2010 YES Snowoard Review

I was fortunate enough to get my hands on one of four hundred YES Snowboards early this winter season. As many of you all know, YES was formed from the now defunct UNINC surreal squad of DCP, Romain de Marchi and J.P. Solberg, and let us not forget to mention ex-Burton heavy-hitter, Tadashi Fuse, who recently joined this super team. With the help of Switzerland's Pulp86 Skate & Snowboard shop and Nidecker Snowboard Mfg., YES was able release five true-twin sizes for its inaugural season; a 149, 154, 156.5/asymmetrical heel edge, 158 and a 162.

All boards feature Nidecker's patented CamRock system. CamRock is an early rise system that allows the board to ride flat between the rider's boot/binding set-up and lifts gradually there after. The theory behind CamRock versus other types of rocker systems, like Mervin's BTX (for example), is that the boards do not high-center on hard pack or icy conditions (giving some exception to Mervin's newly released C2 system) and generally ride a little bit more quickly, due to the slightly extended running edge.

All 2010 YES boards are twin shapes with medium flex patterns, that truly are beyond-dare i say it-perfect. Some other reviewers have called the boards medium to stiff flexed. I found this to be not true, as I am 160lbs and 6'1, as I was able to butter these boards with ease. The real issues I had, as I have found with all rocker'd boards, are that of lack of pop, lack of deep carving (again due to reduced edge bite/running edge) and the high centering/skip out factor that can be down right scary at cranked-out speeds.

After riding my 58 for fifteen days straight, I began to feel more comfortable on it despite having had very few storms in Utah this season to put the CamRock to the real test. However, the reverse camber flex loosened itself, allowing the board to gain more running edge, thus creating a faster ride on the board's 6000 graphite grade base. The board still was not as poppy as I would have liked it to be, yet it still became more playful in two to six inches of fresh. The recurring issue I kept running into time after time on the 58 YES was its hard nosed resistance to put it on edge and rail it euro style. Again the lack of real running edge is what hinders the board from allowing the rider to do this.

The 2010 offerings are all light and nibble. All YES decks are constructed with Poplar and Beech woods and feature a hybrid wood side wall with a faint offering of a cosmetic strip of PTEX. And here is where the main issue lies, as YES has had a 6% return on boards broken from this lack of reinforcement (for the record companies like to be in the 3% return margin). On day twenty of riding the board I threw a Method over a hip and proceeded to a log launcher, upon landing I felt my heel edge to be ''soft''... riding on towards the log and launching off of it I then noticed the board was sluggish through some tight trees. My sidewall had cracked six inches, simply due to no full PTEX reinforced sidewall (this is being rectified for 2011 with solid PTEX walls). I rode the board out and called Nidecker here in Utah, they were more than cool, and replaced the board immediately.

For the retail price of $499, the rider gets a 6000 grade graphite base, top shelf lightweight woods, a versatile CamRock system that allows the rider to back lip a single barrel in the park and launch into a powdery chute. YES is on the up and up and will quickly cut into competitors, like Gnu and Lib, who charge a premium for their offerings (and shoddy TNT bases). Buyer beware, if you live in areas that are less snow prone, reverse camber may not be to your liking, but YES will be offering a full line of camber boards for you-and me.

Retail Price: $499.00 (USD)
We Paid: $200 (and received a free replacement for the cracked deck)