Gear Review: Slash ATV

Value Rating: 8 Durability Rating: 9 Overall rating: 9 Location of Test: Mt. Hood Duration: 6 days or so Product Name: ATV Product Brand:Slash Best Use: Snowboarding Specs / sizes available: 151, 154, 156, 158, 159w, 161, 163w The Full Review The ATV is Gigi Ruf's pro model board, and it wants to ride like him: fast, precise, and aggressive. It excels at carving, jumps, and speed. If you like to rail turns and see just how fast it's possible to go, this is a great board for you. I bought this board at the end of the 2015-2016 season and had a blast on it every single time I brought it up. I went slightly bigger than what I normally ride (I'm around 180 pounds and got the 158, where normally I ride around 156) and it feels incredibly stable bombing down icy hardpack, and holds turns phenomenally well. I had a few days on it towards the end of the timberline season when the snow was more slushy than anything, and it still felt fast and responsive. Plus it was a blast sending up sprays of slush after bombing down Palmer. I would call this an all-mountain freestyle board for a certain kind of rider. If you like to spin off of little side hits and butter around, I might look elsewhere as this board is not very soft or forgiving (although sizing down could make it a very fun more freestyle focused board). While it does come with Slash's Reactive Flex tech (flexing the board downward in the center, say for a boardslide, will flex the edges up to reduce the chance of catching. Flexing it into a carve does the opposite: flexes the edges downward to increase grip) this is not a board that lends itself to jibbing. Its stiffness and the full camber profile makes it more difficult to press or slide on than a softer, reverse camber or flat board. As it is a full cambered board, the ATV won't have the float some people are used to in powder, but that by no means limits it to groomers. There's a reason it's labeled an All Terrain Vehicle. With a slight setback, it can be just as hard-charging off the groom as on it, and the camber will allow you to get that extra bit of pop that's sometimes harder to find in deeper snow. If you need proof, just watch the last few clips of Gigi Ruf's part in the 2014 movie Perceptions. As a matter of fact, just go watch his whole part. Overall, I would recommend this board to anyone who likes to charge and wants to bring their riding up a level. It is a demanding board, and will help you become a better rider if you're up for the task. If you're a newer snowboarder looking for a first board, or even someone who still isn't totally sure what kind of board they want to commit to, I might hold off and get something more all-around and forgiving. But if you're an experienced rider who likes to charge the whole mountain, lay down carves, and blast big airs, this is the board for you. The Good: Fast. Responsive. Stable. Poppy. Great for carving. Great for big jumps (Or small jumps. Or even medium jumps.) Aggressive. Fast (did I already say that?) The Bad: Not very forgiving. Not a great rail board. Not as good for newer riders. The Bottom Line: Go big. Ride everything. Get the ATV.