It’s not all fun and games at Gear Test Week. Our 43 testers—32 skiers and 11 splitboarders—hit the slopes at Utah’s Powder Mountain with the dawn’s early light and don’t go to bed ’til the day’s reviews are complete. From carving smooth powder turns to busting through crud and shredding corduroy, each tester aims to test eight products per day, a task that provided us with more than 1,100 individual reviews to craft the 2019 Gear Guide, available now and packed with tester feedback.
From the 236 products we ran up and down the mountain, each tester nominated their personal favorites. Here are their picks and profiles, so you know who’s doing the dirty work and what they liked best.
Will Sardinsky tests for float at Gear Test Week 2019. [Photo] Ryan Irvin
AGE 22, 6 FEET 1 INCHES, 168 LBS.
Aspen, Colo.
CURRENT SETUP
Prior BC Split XTC 161 splitboard, Spark Arc binding , Burton Ion boots
GEAR PREFERENCE
“I look for something that I can flex, butter and play around on that still has enough stability and control to handle variable conditions and bigger lines when necessary.”
VENTURE CARBON PARAGON
$1,189 – venturesnowboards.com | LENGTHS: 156, 160, 161, 165 | WEIGHT: 6.7 lbs. (156)
“If you’re an aggressive rider looking for a playful sender that can take you through any type of terrain with a smile, look no farther. It performed in many types of conditions, and I would definitely use this as my main quiver-killer board.”
COLD SMOKE VOODOO
$850 – coldsmokesplitboards.com | LENGTHS: 154, 158, 163, 169 | WEIGHT: 7.3 lbs. (158)
“I felt that this board would be just as much fun on the resort as in the backcountry. I loved the torsional flex and it was quick to initiate turns. It was on the softer side of stable, but it never felt squirrelly.”
SALOMON SPEEDWAY
$900 – salomon.com| LENGTHS: 160 | WEIGHT: 6.5 lbs. (160)
“I’d ride this board in the park, race BX, Slalom or GS, or take this board out in powder. It was easy to maneuver and a nice mix of aggressive and stable with plenty of forgiveness.”
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