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 Pin Tonic 2022-2023
- Korua Size: 164cm (waist width 26.9 cm)
- Sidecut: 8.2
- Bindings: Bent Metal Transfer (Large)
- Boots: Adidas Tactical ADV size 11
- Stance: approximately 22.5″
- Rider Height: 5’11″
- Rider Weight: 195
Conditions/Terrain Tested: Groomers, park, chop, and some deep pow!
Features from Korua
- Float Camber
- Biaxial Fiberglass
- Directional
- Poplar Light Core
- UV lacquer topsheet
- High-end perlatec base
- Flex: 7/10
Korua Shapes Pin Tonic Review:
Korua Shapes have been producing innovative boards since 2014. Last year, I reviewed the Otto and was almost instantly hooked. If you haven’t seen the Korua videos, you really need to look them up as they are incredibly well done and give you insight into the capabilities of their boards. Their goal is to return snowboarding to its roots and a few runs on their boards and you will agree this was accomplished. Their philosophy is that you turn 90% of the time on a snowboard, so why not have some fun with it?
The Korua Shapes Pin Tonic is a modern approach to a classic pin tail. It’s a big board, yet designed to be nimble and ride like a shortboard. The bigger size makes it fast and stable due to the extra surface area. The short tail makes riding switch challenging but not impossible and definitely helps dig in when carving. The Pin Tonic is a pretty stiff board tip to tail but I did find it had really good torsional flex which aids in making this board nimble and snappy in and out of turns. Overall, it’s a really fun board to ride in all conditions.
The Pin Tonic features Korua’s float camber profile, a large camber area with rocker in the nose. I found this to make the board very stable at high speed with great edge hold. The rocker in the nose makes turn initiation smooth and provides excellent float in powder. The pin tail is designed to sink in powder making it easier to charge through deep powder. It also has 20mm of setback, which when combined with the pin tail makes staying in the back foot very easy. The Pin Tonic really shines in powder and is just an easy rider. Turning and charging in deep powder are a blast on this board. The big pointed nose also cuts through chopped-up snow with ease. Even though it’s a big board, I was never uncomfortable taking it in tight trees or areas where you need to turn quickly. It is quick edge-to-edge and rides like a much shorter board with good control.
I found it fun to play around with the pin tail on groomed runs as well. You can really dig in at the end of a turn for some powerful slashing turns. I was a little worried about the big nose chattering at high speed but the board is very stable and I was really able to push speed on it.
Although it’s not a park board, I found the Pin Tonic was solid on rails and small jumps. It’s not super poppy so jumps require a bit of effort and landing on the short tail can make things a bit squirrely.
Overall impressions
The Korua Shapes Pin Tonic has a short, effective edge, making it really responsive. It has a big nose and classic pin tail that make this board a dream in powder. It’s fast and floats well even on those super deep days. The Pin Tonic exceeded my expectations in almost every condition.
Pros:
- Carving ability
- Fast
- Responsive
- Excellent float
Cons:
- Slight chatter in the nose at high speed
| Price: |  (4.5 / 5) |
| Performance: |  (4.8 / 5) |
| Design: | (4.8 / 5) |
| Overall: |  (4.7 / 5) |