YES Optimistic Snowboard Review |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Compare Prices & Buyer Reviews
The Good Ride TakeThe YES Optimistic Snowboard Review by The Good RideBoard Size 162 and 159 but the 159 was used all day's except one. The Yes Optimistic has had a lot of buzz lately because it won a Good Wood All Mountain award and it's always tough to ride a board that has a lot of high expectations and rave reviews. It can often make you more critical of the board. In the Yes Optimistic's case this did not happen and the name held true. This is a very stiff aggressive board but for some reason it doesn't ride 100% that way. We can see why Transworld gave it an all mountain Good Wood Award. So far this year the YES optimistic is my (the editors) favorite board for my riding style. Some of the riders found it a bit too stiff and like a more playful ride but for those who like the stiffer all mountain flex the YES Optimistic is going to be up there at the top. If you can only afford one board for everything, like a more aggressive ride and aren't that into rails the YES Optimistic might be one of the best choices out there.
Groomers- The YES Optimistic is very fun on groomers of almost any type. It's fun on hard pack up to day after powder groomers. It's fast base, hybrid camber and fun shape makes it a good ride carving regular or switch down any groomer. This has a fast, stable, predictible ride. If you are all about groomers then this is a great board.
Powder- It looks like a directional twin but the CamRock (Nideckers Rocker) is directional or set back to provide more float in deeper powder. The Optimistic also has a decent set back that that seems like it's 1.75 inches back which is huge. I must be wrong in my measurements because I've never seen a directional twin this far back. We have been very lucky this year to get a lot of powder days in and the Optimistic was used on a few of those powder days. The YES Optimistic bordered on excellent when it came to powder. Most of the riders were fairly large and use to riding bigger boards when it gets deep. The 159 Optimistic had an effortless float and a very fast base that made traverses and flat spots easy to negotiate through. Also when we got into thick trees the Optimistic turned very well. Also the Optimistic has a pretty good set back combined with the directional rocker (longer rocker at the nose) that made it incredibly easy to stay a float in deep powder. Turn Initiation- The Optimistic is very easy to turn but it might be a bit on the Good side of excellent. For a board this stiff its really easy to initiate a turn. It was fun to make short radius or long radius turns and whenever you needed the board to be somewhere it went without much fight. Speed- We didn't wax the base like we normally do when we get a board because it looked pretty good out of the factory. We were expecting for it to ride a little slower but this 159 kept pulling away from everyone on the flats. The one thing about this board is it would pick up speed quickly so you had to plan your line in trees well or you might end up eating pine. Not only is the base really really fast but the board is very damp and chatter free for a board with it's nose/tail sticking up. It's also very comfortable flat basing in a straight line and you don't get that squirrelly loose trucks on a skate board feeling. Another thing we noticed is the base seems pretty sturdy. Weight- The YES Optimistic runs a bit on the heavy side of things but it isn't terrible. Despite some early problems with the build the YES is very well made and very sturdy. We would like to see it shave off a little weight for next year but it's hard to really rip. Edge Hold- The Optimistic holds an edge well in all conditions but that crazy blue east coast ice. Maybe it's the side cut or the hybrid camber pressing the edges down between the feet but something about the optimistic creates great edge hold. It's not going to have that crazy bite that many boards with magnetraction side cuts have but it has a very stable feel in most conditions. Flex- Really stiff at first but after a few days it started to feel more on the medium side of stiff. Still this is right up there with the Capita Black Death in terms of a stiff flex but for some reason it's more forgiving. Carving- For a hybrid camber board that is almost like a rocker board the Optimistic is really fun to carve. It's not as much fun as the Rome Anthem or the Burton Custom X. It is still good for a belly scratching turn or two if the mood strikes you. It will be great holding an edge up a pipe wall as well. It still has a better feel on an aggressive carve than most hybrid rocker boards. Switch- The marketing material of the YES Optimistic is very confusing. They say it's a directional twin in some places and a directional shape in other. The reality is that the Optimistic is a Directional Twin that has a directional rocker which makes the nose rise up earlier than the tail. What does that mean when riding switch? If you have the Optimistic centered in stance the ride is a little off but if you set the stance back a little it seems more even. Either way you get use to it. Rails/Jibbing- The YES is almost borderline rough when it comes to rails and jibbing. If this is your thing then the YES Optimistic isn't your board. It's just too stiff and will bonk you on any technical rails or jibs. Take a look at the Great Dudes of History for this task. Pipe- Just the opposite of Rails. The Optimistic is going to be the Editor's pipe board this year if Mammoth can ever make a damn pipe! What is up with all those stupid landing bags? Where is the efing pipe?! Ok sorry for the rant but our local mountain has not made a pipe yet and they have a ton of snow. Jumps- For some this board might be too stiff but for others this could be ideal. If you are into back country booters the Optimistic will be one of the best choices out there. The Optimistic has decent pop and can be pretty springy for a board that looks so rocker like. All in all the YES Optimistic is one hell of a good aggressive all mountain board that will ride well in almost any condition. If an advanced rider can handle the speed they could have a board that makes them ride better. An Expert will have a blast on this.
The Good Ride Take On YES Snowboards- Yes has been around now for a few years and has established itself as one of the better hybrid camber snowboards in the US. We are big fans of hybrid camber because it’s stable between the feet, has good edge hold and is very floaty in powder. The guys who designed these boards are from Burton and they had Nidecker make the boards. Nidecker has been around since 1984 and has an amazing reputation in Europe. They just haven’t found a way to correctly market themselves in the US which is a shame because they make great boards. YES did have some cosmetic issues with their boards but most of that is behind them now. Our biggest complaint is that we’d like to see Women’s boards and Wide boards from YES as well. Almost every board from YES is well thought out and usually won’t disappoint.
The Good Ride Take on Hybrid Camber
2 Mostly Camber Hybrid Camber  Company Information
The YES. boys are always keeping it positive and we think you should too. Graphics inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's, "North by Northwest" and the Radiohead track, "Optimistic" we can only hope that this board will become as legendary as its inspirations. The Optimistic steps away from our other true twin boards and features a directional core with a twin design. With our ever popular CamRock built right in, we believe you'll have as much fun riding it as DCP. And YES. ...It's going to be OK.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Yes Optimistic Snowboard Review
Snowboards - Snowboard Reviews
 |
3.0 (5) |
User reviews
Average user rating from: 5 user(s)
|
|
|
WOW
|
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Have to be honest. Ridden the Jamie Lynn, Custom V Rocker, Travis Rice, Turbo Dream, and a couple other boards that I can't remember right now, and this board was by far the best. I was looking for a board that could bomb a run, hold an edge, have great pop, and still be able to be a stud in pow. Here it is. Very damp board, with no chatter at high speeds. I am sure a pure cambered board like a Custom could do better here, BUT, can it ride the pow? One key component that I liked about the board better than the Lib stuff, was that sometimes the magnatraction can be too aggressive (minus the Lynn). The Optimistic really had easy turn initiation. Nowhere near as loose flatbasing as the Lib stuff, but still very forgiving. I really liked this board for what I was looking for. A hard charging, but still strong in the powder board. Wouldn't recommend it for jibbing, but come on, anyone serious about both charging, and serious park riding, knows they need 2 boards. This won't change no matter what the marketing behind a board says. |
Was this review helpful to you?
Reviewed by Dan
April 15, 2011 |
Was happy untill....
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Gday guys this is a great board no doubt about it, so fun to ride, takes a bit to get used to how noodly it is, but good once you get the hang of it, its easy to see how it gets such good reviews from some people HOWEVER i got this board like 2 weeks ago and bought it brand new for what like 600 CAD with tax, the other day i snapped the topsheet about 5 inches across the top of the board, i didnt even realise i did it till i went to get on the chair, so it wasnt a big impact or anything as i did notice it happening. The board is now kinking when being flexed where the crack is and looks like its ready to snap. Yes denied warranty I am now left with a half broken board that pretty much new 600 bucks out of pocket, and i dont even know whether ial bother to take it on the plane home with me, im This is a real shame from Yes because it truly is a great board. But if i was you i would not take the chance on this board, if it breaks they will leave you out in the cold, could maybe consider one of the ones without the 'diamond topsheet' or whatever they call it but be carefull |
Was this review helpful to you?
Reviewed by Lachlan Gray
February 11, 2011 |
And then you ride it...
|
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Ok don't listen to past me about the first two boards I got. Listen to me now. Easily the best board I've ever ridden. Took it to baker a few times...it destroyed POW, held on steeps, held steady in flats and on ice. It held strong in tree attacks and I could keep going but you should Stop reading and go get this board! |
Was this review helpful to you?
Reviewed by Ryan4187
November 21, 2010 |
contact!
|
1 of 4 people found the following review helpful
FINALLY! I was contacted by YES! So they put to rest some of my concerns such as the base filler material. since they are handmade each one will look different. but the gap in edges is obviously not part of that so they are replacing it. When snow starts falling I'll be sure to tell you how it rides! Then maybe I can inflict my own damage to it! hahaha!
|
Was this review helpful to you?
Reviewed by Ryan
October 07, 2010 |
uhhhh no
|
3 of 9 people found the following review helpful
So I bought one after all the reveiws said this is the board! and the first one there was not enough base material so the edge was se[perating out of the box. so I exchanged it and same story with the second one. The base isnt like filled completely on the tips and tails so I fear the metal edge is gonna fall off when I'm going big like this thing was "built" to do. I've tried contacting yes but they don't reply to customer's that buy their most expensive item at 530.00....so far I say no to yes.
|
Was this review helpful to you?
Reviewed by Ryan
September 23, 2010 |