About this Review: This review is my honest opinion of the snowboard, which I tested for one day in March of 2022.

My take

The Bataleon Distortia Snowboard is a great choice for beginners or intermediate park riders who want a camber board but aren’t too worried about catching an edge. It is a flexy board that is great for spins and butters.

About the snowboard

• Model: 2022 Bataleon Distortia Snowboard
• Size: 146 cm

About me

• Height: 5’7”
• Weight: 130 lbs
• Experience: 23+ years of snowboarding

Test conditions

• When I tested these: March 2022
• Days tested: 1
• Mount position: +12/-12
• Boots: Ride Sage Snowboard Boots
• Boot Size: 9
• Bindings: Bataleon Blaster Fullwrap 2023
• Where I’ve used it: Washington
• Terrain: Groomers, park, trees, uneven terrain, icy conditions

How it performs

What I was looking for

I was hunting for a park board that would be stable even at high speeds. I was looking for a true twin board that would be really fun to hit jumps and some boxes, but still carve well. I have a lot of freeride boards already but wanted something that would be good for spring skiing, park, and cruising with friends on groomers.

Why I chose this snowboard

I was very interested in Bataleon’s famous 3BT design. I really wanted to try one of their boards to see how the all-camber design felt with the Triple Base Technology that helps to avoid catching an edge. I was also interested in the Never Summer Proto Slinger, the Yes Rival, and the Jones Airheart 2.0 for a freestyle deck. Bataleon seemed to be all the rave at the time, and the Distortia was the only one that had the 3BT tech, so I decided to try it first.

What I love about it

• Turns: This board was fun to spin and turn on, and it was more fun for me when going a bit slower and riding more playfully. I felt like I could ride it a bit surfy and make sweeping turns, and I could also turn and spin easily as I was riding down the hill. This is a very playful board, but I wouldn’t say it would turn well when needing to dig in while turning fast in moguls or trees.
• Groomers: This board is fun for a spring day of cruising with friends down groomers. It’s great for hitting the park but when I tried to go really fast on groomers it began to feel unstable.
• Powder: I did not get to try this board in powder. Being a true twin, it doesn’t have a lot of ability to set back for deeper powder, but the 3BT design and the sidekicks give it a bit of lift so I’ve heard it does better in powder than a lot of camber park boards.
• Moguls: This board has a soft flex so when going through moguls a little slower and hopping around on them, this board could be fun. When I tried to charge faster through the moguls I was skidding out a lot.
• Park: The Distortia really shines in the park. It is awesome for throwing 180s off any bump. It is great for boxes and rails and smaller jumps, but on larger jumps I felt slightly unstable.
• Durability: Bataleon generally makes very durable products and this is no exception. The base especially is made to withstand boxes and rails and it felt very durable. The topsheet seemed solid too and it didn’t chip easily.
• Weight: Half of the base is made from a super lightweight Paulownia wood and it also has a carbon tube going down the center so it feels lightweight and poppy.
• Switch riding: This board is a true twin and will generally be ridden with a centered stance. This makes it a great board for riding switch, especially if the foot angles are set the same.
• Stability: The Distortia has fantastic pop and is easy to get off the ground and throw around. It is fun to butter on as well. It is not a very damp board though, and when I took it off-piste it felt chattery.

Issues I’ve encountered

• Speed: I wouldn’t necessarily buy this board for speed. It has an extruded base, not a sintered one, so it is more durable on rails and boxes but it doesn’t glide as fast as other boards I have tried. The good thing is that it doesn’t need as much wax to perform ‘okay’ though, which means less upkeep.
• Edge hold: The sides are slightly lifted because of the 3BT, turning this camber board into one that struggles to catch an edge. This is great for rails and boxes, but it didn’t feel like it had great edge hold. I had to lean a little lower than usual to get the edges to engage, and it didn’t feel overly sturdy at high speeds.
• Trees: For hard-charging runs through the trees, this wouldn’t be my board of choice. It is more playful and I wouldn’t say it can ‘turn on a dime’.
• Backcountry: I wouldn’t take this board in the backcountry. Uneven terrain and bumpy off-piste snow is not what this board is made for. When I took it off-piste at the resort it felt chattery and unstable.

Favorite moment with this gear

I got to go snowboarding at night with this board and it was so fun! The resort had a little park and it wasn’t very crowded. The boxes were super fun, and then there were three medium-sized jumps in a row towards the bottom and they just felt like they had the perfect take-offs and landings. It was such a fun time!

Value for the money vs. other options

The Distortia is an intermediate board that sits at a great price point. It could be a board that lasts many years as riders can start learning with it and progress a lot in the park. It is a little bit cheaper than some of the other park boards I considered like the Jones Airheart and the Yes Rival, and while it is not particularly advanced, it has a lot of great features.

Final verdict

This board would be perfect for creative, freestyle-based riders from beginner to high intermediate. It caters to someone who wants to play all the way down the mountain, spinning 180s, tweaking grabs, riding switch, and hitting rails and boxes. For a hard-charger who is out for speed, or someone who wants a board that is great for carving, this may not be the best choice.