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The Five 2023 Freeride Snowboards Curated Experts Love

Published on 05/23/2023 · 6 min readAfter demoing several different snowboards at Powder Mountain Resort, Snowboarding Experts Everett Pelkey, Mike Leighton, Spencer Storck, Victor Von Claus, and Yuri Czmola list their top five favorite freeride snowboards!
Everett Pelkey, Snowboarding Expert
Mike Leighton, Snowboarding Expert
Spencer S, Snowboarding Expert
By Curated Experts Everett Pelkey, Mike Leighton, Spencer S, Yuri Czmola and Victor Von Claus

Curated Experts help thousands of people find the right gear for them every season. They tested dozens of boards at Powder Mountain in Utah and these are their top five freeride snowboards of 2023 with Everett Pelkey, Mike Leighton, Spencer Storck, Victor Von Claus, and Yuri Czmola sharing feedback on their experience demoing the boards. Just so you know, we’re not sponsored by any brand, so these reviews are completely unbiased.

Watch the video below to follow along and see the boards in action!

[Sydney] At number five, we have the Nitro Dinghy.

[Spencer] Nitro says this is going to be a great directional all-mountain, sort of lean towards a freeride guy, definitely more powder-oriented. On the shape of this board, you’re going to have a little bit more rounded, pointed nose with a nice little swallowtail down here, which will help you sink back into the snow and keep that nose up.

Going edge to edge on this board was pretty quick for me, and it carved really well and held an edge really well. We took this thing through a border-cross track to even steeps, groomers, and even some steep tree sections that were kind of chopped out, and it still handled really well. You can still get around on the nose for like little 180 nose butters, but it's not the most playful board.

I would definitely avoid getting this sport if you're a beginner, just because the camber design is going to be really edgy. I would say this board is for most intermediate to expert riders looking for a directional board that can kind of do anything, from groomers to powder.

[Sydney] At number four, we have the Never Summer Proto FR.

[Yuri] Never Summer claims that this is a freeride snowboard. It is based off of their lead-selling snowboard, the Never Summer Proto, and it features their triple camber technology. Never Summer rates this an 8 out of 10 on their flex scale, and it was very comfortable at pretty much any speed I was able to take it out today, regardless of condition or uneven terrain. It felt very damp. There are inserts between the bindings that create a little bit of stiffness, but once you really begin to press into them, especially at higher speeds, it creates a nice locked-in feeling that really puts triple camber in the category of freeride.

In terms of tree riding, I took it into the woods. It was very sticky, and the board handled great. It was very maneuverable. This board requires a little bit of effort. I would not suggest this for a beginner.

I feel this board is a great one-stop shop if you're transitioning. This is very much an intermediate to expert board. If you're looking to dabble a little more towards expert, if you're riding on the East Coast or even the Pacific Northwest where the conditions are questionable, this is a great Swiss Army knife to handle it all.

[Sydney] At number three, we have the Burton Family Tree Territory Manager.

[Mike] It is billed as an all-mountain freestyle snowboard. It's really designed to have a heavy freeride influence while also keeping some of those park roots. The Territory Manager is a new offering in the Family Tree line. It's a unisex board, so there's a full size range. This board can be ridden by anyone, from your big guys all the way down to your much smaller female riders, and even your high-level groms could get there on the smaller size. So this board really has a size for the whole family. This board is a speed demon, it really is. It has a centered base, which means it's fast.

[Everett] This board feels super stable underfoot. The true camber that goes all the way through is what's going to keep you locked in, no matter where you're going.

[Mike] I'm not going to recommend it to a beginner; you don't need everything that's in this snowboard. But if you are an intermediate or high-level intermediate rider starting to really explore the whole mountain, this could be a great board to grow with. This board is really going to shine in the hands of advanced and expert riders, people that rely heavily on freestyle all over the mountain.

[Sydney] At number two, we have the K2 Alchemist.

[Mike] K2 claims the Alchemist is designed for steeps, deeps, and resort riding. It's designed for advanced to expert riders, confident aggressive riding styles. It's a 9 of 10 flex. It is a rocket ship. K2 packed all of their best top technology on here. Everything from the snow-phobic top sheet - you don't get all that snow buildup. It’s got the space glass tip.

So, two things make this board really awesome: the spectral braid, which you can kind of see all throughout. It allows the board to really torsionally flex and you get a lot of torsional energy. It also features the recessed 3D core, which reduces weight, chatter. So when you're going top speed, this board is going to be smooth under you.

I would not put a lower-level intermediate or beginner on this. This board demands that you be on top of your riding when you're riding this board, just because it's so nimble edge to edge. It really requires the rider to be engaged at all times. This board is definitely for the advanced to expert freerider.

[Sydney] And our number one freeride board of 2023 is the Lib Tech Dynamo.

[Yuri] Lib Tech describes this board is a resort-ripping, backcountry-shredding freeride option in their line. It runs a C3 camber profile and is meant to deal with high speeds and tear up the whole mountain.

[Victor] Definitely dug it. If you're a big mountain fanatic and you want that stability, whether it's steep, deep, or both, it's good.

[Yuri] So, C3 is a camber profile where there's camber at the tip and tail and predominantly camber between the feet with a touch of rocker for float, but it definitely gives a classic stiff feeling when riding the snowboard that allows you to really apply pressure for weight and dive into those turns. It definitely fits the bill of a freeride snowboard. I do feel it would be a great time riding bigger jumps just because of how stable it was. It has a slightly tapered shape. I didn't happen to feel too much of a difference when riding switch. It's definitely set back an inch.

My favorite thing about this board is it created a nice locked-in feeling between the feet. Because of the camber profile, between that and the blend of Magne-Traction, it really allowed me to press very hard into the edge and have a great locked-in feeling for carving at high speeds.

I don't know if I'd necessarily recommend this for someone who's looking for low edge angle cruising. This is not a party board. I feel like it's a better fit for expert riders who are looking to charge at high speeds to ride in the backcountry. I think this board is very underrated in their line for anyone looking for a great freeride ripping snowboard.

Final Thoughts

What do you think? Did your snowboard make the list? Let us know in the comments of the Youtube video. If you need help finding the right gear for you, reach out to a Snowboarding Expert here on Curated for free, personalized advice on the best setup for your needs.

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Everett Pelkey
Snowboarding Expert
Mike Leighton
Snowboarding Expert
Spencer S
Snowboarding Expert
Yuri Czmola
Snowboarding Expert
Victor Von Claus
Snowboarding Expert
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Shop Snowboards on Curated

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