Ride DH Snowboard Review: Best of Test #3

Beginning last January, SNOWBOARDER Magazine traveled across America, attending key on-snow retailer demos at Kirkwood, Keystone, Stratton, Mission Ridge, Boyne Mountain, Mammoth, and Snowbasin. These regional gatherings allowed knowledgeable salespeople to mount up new gear and hit the hill in order to figure out which boards they are going to back for next season.

Unlike other magazine evaluations, which rely on a small group of evaluators in a fixed location, to determine the Best of the Test boards, SNOWBOARDER went one-on-one with snowboard-shop employees to get their honest impressions of the products they rode. These riders not only know how to sell, but they also know how to shred, and the conditions they tested in varied from rain-infused slush in New England to Midwest bulletproof hardpack to bluebird park laps in Southern California.

Once we had all of the on-hill data, we could tabulate the results. After checking and rechecking the tally, it became apparent that the boards displayed here are those that made their mark on the most people in the widest variety of terrain and conditions. The following is just a sampling of the testimonials we received; for video of the testers, and to find more top-rated products, visit snowboardermag.com/gear.
- Pat Bridges

#3. Ride -- DH

Taking the skate influence one step further is the Ride DH, which actually incorporates the same urethane found in skateboard wheels into the sidewall. The result is a damp, responsive, and durable sidewall, which is key when it comes to the high impacts a board routinely encounters when hitting rails. New for this year’s DH is the addition of carbon-fiber 3D Pop Stix, which enhances energy transfer and facilitates more aggressive ollies. This combination of bulletproof construction and nimble maneuverability proved a worthy combination, making the DH a definite demo favorite.

Lengths: 151, 153, 155, 157, 159
Waist-width: 25cm to 25.4 cm depending on length
Base Material: Fusion 4000
Core: Thin Con Wood
Directional or Twin: Twin
Flex (from 1-10): 4
MSRP: $449.99

“I love the DH. It’s a soft board, so it’s great on rails, but it also holds really well through turns and it doesn’t chatter. It’s a great all-around board.” -Rich Sports Authority Boutin, New Jersey

“It’s a really fun park board, because it’s really soft and you get a lot of individual foot-flex, ’cause the tip and tail are more torsionally stiff, so there’s a lot of feel under your feet.” -Rob Nester Sport Shop Whitehall, Pennsylvania

“The DH was sweet. I’d give it a nine out of ten. I had a good time on it!” -Travis Pure Snowboards Waitsfield, Vermont