About this Review: This review is my honest opinion of the snowboard, which I purchased with my own money in February of 2020.

My take

The GNU Velvet is a great choice for intermediate to advanced riders looking for a board that can function both as an all-mountain and park board.

About the snowboard I own

• Model: 2020 GNU Velvet
• Size: 150cm

About me

• Height: 5’8’’
• Weight: 140lbs
• Experience: 20 years of snowboarding

Test conditions

• When I bought these: November 2020
• Days tested: 60
• Mount position: Centered stance: one in from the center on the nose and tail
• Boots: Vans Encore Pro 2020
• Boot Size: 9
• Bindings: Burton Scribes 2020
• Where I’ve used it: Colorado
• Terrain: All mountain, trees, bumps, park, groomers, powder

How it performs

What I was looking for

I wanted a board that could do a bit of everything—something playful and yet still stable.

Why I chose this gear

I really like GNU boards and wanted a board with fun flex. I do own other GNUs, like the Ladies Choice, which is a more aggressive powder board. The Velvet is more of a jib board and can butter easily down the mountain.

What I love about it

• Speed: This medium flex pattern allows me to move fast and feel stable when hitting spots of choppiness. I can really feel the flex when at speed on groomers and in chop. I had ridden a GNU B-Nice before, and I really liked it, but its softer flex pattern lacked the same stability in chop as the Velvet.
• Edge hold: With this board’s Magne-traction technology, I can really get a grip and hold my edge on deep carves. More contact points mean a more responsive board.
• Turns: This board’s asymmetrical tech—meaning the side cut is deeper on the heel edge—makes it quick edge-to-edge. For that reason, it is so fun to turn and easy to make quick carves with.
• Groomers: Groomers are a blast on this board due to its great grip for carves, especially on hardpack or ice. That previously mentioned Magne-traction adds additional contact points on the sidecut, which provides me with extra grip and smooth hold on the snow.
• Powder: This board’s hybrid profile mixed with medium flex makes it easy to put some weight on the back and lift the nose to float.
• Trees: The tree runs in Breck are pretty tight, and this board does the trick for me. I can squeeze into pretty narrow passageways and turn super quickly.
• Moguls: Its quick turning radius handles moguls great. It does offer some flex with moguls underfoot, which gives me a better feel.
• Park: This board is responsive and fun to jib on and can even handle jumps. Though I would want a board with added stiffness for anything beyond a 40ft park jump.
• Backcountry: Because this board is a twin, I set it back in true backcountry so that it floated better. I hiked out of bounds and moved my bindings one insert back to have a bit of extra nose in the two feet of powder. That small adjustment made it easier for the nose to float and took less effort to make turns in powder.
• Durability: I have had this board for years, and the core feels solid, and the topsheet still looks great.
• Weight: The Velvet has aspen in the core, which is a super strong and lightweight wood. I can really feel it when I pop Ollies off of rollers. It feels like the board just sticks to my feet, and getting a good snap off the snow is easy.
• Switch riding: I feel no difference between riding regular and switch on the Velvet. Riding switch is comfortable and quick edge-to-edge because the asymmetrical twin sidecut allows for stable, hard carving on my switch heels.
• Other: This board is versatile enough to fit different skill levels. I have had beginner friends ride it and fall in love, and yet I can also ride it super aggressively with high performance.

Issues I’ve encountered

• Stability: The only instability I feel is when I hit a jump that is over 40ft. I only feel how the flex holds me back if I don’t land bolts. Basically, some of my landings are not quite as smooth, and I skid a bit on this board if I don’t land centered. With that said, I can still hit anything under that size without noticing a problem.

Favorite moment with this gear

I woke up early to six inches of fresh powder in Breckenridge, so I got out the door right away. I grabbed my GNU Velvet because I knew it was a fun option, no matter what the conditions were. It was a bit more than they had reported at the top, so I took some super fun powder laps. Did I mention it was bluebird out? After a bit of the powder was ridden, I cruised down to a soft park. I was so thankful that I was on a board that could do a bit of it all.

Value for the money vs. other options

To me, this board is 100% worth the money. I can ride anything with it, so I don’t have to worry about what I brought with me for the day or switching setups because of snow conditions. A comparable model would be the Ride Zero, which also has a symmetrical sidecut. Plus, the GNU Ladies Choice has a bit more power and stability but also has the ASYM side cut and is a bit more pricey.

Final verdict

This gear unlocks the best version of myself. It’s so playful and snappy that it really brings out my power when I am riding.