Curated Snowboarding Experts Mike Leighton and Will Cabral got their hands on the 2024 CAPiTA D.O.A. Snowboard this spring. 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 D.O.A. or need recommendations on which board would be best for you, reach out to a Snowboarding 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 CAPiTA claim about this board? [Mike] CAPiTA claims this is a blended-radial, true twin, resort, all-mountain, freestyle ripper.

[Will] CAPiTA claims that this is really the sweet spot of a resort board. It’s a true twin, blended-radial sidecut rated at five-and-a-half flex out of 10, and this board is really just fun going all over the resort.

Overall Impressions

What is your overall impression of this board? [Mike] The D.O.A. is one of the most sought-after, most talked-about, awarded snowboards on the market. It’s a daily driver. It features the resort V1 profile, which is camber.

[Will] My overall impression of the CAPiTA D.O.A. is this is a board that I would take out on the resort in normal conditions, just cruising around with friends, but also having the ability to hit any side hit I want, pop off rollers, butter … It really has the versatility to do a lot of things in the resort.

Carving

How does it turn? [Will] The D.O.A. is pretty easy to roll into turns. Its profile is the resort V1 profile, which has a little bit of rocker in the nose and tail to a small flat section, and then predominantly camber between the bindings. That helps you really get it into turns.

What is the edge hold like? [Mike] With that resort V1 profile, it does hold a really solid edge once you get it up carving.

How damp is the board? Do you feel any underfoot chatter? [Mike] There is a little bit of chatter at higher speeds. It’s nothing that’s not manageable, but it’s something to be aware of. Anytime you’re going really fast, if you’re just straight lining, you’re going to see a lot of chatter on the nose. It’s rideable, but it can be a little off-putting. We saw some riders from the chair — someone was flat-out flying on it, and you could just see the nose vibrating.

[Will] Having more of a mid to a little bit less than mid-flex, this board is going to have a little bit of chatter.

How does it perform at speed? [Mike] In a straight line, this thing handles speed well.

[Will] Going up at high speeds, you’re going to feel some chatter in chopped-up snow.

How is its energy/acceleration? [Mike] It’s a five-and-a-half flex so it is very playful.

Freestyle

How is it for freestyle snowboarding? [Mike] If you’re in the terrain park, you can just kind of rely on this thing with that resort V1 profile.

[Will] The flex is going to help you do a lot of freestyle stuff and be able to butter easily. I think I was doing some ollies in a straight line, just kind of popping up, and it is supportive and able to help me do more basic freestyle tricks.

Could you speak about playfulness and pop? [Mike] I’d say this board is extremely playful. With that bit of flat camber, into reverse camber and into that Wapow Technology, it kind of allows you to spin around once you get it pressed out on the tip or the tail.

[Will] The D.O.A. is playful. It's there to do every condition on the resort. It's a true twin. You can pop off side hits or pop in and out of turns and maybe do some butters. This is not a stale board. You can definitely be very creative with it and it's it's versatile all around.

Is it good for riding switch? [Mike] It’s one of those boards that you carve a couple of turns, and you pop around a switch.

[Will] You can ride switch but it wants to play.

How is it on jumps? [Mike] I would say on small and medium features, this board’s going to be great on jumping. It’s going to release well and take off if you're learning to spin, and at the same time with landings, it's going to be stable. With that slightly softer flex, though, once you get into really big features, it will be a little chattery.

Freeride

How is it for freeride snowboarding? [Mike] Butter around, play around, find a side hit, pop back in, make some turns ... It’s a kind of board that makes you want to do everything and anything all over the mountain.

How is it in powder? [Mike] It’s not the best, but also not the worst at riding on fresh snow. It’s going to shine on those days with just a couple of inches of fresh snow, and you’re just kind of sloshing around. But when it gets really deep, you might want to reach something with a little bit more float and nose or even a tapered down.

How is it in uneven terrain and chunder? [Mike] This board is really fun in easier and mellower bumps. It’s going to encourage you to be bouncing back and forth, maybe even spin in between bumps.

[Will] Riding through uneven terrain or chunder, this board will make it through most of that stuff. And then, once you get it up at super-high speeds, there’s going to be some chatter.

How is it riding in the trees? How is its maneuverability? [Mike] In the trees, it’s going to be super maneuverable. I wouldn’t take this in the steep and deep or really tight trees. It doesn’t have that level of responsiveness, in my opinion, but it’s still going to be fun and playful. You’re going to feel comfortable pretty much anywhere.

[Will] We took this board in the trees and threw some bumps, and it was really fun. A little out of control at times, but it gets to pop off some bumps and lose or slalom your way through some moguls. It wasn’t too hard to muscle through any short turns, and I had a lot of fun on it.

What terrain is this board good for? [Mike] It’s good pretty much anywhere. Once you get off the bunny hill all the way up into those steep technical chutes, the board is going to perform well. It has a really wide range and versatility. Obviously, also, it's going to be great in the park.

[Will] The D.O.A. really shines most in the resort. You probably don’t want to take it all the way to the top, but being able to shine anywhere that average riders would want to be in, it’ll really be there for you.

What kind of terrain should riders avoid with it? [Mike] I’d say anything super technical. Really tight trees and really deep snow would be what I would probably avoid.

Recommendations

Who would you recommend this board to? [Mike] I’d recommend this board to any rider from low level to intermediate up; this would be a great first board if you’re really investing in riding, all the way through advanced riders who are looking for a resort daily driver that they can just reach for pretty much every day, whether that is teaching on the mountain, ripping around with their friends, or even coming up on the weekends to ride.

[Will] If you are an intermediate rider looking to progress and looking to have a lot of room to grow, this is a board that could be there for you.

Who should avoid this board, are there other better options out there for them? [Mike] As a true beginner, maybe I would avoid this with how much camber it is. But if you’re committed, and you’re really getting into the sport of snowboarding, this would be a great first board, because it would last you for a long time. The only kind of people I wouldn’t really recommend this board to is someone who’s riding a ton of fresh snow, more of a free rider, or even someone who’s a little bit more of an advanced technical rider who wants to be forced to be on their game all the time.

[Will] I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it to a beginner, because there is a little bit of camber in there, and the edges in the contact points really can be near the snow.

Snowboards work differently for different types of riders. If you want help finding the right board for you, reach out to Mike or Will or any other Snowboarding Expert here on Curated for free, personalized recommendations on the best board for you.