Board: Flow Merc
Size: 156
Camber Option: EZ-Rock. A mellow reverse camber between the feet, camber under foot, and then a flat section before the upkick in the tips.
Bindings: K2 Lien AT
Stance: 21.5 Wide 18 Negative 15 Goofy
Boots: K2 Thraxis Size 10
My Weight: 177lbs
Resort: Arapahoe Basin
Conditions: A mix of grey skies and blue poking through a haze that kept the sun at bay. The temps were warm and the snow was the consistency of firm jello.
Flex: This board is somewhere between a beginner rental board and mid level jib board with snap. That makes it have a lot of play in the tips, but stiffer under foot, and then a lot of give/torsional flex in the middle.
Stability: This board is stable on perfectly groomed runs, get it into variable terrain and your knees will be doing the work. You can feel a fair amount of chatter at speeds as well.
Ollies: You can load up the camber zones and really get it to boost. It makes side hits and rollers fun and exciting to hit. It’s not the snappiest deck out there but it has it where it counts.
Pop On Jumps: This board can handle small to medium jumps with ease. It’s got the snap where you need it and the forgiving flex to absorb a lip if you’re not fully committed to popping.
Butterability: The tips are great for locking into long drawn out presses. This board is meant to butter but not hook up.
Jibbing: As with buttering this board locks in and is easy to snap on or off a feature. It slides sideways well and does what you need it to do.
Carving: The sidecut is easy to initiate but if you want to push it you can. The one thing to watch out for is pushing it too hard and having the board wash out on a deep carve. This happened to me on more than one occasion.
Rider in Mind: The not total beginner that is working their way up to being a solid intermediate rider.
Personal Thoughts: This boards never bad to ride for someone of my level. It does what it needs to do and makes no apologies for being on a price-point. It’s fun and that’s that. I would definitely recommend it to someone that is just starting out but has the bug to rapidly progress.
Check out the past reviews of the 2013 and 2015 Merc.
Comparable Boards: Arbor Formula, Yes Basic, Salomon Pulse
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This board was loaned to us for review from Flow Snowboards marketing department.
*Disclaimer this board did not change for 2018 so we carried the 2017 review over.
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