cantsee

The board makes for spectacular freeriding, but there seem to be durability issues with this snowboard for this year.

The sidewall is made of this clear material that seems to crack under a combination of cold weather and high stress. After this, the board will start to delaminate in this area. Another issue is that the diecut base may tear off, for seemingly no reason.

Nitro honored their warranty.

I've been riding this snowboard for the better part of this winter season, putting about 20 to 30 days on it. It has seen action in Baker-Snoqualmie, the Tetons, and all over the 'Ice Coast'. The verdict? It will handle just about anything you can expect it to. It is definitely not a jib board (but sometimes I can't resist), so try to avoid bonking rocks and steel posts because the tip and the tail are thin, soft, and light. Where it absolutely excels: SPEED, carves/turns, drops, jumps, steeps, powder (decent flotation; I am 155# and ride the 157cm), etc. It's rock solid and returns a smooth, damp ride that just makes you want to go faster, jump further, rip harder. If you love technical terrain, airs, freeriding, etc., you'll probably love this board.

Notes about the board: base loves wax, it's pretty light, mid-wide, mid-stiff.

I got this thing a few weeks ago and have been on the snow once with it. I took a hit on a rail and I didn't feel a thing, but all falls are different. The short itself, as Elias mentioned below, fits pretty snugly. This is good because it keeps the pads where they should be: against vulnerable parts of your body. The short, as a whole, is low-profile and unless you're seriously getting checked out, is unnoticeable under your ski/ride clothing. The only thing is that the white panels seem to be the very light mesh and I worry about it ripping.

**Most of the pads are not VPD! Only the tailbone padding is VPD. The other pads (hip, thigh) are some type of soft mesh foam with a stiffer outer shell. The pads feel of good quality and are comfortable.

I love this jacket. All the reviews lauding its light weight, waterproof/breathability performance, packability, features, etc. are spot on. There are a ton of pockets and room for everything, while maintaining a fairly trim fit. It also looks totally sweet.

One unfortunate and major issue is the construction. I washed it in my machine on a delicate cycle with Nikwax Tech Wash and when I took it out, the seam tape was coming off inside under the left armpit. This was highly disappointing. I'm going to contact TNF to see if they will fix it, but I really hope that this doesn't happen with the rest of the jacket. I've worn the jacket a total of 20 days, if that much.

Otherwise, this jacket is great.

I haven't been on this deck yet because it's June and there's no snow for thousands of miles from me. But I can still tell you a few things: 1. It is surprisingly light. The 157cm is much lighter than a 155cm Ride DH or a 155cm Arbor Wasteland. A lot of companies claim a have a thinned tip and tail, but Nitro takes it a step further: there's little in the way of material at the very tip and tail and it's very soft at the ends. The board itself seems to be mid-stiff, but I've yet to ride it and break it in. Will review again when winter comes.

It's like a softshell with zero insulation and no liner. That 'bombshell' fabric they use is 3 layers in construction. Seems to breathe well.

It seems that the fit causes a bunch of problems for people. I'm about 5'8" and 150lbs, pretty plain build and the thing fits quite well. It's snug around the waist (you can tell if I had a big lunch or not) and roomier in the chest, through the shoulders and down the arms. I love the way the cuff is cut: it leaves the palm-side free, but covers the top of your hand. I guess they took a design cue from cycling jackets, because it works well for just that.

Overall, a 'pretty cool' jacket... with one niggling issue. The welded seams on the inside aren't perfectly smooth and you can feel them if you're wearing just a light base layer or a t-shirt underneath. And... the dwr doesn't seem to last too long.

These socks stay incredibly dry. They are also incredibly comfortable. More comfortable than cotton socks, and that's saying quite a bit.

Downside: they are somewhat pricey and yeah, they tend to slip a little.

I guess the Gamma AR is the updated Gamma SV. Still wearing mine from 2001. Bomber. Will not let you down in any conditions and is ready for anything: snowsports, backpacking, travel, around town, cycling, etc. After 8 years, the material has frayed around the cuffs, but the jacket is still highly functional. Pricey, but worth it. I hope the China-made jackets last as long as my old Canada-made Gamma SV.

We weighed this binding against a pair of Union Milan and a pair of Ride Sigma. These turned out to be the heaviest. On the plus side, it looks like there are a tonne of adjustments to be made for boot fit.

I've owned the same Gamma SV since 2001. It has seen action in every climate you can think of, in every season that warrants the use of a jacket. It is supremely versatile. It won't keep you dry in a downpour, but it will shed enough water to keep you comfortable in a rain shower. It doesn't pack well, but you'll probably be wearing it.

After 8 years of use, the sleeves/cuffs are frayed and the draw cords are broken... I still wear it because it's still highly functional.

Looks pretty good, too. (discounting frayed cuffs)

You can't go wrong with these bindings. Relatively lightweight, enough flex for rails and tweaks in the park and enough response to power you around the mountain, instead of getting kicked around by choppy snow. Nice footbed with LOTS of padding for landing those jumps on hardpack. Not the most adjustable, but adjustable enough to fit most boots. Really, just go for it.

I've put three seasons on my SPi. They work in every situation: park to pow. Haven't had a major problem with it until the last season when various things started to break or get worn out. When you tighten down that ankle strap, you feel empowered. Best with mid to stiff boot and an aggressive deck for those days when you want to mess around w/ ski patrol.

Salomon did a great job with the F22. I've been riding F22s for the last three years and have gone through two pairs. If the shape of the boot fits your foot, these are the most comfortable boots you are likely to put on. Low profile helps reduce toe drag, the boot is fairly warm, and the lacing system is quick. The F22 takes a few riding days to break in (it is initially quite stiff and may be hard on your calves), and this results in a delicious mid-flex boot that you can use in steeps, off cliffs, on rails... anything! Tightening the laces makes the boot quite stiff, but also cuts off my circulation.

There is just one thing I don't like about the F22s: durability. My latest pair started to fold and buckle around the ankle after about 30 days of riding. Pretty pathetic. My Salomon Malamutes have the bulk of two seasons on them and are still going strong. It might have something to do with the Fusion liner. Anyway, this always seems to happen just as the warranty runs out (1 year).

...strong enough to wipe credit cards, hotel key cards, season passes, etc.

Strong enough to wipe your credit cards, stick to cars, stick to door frames, etc. Be careful.

The magnets on the storm flap are strong enough to wipe your credit cards. They are also strong enough to stick to dirty cars and wipe all the dirt off the car, onto your jacket. The material could be somewhat sturdier and the DWR doesn't last too long. Otherwise, pretty sweet.

These bindings are light, soft and good for the park (especially for jibs, ok on jumps, big jumps on hardpack are questionable.) They make are a decent choice for beginners, too. The Missions are comfortable but don't provide enough support or response to be an all-mountain binding for high-intermediate riders or above. Fits Salomon Fusion boots well.

I expected a stiffer binding because Ride categorizes it with the SPi and the CAD, which are both very stiff and chew up boots faster than a teething puppy. Not so with the NRc. The combination of the highback and the ankle strap results in a stable, mid-flex platform that lets you tweak when a bit loose. The base is just like that in the SPi and the CAD, so when you tighten down the ankle strap, it locks your boot in place. That gel-grip-web toe strap is supremely comfortable and holds tightly. The ratchets release when they are supposed to and the footbed is also highly comfortable.

The bad? The binding is somewhat heavy. The Ride MVMNT bindings are quite a bit lighter. There are these elastomer bumper things on the canted footbed that are glued on -- these have a tendency to fall off, resulting in squeaking noises when you switch between toe and heel. This binding is a bitch to adjust: unscrew the footbed, lift the footbed, slide off the footbed, make whatever adjustment, slide on the footbed, align screw with moving/sliding position tab, etc.

The Custom has been around for as long as I can remember and somehow, I've never been on one. I finally demo'd a 156cm Burton Custom this past week. I'm willing to concede that the board may shine in parks and on smooth groomers, but in choppy crud, steeps, high-speed groomers, etc. it's not too great. The biggest problems are instability and chatter. It is a little stiffer than the Ride DH (which is more of a park board) but also manages to be less stable and more prone to chatter at speed. This board is in dire need of a tech upgrade that will smooth out the ride, rather than ICS/EST, which does nothing for the ride quality.

I took this board on a demo, coming off a Burton Custom. It's pretty stiff torsionally, which results in pretty strong edge hold: you can really lay out some hard carves. It's also snappy in between the bindings and you can get some good ollies out of it. The nose and the tail feel soft and buttery, but you probably don't want to butter this board unless you have precise edge control. The board likes to be aggressive and you need energy to ride it -- if you don't pay attention, it will throw you. I think the board needs a little more dampening for choppy, cruddy stuff, but that's really my only complaint. It feels fairly light, too.

I'm not a fan of Burton bindings, in fact, I mostly hate them. The C60, however, rides very well. It's got stiffness like a Ride ATV (SPi, CAD, NRc) binding but is much, much lighter.

What's very annoying on a pair of $400 bindings is that the 4-hole disc isn't padded. I know Burton is trying to get you to use the 3-hole disc (which is padded) and buy Burton-branded snowboards, but this isn't the type of game that Burton should be playing at the $400 price point. Burton: stop playing stupid games and give riders what they want.

These bindings are neither very soft nor very stiff... It is a light binding (aided by ICS/EST, I'm sure) with a very comfortable ankle strap and a decent toe strap/cap. The highback has a lot of built-in forward lean, which is good for heel/toe response, but you can't dial it down past a certain point.

The Burton Doom is basically a pair of Burton Mission bindings with the Cartel toe strap. That said, they are rather soft and pair well with soft, flexible park/street boards. They also fit Salomon's Fusion boots like a charm. It would be nice if the baseplate were padded, but I guess there are too many holes in the plate for it to make much of a difference. The foam on the highback is soft and prone to abrasion damage, but it's not really a big deal.

What is pictured is actually the RED Hi-Fi II, which has slightly different construction and a slightly different shape. If you are ordering this expecting it to fit like your old Hi-Fi, you are probably going to have to return it. The old one fit me perfectly, this one gives me some pressure points. A helmet that fits like the old RED Hi-Fi is the Giro Shiv. Check it out.

You can tell the difference by the shape, number and style of the vents at the top of the helmet.

Otherwise, it's a light helmet that does the job well.

What is pictured is actually the RED Hi-Fi II, which has slightly different construction and a slightly different shape. If you are ordering this expecting it to fit like your old Hi-Fi, you are probably going to have to return it. The old one fit me perfectly, this one gives me some pressure points. A helmet that fits like the old RED Hi-Fi is the Giro Shiv. Check it out. You can tell the difference by the shape, number and style of the vents at the top of the helmet. Otherwise, it's a light helmet that does the job well.

I've been looking at this board for a while, so when my last board gave up the ghost and backcountry.com hooked me up with a deal on this deck, I jumped on it. I'm about 150lbs., ride mostly in the North East, and my last two boards were a GNU Rider's Choice MTX 151.5 and a Ride DH 155. I rode this board in 20" of powder in the Pacific NW, the resulting heavy crud, and spring slush/ice conditions on the East. My current setup is: Arbor Wasteland 155, Ride NRc, Salomon F22. Now that the background information is out of the way, about the board:

The first thing you notice when you start checking out this board are the wood topsheet and the killer inlaid graphics w/ 5 types of wood. Holy shit, this board scores hard in the visuals department. Then you notice that it's called the 'Wasteland,' after TS Eliot's poem, "The Waste Land." Keeping this in mind, you'll notice that the art correlates with the concepts in the poem... Arbor totally outdid themselves on this end; I've never had a snowboard as mentally stimulating as this one. At this point, I already loved the board and I didn't even get to ride it yet.

Once I started to ride the board, all I could think was: "Damn, this board is smooth." The Wasteland doesn't really 'rip,' more accurately, it devours everything in it's path. It absorbs all the vibrations that come from the crap that you're riding over and returns a high-quality, finely-tuned ride. It's very smooth. Going from edge to edge takes a little bit more input than other boards, perhaps because the Wasteland is a mid-wide, but by the 3rd run on the board, I stopped noticing. Despite the width, it performed well in the trees on the West, but I've yet to test it in the tight glades of the East. The width also helps the board float in powder: with my stance set back, I didn't get the crazy leg burn that I was used to with the Rider's Choice and the DH. The Wasteland seems to have low swing weight or low weight in general; I was able to eke out some extra 180s on spins. When you land a drop off-center, the board manages to straighten you out without much drama: it just soaks everything up. Taking the board to the jump line is also uneventful. The tail doesn't catch in weird ways off the lip of the jump the way some boards do, there's solid & smooth pop off the transition so you can get pretty good air, and like I mentioned, spinning and spin initiation come easily. I didn't get a chance to take this into the pipe, but keep in mind that it's not really a stiff pipe board. As far as jibs and rails and boxes are concerned, the board does it all with just one issue that I will get to later. It's definitely soft enough for butters and presses on snow and boxes.

The board has a very fast base, maybe because of Structurn, but who knows. The base doesn't seem as hard as others out there, though I've yet to put any gouges in it. It's also average in terms of wax retention, at least in ice and slush.

Compared to the GNU Rider's Choice MTX, this board is softer, wider, smoother, has a more stable sidecut. You can get the Rider's Choice to pop HARD on a transition while the Wasteland doesn't pop quite so hard, but the pop is smoother and more controlled. Compared to a well-broken-in Ride DH, this board is somewhat similar in stiffness, smoother, and has a more stable sidecut at high speeds. Can't really beat a radial sidecut (DH) for predictability, though. The DH you can jump on and pull your entire bag of tricks, the Wasteland you need to 'feel out' a bit, at first.

Now, about that topsheet. A bunch of reviewers have said that the topsheet peels easily, chips easily, etc. I agree, the topsheet is somewhat fragile and on a board that looks this good, you notice and feel every cosmetic imperfection. But that said, it's all cosmetic and doesn't seem to affect the performance of the board. If you get some major peeling, consider breaking out the epoxy to precent further peeling, but it's been rather minor for me. The topsheet doesn't seem any less durable than Mervin (Lib, Gnu, Roxy) topsheets, which also chip and peel frequently. Because of this topsheet issue, I would think twice about jibbing things and sliding rails on this board. I tailtap'd a plastic 'no jumping' sign a little too hard and now I have a chip there. Tailtaps on bamboo and fabric 'slow' signs don't seem to do any damage.

Arbor: This is an incredible riding board, with an incredible graphic concept and graphic execution, but you've really got to do something about these topsheets. It's not a non-issue for a $650 snowboard.

Backcountry: Your customer service is absolutely tops, thanks again.

In conclusion: those who freeride or freestyle exclusively will benefit from more specific boards. But for people who like to ride everything in between, the Wasteland makes no excuses.

One highback broke at the 'living hinge' forward lean adjuster. He had not been using them for a year. Burton warrantied and replaced highback, but I am still skeptical of the quality and/or durability of Burton bindings.