Curated Snowboard Expert Arielle Busch got her hands on the 2023 Ride Magic Stick this spring and put it to the test at Powder Mountain in Utah. Check out how it performed in the carving, freestyle, and freeride categories, but consider the fact that each and every rider is different; if you have any questions about the Magic Stick or need recommendations on which board would be best for you, reach out to a Snowboard Expert here on Curated.

Before we get started, it's worth noting that Curated Experts are not sponsored by any brands. All of these reviews are completely unbiased.

Brand Claims

What does Ride claim about this board?

Ride says the Magic Stick is designed for all-mountain performance. It will float in powder, it will hold an edge on groomers, and it can get sendy in the park.

Overall Impressions

What is your overall impression of this board?

Ride Magic Stick, first impressions: very playful, pressed, buttered, but also has some pop to it. I would actually make this a little bit more of a park board. It's not a true twin, which I know most of the time, you kind of want that in your park board, but for me, it's got some extra pop & playfulness to it with the Carbon Array 3 inserts.

Carving

How does it turn?

Where I did feel like it lacked a little bit, was when I was making some of my carved turns on the more firm snow. I didn't feel as locked into those carves as I would've wanted to as a more aggressive rider.

Freestyle

Could you speak about playfulness and pop?

For me, with the Carbon Array 3 in there, it really made it poppy, but not stiff, and I definitely like a more playful board, but one that has some stability to it. So anytime that I was sending it off of any rollers, I definitely landed with some confidence, which was great. You could definitely take this onto some rails and some boxes.

How is it with buttering?

I was able to press this board because of that playful flex, was able to do some tail presses, some nose presses.

What about riding switch?

Even though it's not a true twin, it does lend itself to be able to spin and land switch with confidence. It wouldn't be my go-to switch board, clearly, but it definitely was good enough.

Freeride

How would it be in powder?

The tapered directional shape will allow it to float in some powder.

Recommendations

Who would you recommend this board to?

If you are someone who does like to take some laps through the park, but also likes to goof off on the groomers, maybe take some tree runs, maybe find a couple little pow sashes, I think you could really, really enjoy this board.

Who should avoid this board, there are better options for them out there?

So I do think this board could be approached by an intermediate to advanced rider, but if you are a rider that really likes to charge hard and get deep into carves, and just kind of speed down the mountain, this wouldn't be your board.

Snowboards work differently for different types of riders. If you want help finding the right board for you, reach out to Arielle or any other Snowboard Expert here on Curated for free, personalized recommendations. Note that the 2024 version of the Ride Magic Stick is linked below - same tech, just different graphic: