Board: Niche Knew
Size: 154
Camber Option: Flat camber. Zero camber flat from contact point to contact point.
Bindings: K2 Indy
Stance: 22.5 Wide 18 Negative 15 Goofy
Boots: K2 T1 DB Size 10
My Weight: 170lbs
Resort: Breckenridge
Conditions: Sunny bluebird spring like conditions with perfect hero snow for carving.
Flex: There’s some unique flex going on in this board. There’s sweet spots in the tips out by the contact points that flex abundantly, this stiffens up about an inch or two back from there through to the inside of the insert packs. From right inside the insert packs there’s another flex point much like that in the tip that is highly playful, then it stiffens up again in the dead center. The torsional flex is a hair softer than the lateral flex.
Stability: Surprisingly for a board of this caliber the board felt damp and stable. It sucked up vibrations in the snow with ease and plowed through chunder. While being damp it was still lively.
Ollies: There was some serious snap out of this deck. For being flat camber those flex points in the tips gave a lot of rebound when you loaded them up. This allowed for the board to boost off anything from a side hit, roller, or small cliff drop. Pop was not a problem.
Pop On Jumps: This board sucked up tranny and popped off lips with ease. Small to medium jumps were a breeze and I wouldn’t hesitate to hit a large jump either.
Butterability: The micro flex point in the tip is the sweet spot. This really lets you play around on the tips and do every variation of butter. The flex points in the center act as a hinge and let you manipulate the board from the dead center.
Jibbing: If you don’t hit the sweet spot for a nose or tail press you won’t get as deep of a press, but it’s not so stiff outside the sweet spot that you don’t get a press at all. Slow or high speed jibbing is doable on this board but I would suggest middle of the road or less speed for getting the most out of the board on jibs.
Carving: The sidecut is deep enough to rail real deep aggressive turns but not so overpowering you can’t do quick set up turns. Carving is fun and if you hit the sweet spots in the tip perfectly you’ll slingshot out of the apex of the carve.
Rider in Mind: The all mountain freestyle guy that wants a board that presses real well.
Personal Thoughts: This board excels at pressing, popping, and laying a hard carve. For something so eco-friendly it stood out as not being dead. The fact that it’s damp, yet lively is a selling point as you’re not sacrificing one aspect for another.
Comparable Boards: Flow Whiteout, DC Ply, Salomon Sabotage
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This board was loaned to us for review by Niche Snowboards marketing department.
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