Gnu Riders Choice BTX Snowboard - Wide - 2009

I started riding in '93 and had the old Gnu Dukester back in the day, loved it! Should have been buying Gnu/Mervin all along. I have kinda big feet (11) and was sick of toe/heel drag so I chose this board. Now I am so much happier and can carve much harder than before with no overhang. You sacrifice a little weight for the width but its worth it to me. Only issue is durability, I got a few deep scratches on the base and top sheet but got 'em fixed at the local shop. I could care less how many cosmetic scratches I have on my board so this didn't bother me at all. Such a sick board overall and would suggest to anyone who is frustrated with heel/toe drag and likes to ride fast. Had several pow days with it and several park days and it rips it all.

Love how it handles...especially carving which is effortless but after 2nd day out I already have a chip in the laminate of my heel-side tail. Should not be the case for the conditions I was riding. Chip runs down the side to near the edge. I'm going to return it for new and give it one more chance as I do like the performance.

By far the best board I've ever ridden. Everybody says that it takes a day to get a feel for it, but that's not the case. It takes about one or two runs to figure out that the board is sick. It's almost effortless to turn under any conditions. It felt a little weird at first because my old board (gnu carbon high beam or any other previous board) required a lot more effort to turn. I just got the chance to try it out in some powder and was pretty impressed. The board did seem to float a little easier at slower speeds, but felt just like any other board at higher speeds. Usually I would go 4 or 5 cm bigger for a pow board, so it's nice not having to travel with two boards. This thing feels like it is on rails when on ice. For somebody like me that lives on the ice coast, the magna traction is a must have. It's scary how well it hooks up on ice. The best thing about the reverse camber is that there is no chatter when hitting the brakes hard. Also took it into the park and was impressed, made rails and boxes pretty easy. No more catching the front lip with the banana board. The only complaint that I have is that is has minimum pop and the nose and tail chip easily. Mervin, do us a favor and put a whole sheet of metal on the board. I can handle the extra 15 ounces of weight.

Current set-up:

GNU Wide Rider's Choice Board,
-158cm
Ride MTX Bindings
Thirty-Two Boots

My Stats:

6'1''
190 lbs
11 Men's Shoe size
I have been riding since I was 6 years old, mainly in Colorado at Vail and other places around there...

First of all, I am a little bigger than the average rider, and am still rocking the 158cm board. It feels small, but responds exactly how I want it to. It is much better than any previous board I have ever ridden. My toes and heels do not hang over the edge (obvious, but w/e). The serrated edges in the middle of the board have a weird feeling I have never encountered, it really responds on ice and really allows the rider to have total control in all conditions on the mountain. The board has a mid to high-flex (it is no super-banana board tho). Basically, this board has everything you could every want in an "all-mountain" snowboard. I would highly suggest this to anyone with the cash to spare...