Home > News

Natural Selection Tour Snowboard Finals: What the Pros Are Riding

Travis Rice snowboardingPhoto credit: Mark Clavin/Natural Selection Tour/Red Bull Content Pool
Support us! GearJunkie may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More

Natural Selection Tour’s first stage in Jackson Hole wraps with the finals on Tuesday. These are the snowboards that pros are riding for 2021 in this unknown terrain.

Day one of Travis Rice’s Red Bull-backed Natural Selection Tour kicked off on Thursday. The opening action at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort delivered on all fronts: epic bails, mindblowing tricks, and fierce competition (watch the replay here).

But by the end of day one, the venue was tracked up. Luckily, a storm on Friday filled in the tracks — and then some.

With nearly 3 feet in the last 48 hours falling on an already-solid base, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort blasted past the 300-inch benchmark for the season. (At the time of writing this article, the season total is sitting at 336 inches.) That’s all to say the storm has ensured the final comp in Jackson Hole tomorrow will have plenty of powder.

Moving into finals day, half of the riders have been eliminated: only four women and eight men remain. As a gear nerd, snowboard tester, and GearJunkie reporter, I’ve been curious: What will these top talents be riding tomorrow? Chances are, they’ll be riding these boards.

Watch Finals Day Here

Men’s Quarterfinals Matchups

Austen Sweetin vs. Blake Paul

This is the Mervin matchup. PNW snowboarder Austen “Froth Goblin” Sweetin rides for Lib Tech, and Jackson’s own prince of powder, Blake Paul, rides for Gnu. Both brands are subsidiaries of Washington-based board-builder Mervin.

Austen Sweetin: Lib Tech Dynamo Snowboard

lib tech dynamo snowboard

Day in and day out, from hardpack to waist-deep pow, the Dynamo ($499) is Sweetin’s board of choice. A one-inch setback and 3mm taper make this directional shape capable in pow yet still adept at landing switch.

C3 Camber puts a rocker pocket between the feet, which will help Sweetin find the sweet spot when surfing through Jackson Hole’s bountiful blower.

Check Price at evoCheck Price at Backcountry

Blake Paul: Gnu Hyperkyarve Snowboard

Gnu Hyperkyarve Snowboard

Paul began riding this directional freeride board several years ago and never put it down. He liked it so much that Gnu turned it into his pro model.

Over the years, it’s stiffened up a touch, but Gnu still rates it a 5 out of 10 on the stiffness scale. Paul appreciates a softer stick than many of the riders on the Natural Selection Tour: He’s fairly slender, with a lithe, light-on-his-feet riding style.

Pronounced rocker supplies float, and a directional freeride outline with a moon tail suggests that Paul might be more likely to throw 720s than 540s in a potentially bottomless final.

Check Price at evoCheck Price at GNU

Ben Ferguson snowboarding
Ben Ferguson during day one qualifiers; photo credit: Tim Zimmerman/Natural Selection Tour/Red Bull Content Pool.

Ben Ferguson vs. Sage Kotsenburg

This matchup is natural talent versus pure grit. Ben Ferguson, a Burton team rider from Bend, Ore., has arguably the best method in the Natural Selection field. And Sage Kotsenburg, the tenacious, Utah-based Olympic gold medalist, has arguably the deepest bag of tricks.

Ben Ferguson: Burton Family Tree Hometown Hero Snowboard

Burton hometown hero

Ferguson has been known to ride — and rip — a Burton Custom, but given the deep conditions in Jackson, he’s riding Burton’s Family Tree Hometown Hero ($629). This directional twin can throw down in powder, land switch, and pop to the moon — as Ferguson has demonstrated time and time again.

Check Price at REICheck Price at evo

Sage Kotsenburg: K2 Manifest Team Snowboard

K2 Manifest Team Snowboard

Kotsenburg often rides the futuristic K2 Alchemist in powder, but he opted for the Manifest Team ($599) on day one of the competition. With a twin shape, the snappy, spin-savvy Manifest Team is an all-mountain aerialist.

Catch-free, flowy turns are on tap too thanks to K2’s gentle, “Tweakened” rocker profile. (The 2021 Manifest Team board has the same basic template as the already-radical Manifest.)

Check Price at k2 Snow
backcountry snowboarding

Backcountry Snowboarding 101: Expert Tips, Gear to Stay Safe & Have Fun

The desire to get out away from crowds and into the backcountry is higher than ever. And while backcountry snowboarding through a forested powder bowl may seem safe enough, it's only safe if you know what you are doing. Read more…

Mark McMorris vs. Travis Rice

This quarterfinal is arguably the most anticipated matchup of the event. Canadian slopestyle king Mark McMorris and Natural Selection maestro and backcountry freestyle GOAT Travis Rice have both been dominant in their disciplines for the last decade (in Rice’s case, you can tack on a few more years).

Mark McMorris: Burton Family Tree Hometown Hero Snowboard

Burton Family Tree Hometown Hero Snowboard

McMorris’ pro model, the Process, is more tuned to park than powder, although it’s available in both a hardpack-ripping camber version and a more mellow, more buoyant Flying V rockered version. However, like his teammate Ben Ferguson, he’s opting for the Hometown Hero ($629) at Natural Selection.

Check Price at REICheck Price at evo

Travis Rice: Lib Tech Golden Orca Snowboard

travis rice lib golden orca snowboard

A hybrid between Rice’s big-mountain destroyer, the Goldmember, and his cult-classic Orca, the Golden Orca ($749) is ridden a centimeter or three shorter than your normal freeride board.

It’s wider than the Goldmember but narrower than the Orca. The nose is Orca-esque, but the tail is re-engineered and offers more of a landing pad.

I happened to be testing the Golden Orca on Friday. While the 157 I was riding doesn’t have the buoyancy of my 153 Orca, it’s much better at landing and riding switch.

Check Price at evo

Pat Moore vs. Mikkel Bang

This matchup is another one that snowboard fans never would have expected but can’t wait to see go down. Mikkel Bang, a longtime Burton pro and star of the brand’s recent film “One World,” keeps a fairly low profile.

Yet, he’s revered as one of the most stylish and naturally gifted riders to ever strap in — exemplified by his switch backside 540 on day one of the Tour.

He’ll be up against Pat Moore, the pride of the East Coast and a backcountry safety advocate, who laced back-to-back 720s in what judges called the best run of the event so far.

Pat Moore: K2 Manifest Team Snowboard

K2 Manifest Team Snowboard

Like K2 compadre Kotsenburg, Moore’s riding the Manifest Team ($599). He has a quiver of Manifests and opts between the 159, 162, and 160 wide.

Check Price at k2 Snow

Mikkel Bang: Burton Custom Snowboard

Burton Custom Snowboard

Bang isn’t afraid of riding a big board. He sizes up his Custom ($629) for float, especially in conditions like we’ve seen in Jackson this week. That extra length increases buoyancy.

Thankfully, Bang’s a strong rider who can make the most of the pop and switch capabilities of this all-mountain favorite.

Check Price at evoCheck Price at REI

Pat Moore snowboarding
Pat Moore during day one qualifiers; photo credit: Chris Wellhausen/Natural Selection Tour/Red Bull Content Pool.

Women’s Semifinals Matchups

Elena Hight vs. Marion Haerty

Tahoe ripper Elena Hight recently made the transition from SuperPipe to powder, a journey she shared in TGR’s “Blank Canvas” film. French freerider Marion Haerty, on the other hand, has three Freeride World Tour titles under her belt and is no stranger to big-mountain riding.

Hight will look to differentiate herself with freestyle flair while Haerty places emphasis on flow and line choice.

Elena Hight: Jones Women’s Flagship Snowboard

jones women's flagship snowboard

The Women’s Flagship ($649) is a stiff, powerful, freeride-focused board with a contoured base that provides effortless float and turn initiation in powder.

Despite the set-back stance and decent taper, it can still stomp tricks — and switch too. This board is the basis for Jones’ bestselling Solution splitboard, which Hight rides when exploring the backcountry.

Check Price at evoCheck Price at REI

Marion Haerty: Rossignol After Hours Snowboard

Rossignol After Hours Snowboard

Rossignol built Haerty’s new pro model, the After Hours ($549), to chase Freeride World Tour podiums. Urethane strips help transfer energy to the sidewalls and lock in edges on icy terrain, although Haerty will be mainly relying on the generous nose of this big-mountain blade to float her way through finals day.

Check Price at evoCheck Price at Backcountry

Elena Hight snowboarding
Elena Hight during day one qualifiers; photo credit: Dean Blotto Gray/Natural Selection Tour/Red Bull Content Pool.

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott vs. Hana Beaman

Up-and-coming New Zealander Zoi Sadowski-Synnott exploded on the scene when she swiped a bronze at the Big Air in the 2018 Winter Olympics and followed it up with multiple medals at the X Games. (Sadowski-Synnott won one of the two Wild Card spots to ride in the Tour.)

After her own successful competitive career, Hana Beaman became a backcountry legend with a catalog of video parts and film projects.

This matchup is fresh-faced challenger versus established OG — and it’s not one to miss.

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott: Burton Family Tree Hometown Hero Snowboard

Burton Family Tree Hometown Hero Snowboard

Like McMorris and Ferguson, Sadowski-Synnott is riding the unisex Burton Hometown Hero ($629). There seems to be a theme going on here — unsurprisingly, the biggest brand in snowboarding has more team riders in the finals than any other, and the Hometown Hero is by far the most popular board in the entire event.

Check Price at REICheck Price at evo

Hana Beaman: Ride PsychocandyRide Warpig Snowboards

Ride Psychocandy & Ride Warpig Snowboards

Beaman’s known to get buck on the Ride Psychocandy ($519) which is similar to the popular men’s Warpig but sports a more manageable flex, and a waist width that suits smaller boots.

Beaman has also been riding the stiffer Warpig ($529) during her stint in Jackson Hole. Both volume-shifted shapes, these boards are meant to be sized down from your typical decks.

Check Psychocandy Price at evoCheck Warpig Price at evo

Natural Selection Tour: How Finals Works

Finals day will start with the men’s quarterfinals and women’s semifinals. Each rider will get two runs and receive scores on each. A new twist: in the quarter and semifinals, if riders tie with one win each, the rider with the highest overall score will advance.

The winner in each head-to-head battle will move to the finals. In the finals, if riders tie with one win each, they will compete in a third run as a tiebreaker.

Watch the finals Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. MST.

The Best Snowboard Bindings of 2024

Snowboard bindings are a vital piece of gear that can make or break your time on the mountain. We've got the best of 2024 lined up and ready to shred.  Read more…

Subscribe Now

Get adventure news and gear reviews in your inbox!