Colin Boyd
I. What’s your one-board quiver (of currently available snowboards) for where you ride most?
Over the past five to ten years, I’ve been fortunate enough to spend my time riding in a number of pretty amazing places around the world. Since I haven’t settled into any one location, I’m going to answer the question: ‘Where would I like to ride the most?’
One of my favorite places to ride is around Hokkaido, Japan, and I’d go with the Burton Family Tree Landlord, 159cm.
• Burton Family Tree Landlord, 159cm
The Landlord’s wide nose and S-Rocker design give it plenty of float and a playful feel on deep days. The board rides a lot like a twin when landing switch, but its directional, tapered shape ensures stability at speed and some good maneuverability when riding through tight trees. Even though the Family Tree Landlord is a bit softer than most big mountain freeride boards, it flexes similarly to a cambered board, so it can handle some pillow jibbing in Japan’s playful terrain.
Burton’s connection system on the Landlord, “the Channel,” also allows for easy stance adjustments, which is a plus.
II. What’s your one-board quiver for Taos?
While I’ve only spent a week at Taos, I experienced a whole season’s worth of conditions while I was there during the FWQT 4 Star Extreme Freeriding championships. I was really impressed with the mountain’s steep terrain and light powder, and would choose the Burton Custom X as my one-board quiver for Taos.
• Burton Custom X, 164cm
The Custom X is a cambered, stiff, aggressive board made for pointing it out of technical terrain and is capable of being driven hard through chunder. At the same time, it is also light, snappy, and can hammer out turns better than any board I’ve ridden.
As long as the terrain is pretty steep, like Taos, I’m also happy riding the Custom X on pow days; it doesn’t provide the most float of any board out there, but I love the response and flex of a cambered board in powder. In short, the Custom X is one of my favorite boards; it allows me to charge hard through challenging terrain and conditions, enjoy riding powder, and still have some fun in the park and pipe (though again, it’s definitely stiffer than a more dedicated jib board).
III. What’s your one-board quiver for the Canterbury Club Fields, New Zealand?
• Rossignol XV MagTek, 163cm
There aren’t man-made parks in Canterbury, but the mountains present a lot of features to play on. The clubbies also have a wide variety of backcountry terrain that’s easily accessible by quick hikes, so neither park nor split boards are necessary. Here I want a stiff board with a bit of camber that can handle firm, variable conditions really well, is durable, and has a little rocker for float in powder. The Rossignol XV MagTek fits this bill nicely.
At first I was somewhat skeptical about the XV’s “Reverse Super Directional” shape, since its tail wouldn’t seem to favor switch riding, but I didn’t find it to be too much of an issue. And after all, I spend less time riding switch at the clubbies and more time in steep, narrow hike-to terrain. The XV’s Magne-Traction 7m technology helps with grip on icier snow, while its wide, rockered nose floats well in soft snow.
IV. What’s your one-board quiver for riding around the East Coast?
I’m originally from the East Coast, and have recently settled back in Maine. Since I’ll be ripping a lot of groomers in the next few months, I definitely want a board with camber. I also want a board with some pop for the park, as well as aggressive sidecut to handle icy East Coast pipes. With all this in mind, I’m sticking with the Burton Custom X as my one board for the East Coast.
• Burton Custom X, 160
V. What’s your one-board quiver for the next 2 years, regardless of location?
It’s a powerful, demanding board, but the Custom X is my pick for Taos and the East Coast, and I think I’d be pretty happy riding it anywhere. Unless I am going to Japan or heading out on a splitboard trip, the Custom X suits all my needs well, from big mountain to park and pipe riding.
• Burton Custom X, 164cm
VI. What board was the most difficult to leave off your list?
It was pretty difficult to leave a splitboard off the list. I’ve spent quite a bit of time splitboarding in the past few years, and I find the days spent on my splitboard are often the most memorable.
This past season I rode the Burton Family Tree Landlord Split. Burton’s Channels, coupled with Spark Magneto bindings, provide a wide range of adjustments with respect to stance angles and make up the most versatile, comfortable splitboard setup I’ve ever used. All my comments about the regular Landlord (above) hold true for the split version.
• Burton Family Tree Landlord Split, 159cm
VII. What board do you imagine has the greatest likelihood of making your list, if and when you get to ride it, or get to ride it more?
There are a number of boards I’m looking forward to putting some time on, including the Slash Straight, the Rome Mountain Division, and the Never Summer Ripsaw.
The board I am looking forward to riding most, however, is the Jones Carbon Flagship. I’ve competed against a lot of guys who ride this board, and the way that they handle technical terrain at very high speeds makes me really excited to check it out. It looks like an ideal board for me.