Snowboard Reviews | Best Freeride Snowboards 2026

Freeride snowboards are made for powder hounds: riders who love nothing more than heading deep into the backcountry and ripping through the lightest, fluffiest snow they can find. Tuned for maximum flotation in the soft stuff these powder snowboards are specialist beasts.

They won't beat a beginners' board or an all mountain model when it comes to piste cruising, and they're not ideal for the snow park. But that's not the point. They're built with one thing in mind: to make powder days the best they can possibly be.

Why should you buy a freeride snowboard?

Really, it comes down to a question of budget, how much time you'll get on snow, and riding preference. As explained above, a powder snowboard is a specialist beast. If you're only going away for a week or so each season, you can't guarantee that you'll get the right conditions to ride it in. Most all mountain snowboards handle powder pretty well, and are more versatile, to boot.

If it's going to be your one and only snowboard, we'd recommend buying an all mountain model—unless, of course, you're lucky enough to live near the snow (so can pick and choose your days, and only ride when there's powder). However, if you've got the budget to buy a second snowboard, then these are the beasts you want to start looking at.

"These are built with one thing in mind: to make powder days the best they can possibly be"

Assuming you already have a pair of snowboard boots and snowboard bindings that you're happy with, adding a powder board to your kitbag opens up a whole world of possibilities. Wave goodbye to back leg burn, as you sail past your mates getting stuck in the deep, fresh snow.

Pack right, and you can easily get two boards under the airline weight limit (as long as you're not taking two pairs of bindings or boots). That way, when it does dump while you're in the mountains, you'll have the time of your life. There's full buyers' guide to powder boards, explaining what to look for and what the technical terms mean, below.

What about splitboards?

If a powder board opens up new possibilities, a splitboard goes one step further. Splitboards, as the name implies, split down the middle to form two "skis". Strap skins to the bottom of these, and you can basically go anywhere you want on the mountain, within reason.

"If a powder board opens up new possibilities, a splitboard goes one step further"

Splitboards tend to be more expensive than regular freeride snowboards, and you'll need to buy a pair of specialist splitboard bindings too, as well as skins, collapsible poles, and of course the essential avalanche safety gear everyone must carry when heading off piste. If you're buying a snowboard specifically for deep days, however, a splitboard may be worth considering. Once you've started splitboard touring, you won't look back.

This winter, we worked closely with our sister title Whitelines—the UK's oldest dedicated snowboard magazine—to test the best new models. Our joint test team, consisted of riders based in the Italian Dolomites, Fernie in Canada, Wanaka in New Zealand and Helsinki in Finland.

Between them, our testers have over 200 years of snowboarding experience. 

They tested well over 100 of this winters' boards, plus boots, bindings, men's jackets, women's jackets, gloves, helmets and other bits of snowboard kit. If need more detail on Whitelines picks (some of which didn't make this shorter list) check out their Whitelines 100. 

We've tried to select a good range of powder boards from wide waisted models designed for quick turns on tree runs, to long, swallowtail beasts built for straight-lining couloirs. We've listed the boards in alphabetical order below.

We've also included several splitboards, because splitboarding is becoming increasingly popular—it's been the fastest-growing sector of the snowboard gear market for several years running. As explained above, a splitboard provides the ultimate backcountry access: when everything you can reach from the lifts is tracked out, simply strap your skins on, and head deeper into the backcountry.

Amplid Milligram Splitboard

Ask any splitboarder what would make their life easier, and the answer will usually be the same: a lighter setup for the way up that still rips on the way down. Amplid have been perfecting the formula for ultralight boards for years, and this year’s Milligram is their lightest yet. It climbs like an absolute dream—as our tester said “kick turns just feel like they come around easier.” 

This latest version also has a new tail shape, a redesigned nose, and urethane-coated inner sidewalls that help reduce chatter on the way down. This is especially helpful, because the weight savings mean you sometimes feel chatter if you’re riding chopped up snow.

• Unisex board

• Flex 6/10

• Shape Directional

• Profile Camber

• RRP: £1075

Buy Amplid Miligram Splitboard: £1075 from The Sick & The Wrong

Bataleon Surfer

The Surfer was remodelled for the 24-25 season with a brand new swallow tail shape, and a more agressive sidecut. This year, there's a new graphic, but the basics are the same. 

Like all Bataleon models, the Surfer features Triple Base Technolgy (3BT)'s distinctive lifted sections on either side of the base—these are designed to make turn initiation easier, and prevent you catching an edge. The Surfer combines 3BT with a massive, spoon-like nose which has a more pronounced side lift on the base to help it float in the deepest snow.

Add in the setback stance, and that new swallow tail shape you can safely forget about back leg burn, even on long runs through Niseko-deep powder. The medium flex (4/10) is softer than you might expect from a powder board—if you're planning on tackling sketchy alpine descents with icy sections, you might want to find something stiffer. But otherwise, this is essentially an 80s style swallowtail with a 21st century twist. For intermediate to advanced riders who want to make the most of the snow when it comes, this is perfect.

• Unisex board

• Flex 4/10

• Shape Directional

• Profile Camber

• RRP £800

Buy Bataleon The Surfer Snowboard: £540 from Absolute Snow 

Borealis Drakkar

The Drakkar was apparently the first snowboard Borealis built, and has featured in their line for over a decade. But the 2026 version has various tweaks. It’s got a new nose shape, which helps it float better in the deep stuff, and a couple of materials upgrades.

Overall, however the basic aims of this board remain the same—its designed to rip in the deep stuff, and carve on pistes. “This board absolutely rips in variable conditions,” our tester said. “It's short enough to turn on a dime, stiff enough to charge through crud, and floaty enough to sail through powder with ease.”

• Men's board

• Flex 8/10

• Shape Directional

• Profile Hybrid

• RRP £585
  
  

Buy Borealis Drakkar Snowboard: £480 from Borealis 

Burton Hometown Hero Splitboard

The Hometown Hero was originally designed for ripping through the tree-lined hills near Burton's home base of Burlington, Vermont. But when they started riding the first prototypes, the brand's testers quickly realised this board was a far more versatile beast. The tapered shape, and wide, spoon like nose helps it float in really deep powder, while the mid-stiff flex (which we'd put at about 7 out of 10 on the stiffness scale) helps it power through chopped up snow and crud like it's nothing.

One of our testers rode the splitboard version in a variety of different conditions last winter — from bombing high alpine couloirs in Georgia, to cutting between tight trees in the Dolomites —and said it handled everything with aplomb. "It climbs well, carves like a dream on hardpack runouts and pistes, and never feels anything less than 100 percent solid underfoot," they said. "On at least three separate occasions, I've ridden out of rock drops that I had no right to land, purely because this board is so stable."

Our testers haven't tried it in the backwoods of Vermont yet, but we're willing to bet it would rock there too.

• Unisex board

• Flex 7/10

• Shape Directional

• Profile Hybrid

• RRP £900

Buy Burton Hometown Hero Splitboard: £900 from Burton 

Jones Frontier 2.0 Splitboard

The Frontier has long been Jones’ most accessible splitboard—a stick that’s more affordable, and much softer than your average backcountry board, designed to open up the wonders of touring to an audience who may not want to charge back down the hill at a gazillion miles per hour.

For the 2026 season, they’ve given this model a revamp and a bit of a reshape. But despite the more advanced materials (including reclaimed aerospace carbon stringers in the core) the new, more pointy nose and the tapered tail, the essential mission of this board remains the same. And according to our tester, it’s never done it better. “The softer flex lets you ride longer, floatier lengths without the board feeling overwhelming,” she wrote. 

• Unisex board

• Flex 4/10

• Shape Directional

• Profile Camber

• RRP £680

Buy Jones Frontier 2.0 Splitboard: 

£689 from Jones 

Jones Mind Expander 

Jones’ magical Mind Expander is a powder board made for the deepest powder days. Jeremy Jones worked with the surfboard shaper Chris Christenson on the shape, and it shows. With its swept up nose and stubby tail, it floats with minimal effort, even at the end of the day when your legs are tired and aching. The brand recently tweaked the stance, moving it forward by 20mm. But the shape is still seriously directional, and the nose is so wide there's no danger of nosing under.

Other recent improvements to the original design include the new surf camber profile, which introduces camber between the bindings for improved edge control and more responsive carving. Traversing hardpack or riding pistes is a surprising amount of fun on this board, helped along by Traction Tech 2.0 edges, which grip better on icy surfaces. If you want a surf-inspired powder board to tear it up wherever you shred, then buy a Jones Mind Expander - it’s sick.

• Unisex board

• Flex 5/10

• Shape Directional

• Profile Hybrid

• RRP £499

Buy Jones Mind Expander: £519 at absolute-snow.co.uk

Jones Stratos Splitboard

The Stratos was initially built as an experiment. Legendary freerider Jeremy Jones was wondering what might happen if you combined a powder-friendly shape - wide nose, tapered tail, cutaway at the back - with a freestyle flex. What happened, apparently, was that Jones had one of his best ever days on the hill, and immediately ordered a limited production run.

They sold like hotcakes, so unsurprisingly, Jones included it as a proper production model. One of the most versatile ‘freeride’ boards out there, this floats like a dream in powder, and carves like a beast on piste. Despite the directional shape, it can even be ridden switch. This splitboard version takes everything that's great about the Stratos, and adds in the splitboard functionality—which means you can literally take it anywhere. 

"A wicked fun splitboard," said our tester. It feels softer than what I’m used to, but still holds an edge brilliantly on ice or hard-packed snow. On the climbs, the split skis felt nicely weighted and made kick-turns easy. The Jones-specific skins make changeovers that little bit quicker too."

• Unisex board

• Flex 5/10

• Shape Directional

• Profile Hybrid

• RRP £820

Buy Jones Stratos Splitboard: £820 from Jones

Jones Storm Chaser

Like the Mind Expander (see above) the Storm Chaser was born from a collaboration with legendary surf shaper Chris Christenson. Although its been part of Jones' range for a while, it was reimagined last winter (2024-25) and has stayed this same this year (2025-26). It's got a “volume shift” shape, so it's wider than a traditional board, allowing you to ride a shorter, nimbler length than you otherwise would. There have been other, more subtle tweaks too. 

A longer swallowtail and what the brand call a “Surf Camber” profile has made what was already the ultimate board for deep days even better. The Storm Chaser handles perfectly well on the piste, and is a lot of fun to through into euro carves. But where it really excels is low angle terrain, in deep snow. "It’s ideal for cutting between tight trees, or throwing surf-style layback slashes," our tester said. "One of the funnest freeride boards I've ever ridden."

• Unisex board

• Flex 5/10

• Shape Directional

• Profile Hybrid

• RRP £590

Buy Jones Storm Chaser Snowboard: £590 from Jones

K2 Special Effects  

This is a successor to the K2 Cool Bean, which was one of the original 'Volume Shift' boards—powder snowboards that use width, instead of length to increase their float in deep snow. The 2026 Special Effects features a medium flex, and a profile that includes camber between the bindings and a gently rising rocker front and back.

K2's Bambooyah core, made of bamboo, gives this board plenty of snap without losing its easy-going surfy feel. Our testers have used this primarily as a powder board in the past, but it's also brilliant fun on piste, where the ultra-wide shape makes for fun carves, and the pop helps you launch off side hits. It might be best in deep snow, but as K2 themselves say, "it can hold its own on groomers, hard pack, and long traverses out to the soft stuff."

• Unisex board

• Flex 7/10

• Shape Directional

• Profile Rocker

• RRP: £575

  Buy K2 Special Effects Snowboard: £590 from Jones

Korua Elevator Splitboard

Swiss brand Korua’s make some of the best powder-specific sticks going. Their entire brand ethos is built on the idea that the humble turn is the best-feeling ‘trick’ you can do on a snowboard. So we know they can build splits that sing on the way down. But this is something of a departure—a splitboard that’s designed primarily for the 90 percent of your time you’ll be spending touring uphill. 

The shape reflects this, with a narrow waist width and cutaways at the nose and tail meaning the two halves are harder to catch on each other, and handle more like skis on the climbs. It’s also lightweight, and has a long sidecut radius, for big, alpine descents. “Handles scratchy surfaces and ice really well,” wrote our tester. “This board would suit riders who are serious about the uphills, and anyone who spends a lot of time touring in the Alps.”

• Unisex board

• Flex 6/10

• Shape Directional

• Profile Camber

• RRP: £950

Buy Korua Elevator Splitboard: £950 from Korua

Korua Dart

The Korua Dart is one of those pure directional shapes that would look almost as good on the wall as it does under your feet. It’s a proper swallow-tailed powder weapon that blends high-speed carving performance with incredible natural float, making it a versatile choice for riders who want the best of all worlds when it comes to perfecting the art of the turn. 

While it’s primarily designed for deep days, and screaming down open powder fields, or cutting between tight trees, our tester was impressed by how well this handled on hardpack, describing it as “playful and surfy” even on piste. 

• Unisex board

• Flex 6/10

• Shape Directional

• Profile Hybrid

• RRP: £450

Buy Korua Dart: £450 from Korua

Lib Tech T.Rice Orca

The T.Rice Orca is basically a Fish board - a short, fat model with a wide nose built for quick turns in powder. But as the name suggests, it’s one that eats most fish for breakfast. It’s softer than some freeride boards, making it easier to throw around in the air, and more forgiving to carve. Thanks to Lib Tech’s patented 'Magne Traction' serrated edges, however, this grips hardpack and ice like a much stiffer board.

The highly directional shape and the setback stance might suggest this isn't really a freestyle stick, but you can actually ride this switch too. “I thought this was going to be a quiver board,” said Travis Rice, who helped to design this strange looking beast, when it first emerged, “but I rode [it] for most of the season”. Given that he’s arguably the best all-round snowboarder in the world, that’s high praise indeed. 

• Men's board

• Flex 7/10

• Shape Directional

• Profile Hybrid

• RRP: £610

Buy Lib Tech Orca: £587 at Absolute Snow

Nidecker Megalight

A family-run company founded by Henri Nidecker in Rolle, Switzerland, back in 1887, Nidecker has a long and proud history. Back then it was cartwheels rather than piste carving tools coming out of the family workshop, but they started building snowboards as early as the 1980s too. In the 90s, they pioneered inventions like asymmetric sidecuts and rocker profiles that remain popular to this day.

The latest generation of Nideckers were raised standing sideways, and have poured lots of time and effort into their range in recent years, resulting in high tech boards like the Megalight. This combines weight-saving features, like the brand's Zero G nose system (which replaces wood and fibreglass in the nose with carbon) with a medium flex and a setback stance. It's super fast, and excels at straight-lining Swiss couloirs. If only Henri senior could see what the Nideckers are up to now!

• Men's board

• Flex 7/10

• Shape Directional

• Profile Hybrid

• RRP: £750
  

Nidecker Megalight: $699 at Nidecker.com
Nidecker Megalight: £620 at Nidecker.com

Tur Bubo

Swedish brand Tur have only been in business a few years, but their eye-catching boards have already made a splash. The graphics have an ornithological theme, with each board in their line named after a different bird, with t topsheets illustrated by Stockholm-based artist Ragnar Persson. A Bubo is an Eagle Owl, and it’s the perfect name for this short, stubby board. 

It’s wider than average, meaning it’s easily got enough volume to float in the deep stuff, and the short length makes it ideal for tree runs, or anywhere quick turns are required. Our tester had this out both on hardpacked piste in the Dolomites and in deep fresh snow in Val Thorens last winter—and while the second was more fun (obviously) it excelled at both. 

• Men's board

• Flex 6/10

• Shape Directional

• Profile Camber

• RRP: £600

Buy Tur Bubo: £600 at Tur Snowboards

Buyer's guide: What to look for in a freeride snowboard

What flex should I go for?

Sometimes called big mountain snowboards, powder boards built for charging Alaskan-style lines tend to be quite stiff (7 to 10 out of 10) and have directional flex patterns - usually with a stiffer tail than nose for driving off the back foot and letting the nose float in powder. If your freeriding is a little more sedate than this, with laps through trees and side stashes within resort bounds on the menu then you'll probably want something a little more forgiving and playful.

Should the shape be directional or twin?

For maximum performance off piste, probably directional. Many powder snowboards have tapered tails, and fatter spoon shaped noses which help lift you in powder.

If you like to get more creative off piste then you should be looking at directional twins which encompass a seriously wide spectrum of snowboards. With these you can still reap some of the benefits of a twin snowboard for backcountry freestyle riding while retaining most of the things that make a snowboard float and send rooster tails in powder.

What about volume shift snowboards?

If you haven't already tried one, try one now. These snowboards shift volume from the length to the width so you get the same surface and contact area but a short shape for manoeuvrability and that extra width gives ultimate float. They're often great fun n piste too.

Which freeride snowboard should I choose?

Assess your needs and riding style first and foremost. If you're only interested in powder turns then get the most spoony nosed directional snowboard you can find, probably with a funky swallow tail.

If you also like a bit of versatility for less snowy days you should take inspiration from all mountain snowboards and reign in the directional shape a little. If you love to throw spins and grabs off cliffs (check you out!) then you're going to need a directional twin tuned for powder and freestyle in almost equal measures.