With a deep appreciation for turning on snow and innovative shape design, we create truly unique riding experiences, simply for the sake of beauty and joy. – Korua Shapes
Snowboard Tested and Rider Specs:
- Korua Otto 2020-2021
- Korua Size: 161cm (waist width 26.8 cm)
- Sidecut: 8.3
- Bindings: Union Falcor (Large) & Nitro Team (Large)
- Boots: Adidas Tactical ADV size 11
- Stance: approximately 22.5″
- Rider Height: 6’0″
- Rider Weight: 195
Conditions/Terrain Tested: Groomers, park, chop, and some deep pow!
Features from Korua
- Float Camber
- Directional Twin
- Poplar Light Core
- Sintered P-Tex 2000 Base
- Flex: 7/10
Review:
Korua Shapes have been producing innovative boards since 2014. I’d seen the Korua boards at SIA a few times and had heard a fair amount about them, but just never had an opportunity to try one. If you haven’t seen their videos, you really need to look them up. Their goal is to return snowboarding to its roots, turning. You turn 90% of the time on a snowboard, so why not have some fun with it. After some research and several emails with the staff at Korua, I decided on the Otto 161 for its overall functionality and amount of flex.
The Otto is probably the most versatile board in their line and I felt comfortable all over the mountain on this board. It is a freestyle-focused directional board with a carving shape. The Otto profile uses Korua’s Float Camber, which is camber from outside the front foot back to the tail with rocker in the nose, giving the board an S-like shape. It’s the softest board in the Korua Classic line, rated at a 7 out of 10. The nose on the Otto is a bit softer than the rest of the board, and the board is pretty stiff between the bindings. It does have decent torsional flex when springing in and out of turns though. The Otto is not the dampest board I have ridden and I found there to be a fair amount of chatter riding in uneven terrain. But I was still comfortable riding this board at high speeds and I was able to push the Otto to about 55 mph.
The Otto is a pretty wide board with no taper so it’s not the fastest edge to edge. That being said this board excels in carving. From euro carves to short quick carves, this board is a blast with tremendous edge hold. I had so much fun playing around on the mountain as it held so well and allowed me to get low while still in control. Riding the Otto switch is a little tricky with the longer nose but totally doable. I found switch carves on the Otto to be a total blast.
While it’s not designed as a park board, I felt comfortable taking the Otto through the park and hitting small to medium features. It locked in well on rails and boxes. It’s pretty snappy off jumps and very stable on landings. It rode better than expected with a surprising amount of control.
With the early rise, long nose, and 10 millimeters of setback, the Otto was really fun and enjoyable in powder. We end up with a fair amount of great power days at my home resort in the Tetons and this board floated well and with great control.
Overall impressions:
The Korua Shapes Otto really could be considered a quiver killer. This board really can do it all and is fun all over the mountain. From park to powder to carving up groomers, this board is a blast.
Pros:
- Carving ability
- Fast and poppy
- Responsive
- Well balanced
Cons:
- none
| Price: |  (4.5 / 5) |
| Performance: |  (4.8 / 5) |
| Design: | (4.8 / 5) |
| Overall: |  (4.7 / 5) |