Nativ Snowsurf
The Nativ S-Camber and Surf-Trac.
Boards: 2011-2012 Nativ S-Camber 142 / Surf-Trac 136
Waist Width (mm): S-Camber: 253 / Surf-Trac: 252
Nose and Tail Width: 192 / 265 (274 Surf-Trac)
Effective Edge (cm): S-Camber: 112.7 / Surf-Trac: 107.1
Sidecut depth: S-Camber: 19 / Surf-Trac: 18
Shape: Directional
Stance Range (mm): S-Camber: 536 / Surf-Trac: 524
Stance Location: 0, 0
Boots / Bindings: Salomon Faction / Flow The Five
Test Location: Taos Ski Valley
Days Ridden: 9
I don’t know how eager I would have been to ride Nativ boards if I hadn’t already experienced one in college—these boards look incredibly foreign compared with a traditional snowboard. As an undergrad, one of my buddies from Cal Poly, Nate McKeever, a surfer and skater from California, had started hand making what he called Snowsurfs (I called them Snurfs, mostly to make him angry), essentially a snowboard with the tail chopped off. The squash tail (that’s what it’s called in surfing) certainly gets some strange looks in the lift line.
The idea is to have a board that responds more like a skateboard or surfboard. The first time I rode one was at June Mountain in California. I had a blast. The board does handle like a skateboard, turning quickly and transferring edge-to-edge with no problems. June, though, is not exactly extreme terrain, so we were trying out these new creations in the terrain park. I started feeling a little too confident, overshot a landing, and snapped my collarbone. That was the end of my Snowsurf career until this season.
This year I got two Snowsurfs for testing: a 142 S-Camber, made for powder with slight camber underneath and rocker in front, and a 136 Surf-Trac, which has more pronounced camber and an extra point of contact in the minimal tail for grip in the park and in hardpack conditions.
Nativ S-Camber Profile.
After spending all season riding steeps on traditional boards, I was skeptical of how the Snowsurf boards would perform when things were more vertical. It had snowed significantly a few days prior to my first weekend on these boards, so I thought I’d give the 142 S-Camber a shot in the mixed powder and chop. My justification was that I would need that extra length for hitting Taos’ Kachina Peak or the West Basin.
Out of the gate the board felt good. It was responsive, spun well, and turned on a dime. Without a normal tail, there was a serious lack of swing weight, so I could whip it as fast as I wanted. This came in handy when I dropped into Reforma and West Blitz bumps. It was trippy not to have more tail there to slow me down on turns, so I kept leaning too far over the nose and sliding out. But after a couple of runs, things clicked, and I got my balance correct: I could almost zipper-line through the bumps. Instead of cutting my turns short on the downhill side of the moguls, I could let out the reins, get a little more speed, and draw better lines.
Will Taylor, Juarez, Taos Ski Valley.
The morning after my first full day on the 142 S-Camber board, BLISTER founder Jonathan Ellsworth, reviewer Garrett Altmann, and I hiked out to Kachina for a run. We spotted what looked like some untracked snow near the last cornice before Main Street and decided to go for it. The wind was howling, and I couldn’t hear a thing as Garrett and then Jonathan dropped in. They hauled through the top section, and I figured I’d do the same, not looking at their tracks—or lack thereof.
I dropped in straight, quickly picked up speed, ripped my first turn heelside, and immediately lost control—I was on a solid patch of ice. I slid for a good 100 feet before I self-arrested. All I could think was, “I wish I had a tail.” (Technically speaking, the Snowsurfs just have an extremely small tail, which costs the board serious stability on hardpack or variable snow conditions.)
I thought the same thing later when I was chasing a pack of skiers down Stauffenberg, a steep run off the West Basin. I hit the hard top of a bump underneath a foot of powder going toeside. A longer tail would have stopped me, but I went hurtling over backward.
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April 22, 2012 at 8:58 pm
So how is this board different from being a shorter burton fish? wouldn’t the extra length in a fish help with the stability issues that you found with this board.
April 23, 2012 at 10:02 am
Hi Lance,
I haven’t ridden the Burton Fish but from what I can tell the Fish is supposed to be more like a traditional pow board with a swallow tail (the notched v-shape). You’re only supposed to ride it 3-6 cm shorter than your normal board and they say that you could ride it in the park as well. The Snowsurfs are significantly shorter which I imagine really changes the turning dynamics compared to what you would find with the Fish. I think you’re right, though, the extra length would help with stability issues. Nativ is adding more sidecut and a longer tail next season which should help out with those issues.