Announcing the 2016 Editors’ Choice Awards, selected from more than 400 skis, splitboards, bindings and boots tested at Powder Mountain, Utah and Crested Butte, Colo. For more than 100 additional gear reviews, plus in-depth tester feedback on each of these Editors’ Choice winners, check out the 2016 Gear Guide. And if you subscribe now, you’ll be entered to win more than $3,000 in prizes from Salomon, Strafe & Electric.
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AMPLID MILLIGRAM
$1,100 – amplid.com
SIZES (cm): 158, 163, 168
WEIGHT: 5 lbs. 5 oz. (163)
Bottom Line: Ultralight, playful and surprisingly stable.
BURTON CUSTOM
$750 – burton.com
SIZES (cm): 156, 160
WEIGHT: 7 lbs. 14 oz. (160)
Bottom Line: Ideal for aggressive pow hounds who throw a little freestyle into their freeride.
CHIMERA MACE
$935 – chimerasnowboards.com
SIZES (cm): 161, 165, 172
WEIGHT: 6 lbs. 12 oz. (161)
Bottom Line: An all-mountain board without significant weight that meets the demands of the most aggressive riders.
COLD SMOKE VOODOO
$850 – coldsmokesplitboards.com
SIZES (cm): 154, 158, 163
WEIGHT: 7 lbs. 12 oz. (163)
Bottom Line: “Predictable and powerful all-mountain split for rowdy lines and wide-open powder bowls.”
JONES AVIATOR
$849 – jonessnowboards.com
SIZES (cm): 156, 160, 164
WEIGHT: 6 lbs. 12 oz. (156)
Bottom Line: An energetic, dynamic, all-mountain freestyle board that climbs wonderfully.
LIB TECH T. RICE
$969 – lib-tech.com
SIZES (cm): 161.5, 164.5
WEIGHT: 7 lbs. 5 oz. (161.5)
Bottom Line: An aggressive freestyle board that handles big lines and takes a beating.
PRIOR SLAYLOK XTC
$899 – priorsnow.com
SIZES (cm): 144, 147, 150, 153, 156
WEIGHT: 5 lbs. 14 oz. (153)
Bottom Line: A dynamic ride that can be trusted to do it all when driven hard enough.
VENTURE STORM
$895 – venturesnowboards.com
Sizes (cm): 152, 156, 157, 161, 162, 166, 171 (with 24-27cm waists based on length)
WEIGHT: 7 lbs. 6 oz. (157)
Bottom Line: Ideal for big, soft lines and everything encountered getting there and back.
WINTERSTICK SETH WESCOTT
$925 – winterstick.com
Sizes (cm): 156, 160, 164
WEIGHT: 8 lbs. 13 oz. (160)
Bottom Line: An agile powder board and high-energy carver that “blasts through crud” and “outruns mono-skiers.”
What is this joke that you give Editor’s Choice to every damn board you get your hands on? Nine boards with an Editor’s Choice sticker!? This tells me that the few manufacturers that did not make the cut just did not pay you and your magazine is a total joke.
So we tested nearly 100 splitboards, boots and bindings last year. Of those, we reviewed 21 boards in the Gear Guide and selected just nine Editors’ Choice winners. I know it’s hard to believe given all the bias and advertiser pandering out there, but we base our reviews and awards solely on tester feedback. (In fact, we make those selections months before manufacturers even buy their ads.) All of our recent Gear Guides are available in our online store—I’d encourage you to check them out if you’re looking for some quality reviews, and then feel free to share your feedback.