 191 cm tall
Any thoughts on how to set up this quiver would be great!
Thanks for the great site, you old guys rip!
Hi Edvin,
I definitely agree on the UMT, great for high speed charging but a bit on the stiff side. The NS Proto Type Two is one of our favorite boards, kind of a Swiss army knife. Another one you might look at is the NS Shaper Twin. It will be a bit stiffer than the Type Two but is a carving machine. The ST will also float a bit better than the Type Two. Depending on your preference on binding stiffness, pair it with either the Union Falcor or Strata. I’m 6’0″, 195lbs and ride the 155X Type Two and the 156 in the ST.
Keep shredding and let us know if you have any other questions!
OGRT
Thanks for tour reply! I just found a great mid season deal on pt2 161x that I think will fit me fine. The only thing that has me hesitating is all the talk on the infamous internet about this boards lack of ollie pop.
What is your take on this, just rubbish talk or is the pop “a bit hard to find” on this board?