Curated Snowboarding Experts Mike Leighton & Will Cabral got their hands on the 2024 Arbor Foundation Rocker 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 Foundation Rocker 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 Arbor claim about this board? [Mike] Arbor claims this is a fun snowboard for regressing you’re riding all over the mountain.

[Will] Arbor claims that the foundation rocker is the ideal platform to learn how to take all over the resort.

Overall Impressions

What is your overall impression of this board? [Mike] If you are looking for something that’s catch free, easy to ride, you’re not looking to progress all that fast or all that far, and you want to get out and have a good time, it’s going to be a great board for you. It features Arbor’s System Rocker, which is like a banana shape. Think of it like a smile. And so what that means is that the center of the board will be the biggest contact point that will pick up the edges at the tip and the tail. It’s also going to create a top kind of feeling. One of the things we did was see how much we could spin on the board, and this board can spin for days.

[Will] It’s a really easy board to ride. Although, maybe, it doesn’t have the longest lifetime for somebody trying to get into snowboarding and progress their riding. That doesn’t necessarily mean it doesn’t have a place. It’s a great board for somebody who’s learning more of a casual rider, who takes only a couple of trips a year and is just trying to get out with friends; they value being in the mountains and maybe not getting hurt as opposed to progressing their riding or trying to learn new freestyle tricks.

Carving

How does it turn? [Mike] This board likes a flatter, mellower terrain. When you are carving on that terrain, it’s really quick, easy edge to edge. It’s honestly pretty confidence-inspiring. It’s catch-free.

[Will] This is easy to initiate turns with the rocker shape. It has the nose and tail slightly elevated off the snow. It’s in that shape that would make the board turn already, so you don’t necessarily need to put a lot of force and pressure into the board to get it into that shape that will want to make that turn for you.

What is the edge hold like? [Mike] It has some grip tech that helps engage the edge a little earlier as you get it up on edge, making it a really easy board to initiate turns on.

[Will] With the rocker profile in hard-pack conditions, this board limits how deep you can lean over your carves. You can cruise more in a flat-base style and get a bit on the edge, but you don’t necessarily want to lean over and trust that it’ll hold you locked in.

How damp is the board? Do you feel any underfoot chatter? [Mike] I will say with that rocker feel, you will feel a lot of what’s going on underneath you.

How does it perform at speed? [Mike] But once you get up at higher speeds on steeper terrain and try to get it up on edge, it struggles at higher-edged angles. It skips out a bit. It gets a little bit choppy.

[Will] I took this board out on mostly blue and green terrain and didn’t get it up to high speeds, but there was a time when I wanted to lay it over on edge, kind of how I would typically do on a board at higher speeds, and it lost the edge a little bit.

Freestyle

How is it for freestyle snowboarding? [Mike] In terms of freestyle, this is a great board for learning to press around, play, and butter.

[Will] This board leans towards freestyle progression. You’re getting a board with enough playfulness and flexibility to try new stuff and spin around.

Could you speak about playfulness and pop? [Mike] It doesn’t really need to go that fast to be playful. You can press and pop it.

[Will] The lighter flex allows you to play around on there.

How is it for buttering? [Mike] I was having fun buttering around everywhere.

[Will] I could press into the tail and butter this board. It was super easy to do it.

How is it on jumps? [Mike] So, say you are ollie-ing off things or starting to get in the terrain park and ride jumps — it will definitely not be the dampest board. You will feel it as you land off jumps or any drops.

Freeride

How is it for freeride snowboarding? [Mike] In terms of freeriding, with the rocker shape, it will be great in pow.

[Will] This board is not necessarily geared towards freeride, and it probably has a limit to where it can live in the freeride category.

How is it in powder? [Will] The other thing with the rocker profile is you get a good float. It elevates the nose so it will just plow through fresh snow. If you have a day where you have some snow and you’re riding in a resort setting, this could probably be fun and handle powder pretty well.

How is it riding in the trees? How is its maneuverability? [Mike] If you want to play in some easy bumps and in and out of the trees with that rocker shape, effortless turn initiation, and grip tech, it will be easy to pop in and out at lower speeds.

[Will] It has a softer flex, so you can maneuver it a bit more torsionally, allowing you to move quicker in the moguls.

What terrain is this board good for? [Mike] This could be a great board for hanging on the bunny hill or even some mellower intermediate terrain. If you want to get into the park and ride there with the kids, this is a great board to do that on.

[Will] This is something that wants to play around in more mellow terrain and will be able to get you from point A to point B on 80 percent of resort terrain.

What kind of terrain should riders avoid with it? [Mike] With that softer flex — I believe it’s a 4 out of 10 flex — it will not be your steep and deep board. Rocker snowboards are not usually the best on hard-pack or steep conditions.

[Will] There’s specific terrain that may be too steep because the edge hold on a rocker is not as solid as a camber board. If you’re in more of an icy condition or something steeper, this is not the best choice. Depending on your skill level, you can make it work, but this is not geared towards riding steep or icy terrain.

Recommendations

Who would you recommend this board to? [Mike] If you’re someone who only gets out a couple of days of the year, or you’re looking for a board to get your significant other to get into the sport, or you want to hang out with your friends, this could be a fantastic board for those situations.

[Will] It’s geared towards a beginner who wants to get out there on the hill and wants a board that will work. I could see this is for somebody who’s learning and doesn’t want to necessarily have the camber feel and wants more of a surfy, easy-riding board to get out on the hill and get some reps. This will be a good option if you're only taking a couple of trips a year.

Who should avoid this board, are there other better options out there for them? [Mike] This is not a board for someone who likes to go fast, wants to charge, is looking for something a bit damper, or is looking to push their boundaries. This board has a low top end in terms of ability level. Suppose you are looking to progress and move up in your riding, and you focus on improvement. In that case, you’ll probably outgrow this board fast.

[Will] If you’re someone who takes pride in progressing your snowboarding and trying to get into more difficult stuff, wants to have variety in what you’re riding and keep pushing yourself, like a higher-intermediate or advanced rider, maybe you aren’t so suited for this board.

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