Ride Berzerker Snowboard Review |
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The Good Ride TakeThe Ride Berzerker Snowboard Review By The Good RideSize 160 Days-1 Riders- 5'10" size 9 shoe 190lbs, 6' Size 10.5 shoe 160lbs Bindings- Burton Diode Boots- Burton SLX
So the guys at Ride really wanted us to try this board so we took it for a spin along with another hybrid camber board called the Rome Headline. We switched back and forth between the two while we were riding around the mountain. Their hybrid shape that leads with rocker and follows with a very long but minor camber. Many hybrid camber boards with a directional rocker shape have a much shorter camber between the feet but this has a long camber starting behind the back of the binding and running almost to the tail. It's definitely unique so here is our take on how it rides.
Groomers- We found the Berzerker to be a typical mid level ride board when it came to groomers. It was damp, stable and pretictable but not lively or playful. It's for that guy who doesn't like to turn much.
Turn Initiation and Carving- The Berzerker has a bit of a sluggish feel when it comes to making quick transitions from edge to edge. Even though this flex felt softer to us than the Highlife the Berzerker was almost as difficult to turn. In some ways it felt easier and in others it felt more difficult. We were riding the 160 and wanted the 164 because that would of been better for our weight and riding style. Still we felt the 160 was not super easy in any way. When making longer/wider radius turns this was more fun and you could feel a bit of the camber helping you spring out of the turn. We were a bit dissapointed when it came to carving. We thought this would be excellent but the board rode more like a board with a minor taper. We think this was because of the rocker that starts at the front binding. It would kind of wash out if you didn't initiate the turn leaning back a bit more off the tail. You get use to it after a while but both of us really enjoyed how the Rome Headline over the Berzerker. Still the Berzerker is much better in powder than the Headline so its a wash.
Speed- The Berzerker has a pretty good base and a very damp design so if the base was faster it would be excellent at high speed. The typical ride ultra damp feeling was in effect. To us it felt like the board was 1.5 times thicker than it was. Some love this and some aren't into this feeling. If you are into straightlining then this will be a fun board.
Edge Hold- We had varied conditions of snow but most of what we experienced was hard to medium pack with some chewed up spots in the traffic areas. We thought the edge hold would be better than it was. We found it to be fine in the better snow but there were some areas where we didn't feel comfortable laying into a carve in firmer condtions and held back. We would say that this is on the average side of good and we wouldn't want to rely on this edge in icy or very hard conditions.
Flex- This is a medium to stiff flex that makes for a semi easy board to flex but it isn't very easy to butter around on. The nose is a little easier than the tail because of the rocker but this ain't no jib park board.
Rails/Jibbing- This will be ok in the jib park but far from ideal. We didn't even bother taking it in there.
Pipe- This isn't much of a pipe board either. It was ok but if you like to lap the pipe there are many better boards out there.
Jumps- We fount the Berzerker to be middle ground when it came to generating your own air. It doesn't have the spring that many boards do but its not lifeless either. This will be fun hitting a natural jump at higer speeds and keeping it simple off the kickers in the park but there are many better jump boards out there.
All in all we had mixed emotions about the overall ride of the Berzerker. It missed a bit on edge hold, carving and turning but made up for it in powder and speed. So if you are the kind of rider who likes to bomb the hill, ride powder and get out when the conditions are good then you will really enjoy the Berzerker. The Good Ride Take on Ride They are from the same parent company as K2 and have many similarities in terms of board design and company policy. Ride’s customer service is better than K2’s and actually has a # to call on their site instead of just an on-line form. Ride, like K2 seems almost secretive when it comes to having third party entities like us or end users like you review their gear. So many companies like Burton, Rome, YES, Arbor ect. are really proud of their gear and try to do everything they can to get you to ride them. Ride seems to do the bare minimum and despite its large size has very few demo products. Their policy seems to be if you want to try it you have to buy it. Ride chooses mainly to work with variations of flat/rocker snowboards but has recently started to work with hybrid camber. Their hybrid camber is different than YES and Rossignol and leans more on the flat camber side of things but we still like to see them go in this direction. We have found that we like some of their shapes but other boards we weren’t fans of . Like K2 Ride’s rocker shapes always seem to be pretty flat between the feet and it makes for one of the better rocker set up out there. Ride makes pretty good bindings and many people swear by them. They have more parts than most bindings but all in all they do a very good job despite the fact that a lot of the binding is metal. We are big fans of the canted foot bed but can’t say we are a fan of their Contraband strap system. They make good boots that last for a long time but boots are so personal all we can speak to is their build and longevity. Company InfoRide Berzerker 2012Berzerker snowboardsGet Crazy on This New Versatile Hybrid$489.95
STYLE: All Mountain
SHAPE: NEW! Hybrid All Mountain
STANCE: ¾” Setback
Designed with and for pro big mountain shredder Jake Blauvelt, the new 2012 Ride Berzerker snowboard is ideal for the ultimate hard charging experience and blissful days of soul riding, offering all-time versatility and superior response. Featuring rocker in the nose and a level micro-camber zone extending under the feet and through the tail, the new Hybrid All Mountain shape provides the perfect blend to charge it all. Add in Pop Rods 2.0®, 90A Slimewalls® and Carbon Array 3™ for a dialed directional snowboard ready for whatever comes your way. SNOWBOARD FLEX-O-METER:
 CONSTRUCTION:
NEW! Hybrid All Mountain
Thin Con Standard Edge Hybrid Glass Fusion 4000 2x4 Pop Rods 2.0 90A Slimewalls Carbon Array 3 Standard SETUP OPTIONS     NEW! HYBRID ALL MOUNTAINFeaturing rocker in the nose and a level micro-camber zone extending under the feet and through the tail.  POP RODS 2.0More pop and smoother landings without added stiffness. Available in 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0. 90A SLIMEWALLS |
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Ride Berzerker Snowboard Review
Snowboards - Snowboard Reviews
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5.0 (1) |
User reviews
Average user rating from: 1 user(s)
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Ride Bezerker
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Sweet board, I don't quite agree with the review this site gave the board. I'm 220 and have the 167. I think its a super responsive board that is really fun to ride. I like that it has a small amount of camber, compared to the K2 Slayblade it rides a lot better on groomers. Its medium stiff and may not be the lightest board but its def not heavy. It rides flat without want to pul to one side, i would say speed and edge hold are both excellent. I couldn't be happier with it.
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Reviewed by Knobby Stiles
January 06, 2012 |