Ride Agenda Snowboard

My Agenda for today was one of the better ones this week. I was fortunate enough to hit up Mt. Hood Meadows today for a little sample of Ride Snowboards overlooked dream machine. The Ride Agenda 152 snowboard. This is much shorter than I normally ride but thought I’d give it a whirl in the snowboard park since it was finally a Spring day up there. Not that it’s a bad thing, but it has been snowing eternally this year and we’ve been waiting for some Spring sessions. The day was perfect, sky’s were blue, wind was light and the temp seamed to be a perfect 32 degrees. It was just cool enough to not get hot while riding and kept the snow an ideal consistency. I’d call it packed powder, the groomer’s were soft and the snow off trail was just light enough that you could throw it around a bit. Not only were the conditions great, but there wasn’t anybody else around. Empty chairs, empty groomers, empty lift lines. Anyhow, I wanted to head straight to the park to test this Ride Agenda Snowboard out first hand.

(Vista Express)

The Agenda snowboard was super playful in the soft stuff and held a decent edge on the groomers. Due to it’s soft flexing nose and tail, the Agenda didn’t hold a rail the way I really prefer, but it gets the job done. It’s a true twin in shape and rides equally switch as does going forward thanks to the radial sidecut. I was very impressed with it’s ability to handle the terrain while riding backwards. The blunt nose and tail geometry made for great release off the transitions in the park and presses on rails. The ABS sidewall construction proved to be a good defense against the rails wrath. Takeoff’s were smooth and predictable, and spinning was effortless due it’s low swing weight and obviously shorter length. The board is soft because of the Biaxial glass weave, so it didn’t necessarily help to much with landings, as I found myself washing out on the larger jumps. But this is just my point of view, because I tend to ride stiffer boards. You just need to make sure you land square over your bindings and you’ll be fine. Graphically, the board is youthful with an edgier punk rock look to it. I think it looks great and not to mention the die cut base graphic is flawless. Speaking of the base, it’s only a extruded 1500 blend, but it was definitely speedy enough to get me over the 40ft. step up feature. Didn’t hurt to have a fresh wax job too. All in all, I rate this one of my favorite underrated boards under the $300 price mark. As I said before, super fun, playful, and a great snowboard park weapon. Can’t wait for next year’s 2009 Ride Agenda Snowboard!

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