Ride Machete Snowboard

Two common complaints about rocker (a.k.a. reverse-camber) snowboards: they lack pop and are less responsive than their cambered brethren. Ride’s latest, the Machete, cuts to the heart, or close to it, of these concerns.

The twin-tip deck that’s new for this winter has been stacking up lots of awards this season already, and from the first time I strapped it on last March I was impressed. Riding the Machete regularly until mid-June, the Machete was stable at speed, quick from edge to edge, and it had a good pop.

This ride quality is achieved with zero rocker — it’s flat — between the bindings, 85a urethane side walls for pop and durability, carbon stringers, and a specialized side cut.

With a price tag of $430, the Ride Machete is a great value and has similar characteristics — but may not have the edge hold — found on more expensive category leaders like Burton’s new Custom V-Rocker ($580) and Lib Tech’s TRS BTX ($560). www. ridesnowboards.com

—Stephen Krcmar lives in Mammoth, California. His article on the best boards of 2010 will appear in the November issue of Men’s Journal.