This Year’s 4 Best Snowboards

Whether you want to tackle the park, powder, or a bit of both, these battle-tested snowboards are up to the task.

You don’t have to choose between beauty and functionality with this season’s crop of excellent boards. No matter what your riding style may be, there is a board that you’ll want on the slopes (and your wall).

Ride Helix


Whoa, boy. The Helix has more pop than a Michael Jackson rerelease. That’s a good thing for parkgoers. So is its centered, trick-friendly stance and heel-side and toe-side edges that make turning breezy. It’s fast, fun, and works as well in the terrain park as it does in all-mountain territory.

[$500; ridesnowboards.com]

Burton Flight Attendant


This board is begging for a Mile High Club joke. But seriously, it’s amazing how damn well it coasts through everything from deep powder to hardpack. Made to be ridden with more nose than tail, it puts you in prime position to launch airs wherever you go on the mountain.

[$500; burton.com]

Lib Tech Jamie Lynn Fundamnmental


More Land Rover than Lamborghini, the Fundamnmental is a go-anywhere, tackle-anything, free-ride deck. Wavy edges bite into ice for a honey badger–esque grip; the rocker between your feet offers a laid-back feel. Turns are surf-style smooth thanks to just enough heel and toe camber.

[$560; lib-tech.com]

Arbor Shreddy Krueger


While its arrowhead shape is old-school, the deck of this board is anything but: Arbor utilized a sophisticated reverse camber—think of the U-like divot at the tail end of a surfboard—that maintains float in powder yet keeps handling playful when you’re headed out to the groomers.

[$495; arborcollective.com]

Photos by Photo: Aurora / Getty Images

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