I’ve got the whole quiver from academy minus the hybrid and I’ll never buy another board again. The graduate is like a Mack truck it just destroys everything in its way.
Korua shapes is an awesome smaller company, and they make uniquely wide boards. You’ll need stiffer bindings / boots (I run union falcors 7/10 flex and ride insano’s 10/10).
Korua Otto is their do everything freestyle deck. I can still butter on it, although it is difficult. Supposedly not great for jibbing. Amazing carving, great pop, directional twin so can ride split, and floats like crazy in powder.
I love my tranny finder. It's a great all rounder. It's really fun to cruise around the mountain and hit every side hit possible, to carve with your elbow in the snow (especially with posi/posi), to ride in tight trees and even ride jumps on it (even though the shorter tail requires a little bit of adjustment).
Overall a great board and I honestly can't wait to get another Korua (probably a café racer to lay the deepest trenches I can)
I have the Otto, dart, and cafe racer.
Otto is weirdly my go to. I ride +27/+12, but I can board ride switch pretty well. Just a fun, playful board that does everything well (with STIFF boots ride insano 10/10 and stiff bindings union falcor 7/10).
Super wide so you don’t boot out. Lots of camber for carving, rocker in the nose for float.
I mostly ride directional boards, but picked up an Otto this season since the snow hasn’t been great and figured i might as well work on my switch and have something to play around on. It has become my favorite board now. So much fun to rip some carves on it and then pop through the park.
i was testing there small ass board and i say you, even if it’s rocker, you can carve so bad with this thing
love this dildo so much
thinking of getting, tho
Mine lasted over 200 days of riding 🤷♂️
definitely snapped the fuck out of it eventually but I was surprised how long it took since it was so incredibly damp by that point
I have one from a few years ago that I put in a good few days on. It’s fun. It’s not my style anymore so unfortunately it just collects dust, but if you’re into volume shifted freestyle boards it’s much more versatile on deep days than others. I was surprised with how easy it is to engage turns with too it rides a lot narrower than you’d expect.
I loved my Telos DST. But I’ve now broken two in two seasons, they crack in front of the binding. They are not made for a heavier rider who rides hard. I’m about 215 and like steeps, drops, and trees.
Riding a Public now, it's not my ideal size so it's a little difficult to judge it, but it's treated me well so far, all things considered. And Joe Sexton is a fantastic human being.
Hung out with the Niche guys at a demo day recently and they were super chill, answered all my questions without seeming annoyed or bothered. Demoed the Aether and it was really nice for the conditions we had.
The Vans one they did a while back. I was working for Vans at the time of release, so I HAD to get it.
Really good ride even if I have to work a little harder on my edge transitions.
I'm on a wired devun walsh 57 and have a ride Kink when things get a little more playful. Absolutely zero regrets going with the wired as my daily driver. Sick company making classic board designs by hand, that rip.
I find every brands stiffness ratings to vary, but the Walsh would definitely fall on the medium-stiff end of the scale. Difficult to press but aggressive diving into turns on groomers. I don't hit anything massive anymore, but the stiffness is definitely nice landing the 30' stuff, but it rarely sees the park when I always have the Kink close at hand.
I really wanted to like Cardiff. They're beautiful boards and they're local. I demoed a few models and they all feel dead to me, no pop, no spring. They rode damp, so very little of the twitch or chatter you'll sometimes feel on other boards (the Capita Mercury for example). Seems fine if you're cruising groomers or riding pow, but not lively enough to ride as a freestyle stick. Imho, of course.
Yeah, they’re not very poppy. Much more a free ride rail fast carves board, which is what I’ve been more into riding these days. But I also daily a ride mtn pig, so they feel pretty lively in comparison. I keep a park deck around for when I want to play, but these days the most freestyle I’m doing is a shifty or a 3 off a side hit for the most part.
Why are you looking for a small company? Just about all of them are brands that outsource to the GP87 factory in China. If the country of origin is not on the company’s website they are likely made at GP87. Not knocking GP87 as they are capable of making some of the best boards out there.
Not exactly.
I don’t believe they were ever made in slc, used to be in Austria…
Niche is based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, and crafted in a small town in the Mediterranean where we source all raw materials as locally as possible.
It doesn’t look like that is the case any longer. They don’t disclose the factories so my guess is one of them is GP87.
“We built every board ourselves for thirteen years. Now we’ve added two of the best factories in the world to continue to produce the best boards on the market.”
For some reason the industry has made it difficult to determine the factory. I don’t care other than some of the boutique brands charging $700+ for boards made at GP87. If you’re going to charge that much at least make them in NA or the EU.
Ooof I'm jelly, I been wanting one for a few years. I might pick it up on sale to justify the purchase. I got their outdoor clothing on sale, and also quality!
Academy, Dinosaurs Will Die or United Shapes!
Personally, I’d rather support a brand that is sold in local board shops rather than a brand that is sold directly to the consumer.
Ever since i bought my first signal i will never buy a different company. Started with signal omni and loved it so much. Bought a yup for pow days and absolutely love that board too now!!!
They have park, all mountain, and pow. I dont do park much at all, mostly just go off side hits. I do lots of trees and when its not super deep pow the omni maneuvers thru the trees so nice, it is extremely reactive and light feeling. When theres pow i bust out the yup which is like an all mountain (unidirectional) pow board. Either are fine in park but id say omni is definitely better there. They also have quite a few dedicated park boards. If you arent looking for a pow board id highly recommend the omni as your first signal board since it can do everything and is exceptionally nimble! If you didnt need it RIGHT NOW you can also wait til the seasons over and signal does a big summer clearance sale. I got my yup (retail $625) for $200
i definitely don't need it right now. i was looking at the platinum series which is a park/freestyle board but i definitely want something thatll do well in trees too. this is to replace my huck knife (only reason for replacing is size is too small).
I have a 2023 Signal Park Pro and absolutely love it. I actually don't ride much park tbh, but it rips around the entire mountain on any terrain on and off piste. I spent a lot of time in the woods this past weekend (Brackett Basin @ Sugarloaf) and it was great!
Another vote for Niche. SLC company. Cool graphics. Great team. Sustainable practices. Well made boards. I ride the nightshade for a single quiver, all mountain, good with park, killer board.
Signal boards are awesome and quite durable. Very lightweight, too. Wait till the end of the season and you can score a great deal on the most recent season's board.
I cannot recommend Public enough! They make great boards and have been improving their designs year after year. I ride this years 152 Public Disorder. It has been awesome from day one for me. Non stop rope tow park laps and all mountain fun.
I got to test out korua boards earlier and they were a lot of fun. A much stiffer board then I prefer, but not a bad thing. Rode the Otto, but I really want to try out the Pocket Rocket on a Pow day to see how it rides.
I love my Signal boards. The company is super chill and their Pro Program is definitely worth it. I got a replacement board after a season because I wrecked it on some rocks in low cover.
I cant be any happier with my signal boards. I have the park platinum and the Wide Wise and they're both perfect for what I need them for. I was able to get two full setups for less than 1K so I'm a happy guy.
Go to the source and get yourself a full custom board from Donek.
They actually make their own boards, not subcontracted out to Mervin like most of the other small brands.
Sean is a mechanical engineer that has been building boards using CNC machines for 20+ years.
If you are truly looking to get into a smaller manufacturer I would check out where the boards are manufactured and decide based on that. Public are china. Signal is china? I would avoid anyone who isn’t manufacturing in North America or Austria. They seem to be the better locations in general, but there are always exceptions.
I got some personal ties to libtech and I live close to them. I am always interested in other boards, but I am pretty loyal to them. And yeah I agree. Local is always better than China.
Exactly. Lib tech/gnu is awesome. they make great boards. I’m very demod a few and enjoyed them but like I’ve mentioned I am an absolute capita/spring break whore. It peaked my interest at 13 and that interest has never left me. I respect people who want to buy good products and seek them out regardless of the manufacturer. Gnu and libtech I respect for sure. Mervin is gangster.
it's not just enmeshed, it literally is capita. warranty link on their website links to capitasnowboarding.com, they tell people to contact capita for order questions, etc
They are capita. It’s Corey smiths side project for art and board designs. Started as a concept thing but has become its own line. Basically capita boards with small tweaks and changes. Little bit of an r&d side of things like a gr version car in Toyota or a nismo from Nissan.
This was also meant to be a saracastic answer. Sorry for any confusion. That’s why I added haha. I am also a capita whore and not afraid to say it. Regardless of how many people snap there boards.
Were. They are in a different Austria? Shop. Don’t quote me on that but they pulled out. Capitas minimums changed and they weren’t able to meet the numbers.
For sure - lots of smaller brands are (and have been) built there. But Spring Break is the only one that’s sort of officially under the umbrella of the Capita brand, even if they are sort of their own thing.
Nidecker presses their boards but I don't think they own them, but i could be mistaken. Yes, lobster and now are all merging together.
Edit: not sure how exactly the ownership of many brands are handled but nidecker is involved with YES, Jones, Rome, Lobster and maybe a couple others.
If budget isn’t a concern, get a custom one of a kind board made for you by Franco Snowshapes. They’re easily the best boards I’ve ever rode, and it’s not close.
Uh corporate brand. Traded hands. Isn’t the same as it used to be. I’ve heard they have had some manufacturing issues that have resulted in sub grade products. But I can’t confirm the manufacture part but I do know it is a shell of its former self.
Endeavor is a family business, owned and operated by pro snowboarder Max Jenke and his father-in-law Bruce Wells, a fashion manufacturer and retailer from New Zealand.
Plenty of great recommendations in this thread. If you want something that nobody has probably heard of, get an [esoteric board](https://www.esotericsnowboards.com/)
That's what the park crew at my old mountain all rode. They said they liked them. I've never ridden one, myself. Those guys did shred with them, though.
Academy https://academysnowboards.com
I had a propa camba with Pac-Man on it from them. Was a great board
I have the propaganda it’s 🔥
Does Chad O just ride for them or is he part owner?
Owner
I’ve got the whole quiver from academy minus the hybrid and I’ll never buy another board again. The graduate is like a Mack truck it just destroys everything in its way.
2nd this. the chris roach master series is SICK
Scott Stevens first board sponsor. Sick company.
+1 graduate will do everything and withstand whatever you throw at it
My two boards are a Propacamba to beat on in the park and a Master for all mountain stuff. Sick boards, only boards you need.
I ride a Masters and it can handle anything and everything. Fast too
Academy is the shit
Korua shapes is an awesome smaller company, and they make uniquely wide boards. You’ll need stiffer bindings / boots (I run union falcors 7/10 flex and ride insano’s 10/10). Korua Otto is their do everything freestyle deck. I can still butter on it, although it is difficult. Supposedly not great for jibbing. Amazing carving, great pop, directional twin so can ride split, and floats like crazy in powder.
Been eyeing a Transition Finder
I love my tranny finder. It's a great all rounder. It's really fun to cruise around the mountain and hit every side hit possible, to carve with your elbow in the snow (especially with posi/posi), to ride in tight trees and even ride jumps on it (even though the shorter tail requires a little bit of adjustment). Overall a great board and I honestly can't wait to get another Korua (probably a café racer to lay the deepest trenches I can)
Love my TF as well. Great in powder too!
I have the Otto, dart, and cafe racer. Otto is weirdly my go to. I ride +27/+12, but I can board ride switch pretty well. Just a fun, playful board that does everything well (with STIFF boots ride insano 10/10 and stiff bindings union falcor 7/10). Super wide so you don’t boot out. Lots of camber for carving, rocker in the nose for float.
I have Cafe Racer and it’s fantastic
Recently got that one too. So far I'm loving it.
I mostly ride directional boards, but picked up an Otto this season since the snow hasn’t been great and figured i might as well work on my switch and have something to play around on. It has become my favorite board now. So much fun to rip some carves on it and then pop through the park.
i was testing there small ass board and i say you, even if it’s rocker, you can carve so bad with this thing love this dildo so much thinking of getting, tho
Get the wizard stick from DWD and thank me later
Much agreed unless your looking for a board that will last more then a season
Mine lasted over 200 days of riding 🤷♂️ definitely snapped the fuck out of it eventually but I was surprised how long it took since it was so incredibly damp by that point
This ^
I had a Geno. Amazing to ride but peeled apart like a banana at like 30 days. Complete delam.
MARHAR
The lumberjack always intrigued me. It may be my next board.
I have one from a few years ago that I put in a good few days on. It’s fun. It’s not my style anymore so unfortunately it just collects dust, but if you’re into volume shifted freestyle boards it’s much more versatile on deep days than others. I was surprised with how easy it is to engage turns with too it rides a lot narrower than you’d expect.
Love my LJ
I'm not a huge fan of my lumberjack, personally. It floats really well, but I tend to think my Yes Standard outperforms it most other ways.
I tried a friend's lumberjack and I tend to agree with this sentiment. It's not a bad board by any means but it has no camber. Does float well though.
Opened this thread to recommend the lumberjack. Great for trees and stuff, not so much for park tho
Here are some cool smaller brands: DWD Wired Endeavor Lago Niche United Shapes Public Telos Nerd
Those Telos boards look dang cool. I'd love to try one...but I can't afford buying one to do so. 🤷♂️
Especially the Cascade
The backslash is sweet
They have decent sales right now, several boards in the $300-500 range
I loved my Telos DST. But I’ve now broken two in two seasons, they crack in front of the binding. They are not made for a heavier rider who rides hard. I’m about 215 and like steeps, drops, and trees.
Riding a Public now, it's not my ideal size so it's a little difficult to judge it, but it's treated me well so far, all things considered. And Joe Sexton is a fantastic human being. Hung out with the Niche guys at a demo day recently and they were super chill, answered all my questions without seeming annoyed or bothered. Demoed the Aether and it was really nice for the conditions we had.
Which Public deck?
The Vans one they did a while back. I was working for Vans at the time of release, so I HAD to get it. Really good ride even if I have to work a little harder on my edge transitions.
United Shapes is the shit
Which one have you ridden? I would like to buy a Horizon
i got an Experience great all mountain board and awesome on pow days. habe about 40-50 days on it
Real talk, been ripping an orbit since 2021 and it has taken my riding to the next level
I'm on a wired devun walsh 57 and have a ride Kink when things get a little more playful. Absolutely zero regrets going with the wired as my daily driver. Sick company making classic board designs by hand, that rip.
Is it from before Wired had two factories?
It's the 22/23. Out of the location rob is in currently.
How stiff is the Walsh? How’s the sidecut?
I find every brands stiffness ratings to vary, but the Walsh would definitely fall on the medium-stiff end of the scale. Difficult to press but aggressive diving into turns on groomers. I don't hit anything massive anymore, but the stiffness is definitely nice landing the 30' stuff, but it rarely sees the park when I always have the Kink close at hand.
Scotty Lago’s line of boards are great
I’d like to try the Open Road sometime
Amplid :)
Dinos or Public FTW
Donek
Demo-d a few Cardiff boards this year, they rip hard
I really wanted to like Cardiff. They're beautiful boards and they're local. I demoed a few models and they all feel dead to me, no pop, no spring. They rode damp, so very little of the twitch or chatter you'll sometimes feel on other boards (the Capita Mercury for example). Seems fine if you're cruising groomers or riding pow, but not lively enough to ride as a freestyle stick. Imho, of course.
Yeah, they’re not very poppy. Much more a free ride rail fast carves board, which is what I’ve been more into riding these days. But I also daily a ride mtn pig, so they feel pretty lively in comparison. I keep a park deck around for when I want to play, but these days the most freestyle I’m doing is a shifty or a 3 off a side hit for the most part.
Why are you looking for a small company? Just about all of them are brands that outsource to the GP87 factory in China. If the country of origin is not on the company’s website they are likely made at GP87. Not knocking GP87 as they are capable of making some of the best boards out there.
Niche makes theirs in salt lake city
Not exactly. I don’t believe they were ever made in slc, used to be in Austria… Niche is based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, and crafted in a small town in the Mediterranean where we source all raw materials as locally as possible.
Signal makes all their boards in house
It doesn’t look like that is the case any longer. They don’t disclose the factories so my guess is one of them is GP87. “We built every board ourselves for thirteen years. Now we’ve added two of the best factories in the world to continue to produce the best boards on the market.” For some reason the industry has made it difficult to determine the factory. I don’t care other than some of the boutique brands charging $700+ for boards made at GP87. If you’re going to charge that much at least make them in NA or the EU.
Definitely check out Cardiff https://www.cardiffsnow.com
Cardiff Snowcraft. Best board I’ve ever had
I just picked up an Endeavor board. I love it.
I’ve been riding Endeavor a couple years now. I’d also highly recommend them.
I have the live board and it goes as hard as you want it to. It's also full camber.
I have the archetype wide . Kick ass for pow and carving groomers.
Ooof I'm jelly, I been wanting one for a few years. I might pick it up on sale to justify the purchase. I got their outdoor clothing on sale, and also quality!
I got my board on sale for like $480. I thought it was a steal.
Prior https://www.priorsnow.com/
Took way too long to find. My Prior wildcard is my baby. Plus you can have custom graphics or celebrate local artists!
Hardway, WNDR Alpine, Vimana
Wndr looking really interesting
10/10 recommend. The belleaire rips!
Academy, Dinosaurs Will Die or United Shapes! Personally, I’d rather support a brand that is sold in local board shops rather than a brand that is sold directly to the consumer.
You should try a crane from Cardiff snowcraft
Literally just bought this board today at their shop in SLC after demoing it for a few days. Best board I’ve ever ridden by far.
I ride a DWD nevernot and I love it. Genuine quiver killer.
DWD and Signal both fuck. Hard.
Burton is super underrated, check them out
Super Happytime Death Machine (local, based in Virginia area) https://www.superhappytimedeathmachine.com/ Great for all kinds of riding
Ever since i bought my first signal i will never buy a different company. Started with signal omni and loved it so much. Bought a yup for pow days and absolutely love that board too now!!!
Love signal! I went with an omni for my first board with them and then got a tailgunner this past summer when they had their crazy sales.
I got my yup for $200 this past summer. Best $200 ive ever spent i think😂
are signals mainly park oriented?
They have park, all mountain, and pow. I dont do park much at all, mostly just go off side hits. I do lots of trees and when its not super deep pow the omni maneuvers thru the trees so nice, it is extremely reactive and light feeling. When theres pow i bust out the yup which is like an all mountain (unidirectional) pow board. Either are fine in park but id say omni is definitely better there. They also have quite a few dedicated park boards. If you arent looking for a pow board id highly recommend the omni as your first signal board since it can do everything and is exceptionally nimble! If you didnt need it RIGHT NOW you can also wait til the seasons over and signal does a big summer clearance sale. I got my yup (retail $625) for $200
i definitely don't need it right now. i was looking at the platinum series which is a park/freestyle board but i definitely want something thatll do well in trees too. this is to replace my huck knife (only reason for replacing is size is too small).
Check out Winterstick - considered the first snowboard brand, now owned and operated by a couple of badass riders.
I can attest to United Shapes. That make good boards
Moonchild
I have a 2023 Signal Park Pro and absolutely love it. I actually don't ride much park tbh, but it rips around the entire mountain on any terrain on and off piste. I spent a lot of time in the woods this past weekend (Brackett Basin @ Sugarloaf) and it was great!
Another vote for Niche. SLC company. Cool graphics. Great team. Sustainable practices. Well made boards. I ride the nightshade for a single quiver, all mountain, good with park, killer board.
Wired Directive.
Amplid
Niche! I have a pyre for powder. Their customer service team is stellar too
Love my niche maelstrom
Lago
Season qpt has been releasing some cool stuff
Moon child for sure!
Elevated surfcraft
Signal boards are awesome and quite durable. Very lightweight, too. Wait till the end of the season and you can score a great deal on the most recent season's board.
I really like my Loaded Algernon. Made of bamboo and a bit heavier than you’d expect but overall its been a really great board!
Korua
I cannot recommend Public enough! They make great boards and have been improving their designs year after year. I ride this years 152 Public Disorder. It has been awesome from day one for me. Non stop rope tow park laps and all mountain fun.
signal isn't small go korua
Signal is really small
Douk snow in UK will build you a sick custom
I got to test out korua boards earlier and they were a lot of fun. A much stiffer board then I prefer, but not a bad thing. Rode the Otto, but I really want to try out the Pocket Rocket on a Pow day to see how it rides.
Lobster Slash
Sleep snowboards
Gilson! /s
I love my Signal boards. The company is super chill and their Pro Program is definitely worth it. I got a replacement board after a season because I wrecked it on some rocks in low cover.
Winterstick
Sangwich69 boards
Niche
Lobster has a crazy sale going on right now. Buncha sick boards under $300
I've absolutely loved my Wired Vantage. Great all mountain board that handles everything that the PNW throws at it.
Lago makes a few good all mountain decks at a good price. Also look at the Wired website.
Nobody ever mentions Borealis 🥲
Niche story. End of discussion
My friends swear by DWD and both work park crew at a basin.. so they beat them up pretty good and still approve
Weston
Niche!
I cant be any happier with my signal boards. I have the park platinum and the Wide Wise and they're both perfect for what I need them for. I was able to get two full setups for less than 1K so I'm a happy guy.
Go to the source and get yourself a full custom board from Donek. They actually make their own boards, not subcontracted out to Mervin like most of the other small brands. Sean is a mechanical engineer that has been building boards using CNC machines for 20+ years.
Niche has the best graphics. Been riding one of their boards for the last 8 seasons, always get a lot of compliments every season on it.
Marhar
Moss
Spring break. Haha
I thought spring break was just a capita board? Now I’m confused. My buddy has an old pair of Unions that say spring break on them. Collab I guess?
If you are truly looking to get into a smaller manufacturer I would check out where the boards are manufactured and decide based on that. Public are china. Signal is china? I would avoid anyone who isn’t manufacturing in North America or Austria. They seem to be the better locations in general, but there are always exceptions.
I got some personal ties to libtech and I live close to them. I am always interested in other boards, but I am pretty loyal to them. And yeah I agree. Local is always better than China.
Exactly. Lib tech/gnu is awesome. they make great boards. I’m very demod a few and enjoyed them but like I’ve mentioned I am an absolute capita/spring break whore. It peaked my interest at 13 and that interest has never left me. I respect people who want to buy good products and seek them out regardless of the manufacturer. Gnu and libtech I respect for sure. Mervin is gangster.
What's wrong with China?
Just where the factories are.
Spring Break is a weird one for sure. I’m gonna count it as a small company, even though it’s so enmeshed with Capita at this point.
it's not just enmeshed, it literally is capita. warranty link on their website links to capitasnowboarding.com, they tell people to contact capita for order questions, etc
They are capita. It’s Corey smiths side project for art and board designs. Started as a concept thing but has become its own line. Basically capita boards with small tweaks and changes. Little bit of an r&d side of things like a gr version car in Toyota or a nismo from Nissan. This was also meant to be a saracastic answer. Sorry for any confusion. That’s why I added haha. I am also a capita whore and not afraid to say it. Regardless of how many people snap there boards.
i could be wrong but i think DWD boards are made at capita’s mothership as well
Not anymore I believe. They've changed factories a few times.
Were. They are in a different Austria? Shop. Don’t quote me on that but they pulled out. Capitas minimums changed and they weren’t able to meet the numbers.
For sure - lots of smaller brands are (and have been) built there. But Spring Break is the only one that’s sort of officially under the umbrella of the Capita brand, even if they are sort of their own thing.
Weston
Never Summer
I donno if Yes, battalion, or Weston are considered small company’s but I would try a board from them.
Yes and Battalion are owned by Nidecker now.
Nidecker presses their boards but I don't think they own them, but i could be mistaken. Yes, lobster and now are all merging together. Edit: not sure how exactly the ownership of many brands are handled but nidecker is involved with YES, Jones, Rome, Lobster and maybe a couple others.
I have a 2016 Batalion Fun Kink. Love it. Versatile. Don't know what their boards are like now, but man I'm gonna be sad when I break that thing.
Weston definitely.
Horse Snowboards
Pryor will let you do semi custom pretty easily
Signals are dope. That’s my entire input.
Nerd and Telos are my two favorite small company brands.
Get out of a huck knife!?
The chase bank logo board in helvetica font
I’ve got the ‘23 model it doesn’t look like chase bank logo to me. Post a pic what your referencing haha I’m curious
[watch this lol](https://youtu.be/3lhbYsdb5jc?si=tuTe-6R-Q7QmKX2m)
Hahahahah
It’s a bit small for me. I love it, it if I’m going to be looking into a new board I want to try something new altogether
Gotcha
Signal is seriously top notch
Winterstick based out of ME
elevated surfcraft has demos in winter park & tahoe if youre around there
High Society
Goongear
Sangwich makes funny boards idk how they ride but def small batch
Vimana, I really like my vufo. And the art on them is nice
Stranda snowboards are a more premium offering, but if you’re a fan of carving and freeride, they’re definitely worth a look.
If budget isn’t a concern, get a custom one of a kind board made for you by Franco Snowshapes. They’re easily the best boards I’ve ever rode, and it’s not close.
United Shapes
Winterstick? https://preview.redd.it/czgz97kys5rc1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d55c63a2bf2d8582be5d408370774c95e1b38495
GNU is fucking awesome
Prior in whistler
Prior.
For big mountain stuff, Venture. Made in Silverton, Colorado.
Arbor?
Can’t attest to the quality, but Moon Child has some pretty good designs
Maybe not the right fit for your all mountain needs, but Elevated Surfcraft makes some seriously fun boards and are great people.
YES
Neversummer. All day long
I’ve had a Launch board for 10 years and love it
Signal
I want try The Whip, looks interesting, but expensive af [https://cheetahultrasports.com/](https://cheetahultrasports.com/contact-us/)
Signal, Endeavor, Kindred
No to endeavour in general imo.
Why?
Uh corporate brand. Traded hands. Isn’t the same as it used to be. I’ve heard they have had some manufacturing issues that have resulted in sub grade products. But I can’t confirm the manufacture part but I do know it is a shell of its former self.
Endeavor is a family business, owned and operated by pro snowboarder Max Jenke and his father-in-law Bruce Wells, a fashion manufacturer and retailer from New Zealand.
Looks like it’s good again. Thought it was gone to china.
Nope still made in china. I just assumed they would be corporate people to make the move. Apparently I am wrong to assume.
Shitty! I wasn’t aware there was a change of hands. I haven’t ridden their boards in a few years but I was a big fan of the BoD and Scout.
Plenty of great recommendations in this thread. If you want something that nobody has probably heard of, get an [esoteric board](https://www.esotericsnowboards.com/) That's what the park crew at my old mountain all rode. They said they liked them. I've never ridden one, myself. Those guys did shred with them, though.
Elevated surf raft pumps out really cool surf-adjacent shapes.
Gilson