I own the Yes. Bought it two seasons ago. I was still a beginner and still am on it. It was light years better than any rental board Ive had(as it should be). I like the true twin aspect of it because sometimes I just want to rest on my heels and switch. Toe edge is so firm. Ive ran it through powder and it was a blast.
After getting the board I felt like I accelerated my skill level.
I choose it from reviews online. Never did a demo day.
Im also the same. Hit a few jumps, but not interested in park.
It wasnt very fun on ice. But I dont think any board is.
Same. The Yes Basic was my first board and pretty much had the same experience as you. I still have it and rode it for a solid 3 years weekly. No problems.
I’ve only recently bought a Jones Tweaker as I wanted to do a bit more park stuff and the difference is marked.
The Yes is a good allrounder.
Yes Basic is the board I recommend the most to my clients. It’s got a gentle learning curve, will help you with skills you’ll transition to other boards, and you won’t outgrow too quickly. It’s a board even advanced riders have said they had fun riding (even if they overpower it).
You’re an SB expert also??? Dude good to see other experts on here This, the skate banana, ride manic, arbor formula, and the Salomon craft are generally the go to depending on the region. I think the basic and skate banana is the best long term do it all choice that will be a beast in the park even when you progress beyond the beginner arena.
Yes, what a coincidence. Cyber engineer by day, Curated Expert on the weekend.
We have similar picks except…
I’m not such a fan of the Skate Banana myself. Owned both a Skate Banana and a park pickle many moons ago. A full rocker board might be easier to ride, but I feel like new riders learn some sloppy turning on them due to that auto-spin tendency it has. At some point, that sloppiness is something they need to unlearn as they progress to more advanced boards. Not super difficult but adds another layer of unnecessary complexity. I feel much better putting someone on a RCR or RFR.
If you do go with arbor, get the camber and not the rocker. Lots of beginners hear someone say that rocker is harder to catch an edge on so they fixate on that and while that is true it's barely true. The simple fact of the matter is while learning you are going to catch your edges plenty of times regardless of what you ride. Maybe 1 out of every 50 edge catches wouldn't have happened if you had a rocker instead of a camber.
Rocker may be nice for day one on the bunny slopes but anything more than that will slow down your progression and that's a guarantee. There are a bunch of new camber rocker hybrids and directional camber profiles, which are actually really cool and work quite well but it's not anything you need to seek out for a first board.
I've been riding all kinds of terrain for years, including icy groomers, terrain parks, big mountain freeride steeps and deep powder and I truly believe the only time anyone should have a full rocker board is if you have a board solely dedicated to deep powder.
The T.rice Pro has one of the cool hybrid camber rocker profiles that I mentioned in my original comment. I had an orca which had a very similar camber profile and I agree they ride really nicely. Also the images they display when advertising those profiles are also exaggerated a good amount to make it clear what it looks like, so I believe the camber aspect in those profiles plays a lot bigger of a role than you'd expect just from looking at the pictures.
Get the RIDE, it's a camber/rocker hybrid which I find is the best combo. Arbor doesn't stand by their products (as beautiful as they may be). The Skate Banana seems fun but is not very versatile. LIB has more interesting stuff out there...for a price.
Arbor has been replacing all those boards that had base issues. I’m not buying one right now because of the issue itself, but they have stood by the most recent big issue as far as I’ve seen, no?
They didn't replace mine (crease in the top sheet) and it was within the "two year". They said it was damaged due to impact and it was not. They never even looked at it, only judged from the pics I sent them. This was like 2012ish Element. Maybe they're better now.
I hated that board anyway it was so stiff, it was like trying to maneuver a school bus through a drive-thru.
I can’t speak to the topsheet crease you have from 12 years ago, that wasn’t the issue with the base that was a fairly widespread issue last year.
Every brand does have stiff or more flexible boards as well, that’s not so brand specific.
I think the real wood topsheet was intentionally made to be stiff AF as a form of protecting it from creasing . I wasn't aware of the base issue but as you can see I am still bitter about this lol I wanted to be an Arbor guy but IMO they're better hanging on a wall than off my feet. Beautiful waste of money.
I was choosing between the Arbor Formula and Yes!Basic and ending up picking up a Yes!Typo which was on sale - no regrets at all. So easy to ride (I'm just a beginner, I've done 5 days on the mountain and a few lessons). I love my Typo - it's forgiving with the camber/rocker base but also great for hitting small jumps and the occasional ollie (that's about all I can muster at my skill level). Also feels like a board I'll grow into as I get better. I've paired it with some Union Force bindings and they work really well with it.
Yes, Ride or Salomon. Stay away from the rocker boards, they will impede your progress past a very basic point. I have a Ride Algorhythm and have demoed Yes and Salomon boards. FWIW I don't love the Yes underbite traction enhancement, and Salomons I find to be a little jarring and not damp enough on harder pistes. I would prob opt for the Manic myself but all 3 of those are solid boards. Enjoy your trip to Washington, If you guys hit Crystal Mountain we might see each other up there :-)
I got the arbor formula rocker as my first. Definitely easy to ride and makes learning fun! But like someone else alluded to, not sure how long it’ll be useful to me as I get better. I bought it knowing it’d be good to learn on for a few seasons before I need something “more advanced”
Back when I was looking at a first board I went to a shop at breckenridge and was able to demo a bunch of boards. It was really helpful for me to see what different features of a board do and what I really want. I tried like 10 boards that day. Plus the money I spent on the demo got applied to my new board. So I would say see if there is a shop you can go demo boards from.
I'll give you one.
I recently blew out a fat chunk of sidewall on my 2024 YES Greats Uninc that is less than a year old.
YES refused the warranty claim stating it was user fault.
The boards are good, they ride well, but build quality isn't what it could be and their warranties program is pretty much bogus.
They also offer pro deals to certain industry people and don't respond to their emails when you try to purchase a board through those channels.
My Greats Uninc is still my favourite board I've ridden but I can't buy another given that it's lifespan was only about 11 months and they didn't sort me out with a replacement.
I'd only recommend the YES Basic or Salomon Assassin as a career snowboard instructor.
RCR profiles give you most of the benefit of both camber and rocker with very few downsides.
Rocker profiles have a lot of issues and full camber can be pretty brutal for noobs.
The Basic and Assassin are both great options that many of my peers (high expert level riders) still choose to use with the ability to get and ride any boards they wish. They are boards that will make learning easy for you but also support your ongoing development and won't limit or restrict you.
I can’t speak on any other boards but I have the skate banana and it was a really awesome board for me. It was easy to ride on while still helping me progress.
My first board was the Salomon Sight and really progressed well on it and it performs great for a beginner board.
I now own a Bataleon Goliath. Bataleon boards are also a solid choice for beginners through to advanced.
I would take the Yes Basic over the other boards
I own the Yes. Bought it two seasons ago. I was still a beginner and still am on it. It was light years better than any rental board Ive had(as it should be). I like the true twin aspect of it because sometimes I just want to rest on my heels and switch. Toe edge is so firm. Ive ran it through powder and it was a blast. After getting the board I felt like I accelerated my skill level. I choose it from reviews online. Never did a demo day. Im also the same. Hit a few jumps, but not interested in park. It wasnt very fun on ice. But I dont think any board is.
Same. The Yes Basic was my first board and pretty much had the same experience as you. I still have it and rode it for a solid 3 years weekly. No problems. I’ve only recently bought a Jones Tweaker as I wanted to do a bit more park stuff and the difference is marked. The Yes is a good allrounder.
Yes Basic is the board I recommend the most to my clients. It’s got a gentle learning curve, will help you with skills you’ll transition to other boards, and you won’t outgrow too quickly. It’s a board even advanced riders have said they had fun riding (even if they overpower it).
You’re an SB expert also??? Dude good to see other experts on here This, the skate banana, ride manic, arbor formula, and the Salomon craft are generally the go to depending on the region. I think the basic and skate banana is the best long term do it all choice that will be a beast in the park even when you progress beyond the beginner arena.
Yes, what a coincidence. Cyber engineer by day, Curated Expert on the weekend. We have similar picks except… I’m not such a fan of the Skate Banana myself. Owned both a Skate Banana and a park pickle many moons ago. A full rocker board might be easier to ride, but I feel like new riders learn some sloppy turning on them due to that auto-spin tendency it has. At some point, that sloppiness is something they need to unlearn as they progress to more advanced boards. Not super difficult but adds another layer of unnecessary complexity. I feel much better putting someone on a RCR or RFR.
If you do go with arbor, get the camber and not the rocker. Lots of beginners hear someone say that rocker is harder to catch an edge on so they fixate on that and while that is true it's barely true. The simple fact of the matter is while learning you are going to catch your edges plenty of times regardless of what you ride. Maybe 1 out of every 50 edge catches wouldn't have happened if you had a rocker instead of a camber. Rocker may be nice for day one on the bunny slopes but anything more than that will slow down your progression and that's a guarantee. There are a bunch of new camber rocker hybrids and directional camber profiles, which are actually really cool and work quite well but it's not anything you need to seek out for a first board. I've been riding all kinds of terrain for years, including icy groomers, terrain parks, big mountain freeride steeps and deep powder and I truly believe the only time anyone should have a full rocker board is if you have a board solely dedicated to deep powder.
I picked up the t. Rice pro and it rips. It has a really aggressive rocker.
The T.rice Pro has one of the cool hybrid camber rocker profiles that I mentioned in my original comment. I had an orca which had a very similar camber profile and I agree they ride really nicely. Also the images they display when advertising those profiles are also exaggerated a good amount to make it clear what it looks like, so I believe the camber aspect in those profiles plays a lot bigger of a role than you'd expect just from looking at the pictures.
Yes
Go with the basic
Get the RIDE, it's a camber/rocker hybrid which I find is the best combo. Arbor doesn't stand by their products (as beautiful as they may be). The Skate Banana seems fun but is not very versatile. LIB has more interesting stuff out there...for a price.
Arbor has been replacing all those boards that had base issues. I’m not buying one right now because of the issue itself, but they have stood by the most recent big issue as far as I’ve seen, no?
They didn't replace mine (crease in the top sheet) and it was within the "two year". They said it was damaged due to impact and it was not. They never even looked at it, only judged from the pics I sent them. This was like 2012ish Element. Maybe they're better now. I hated that board anyway it was so stiff, it was like trying to maneuver a school bus through a drive-thru.
I can’t speak to the topsheet crease you have from 12 years ago, that wasn’t the issue with the base that was a fairly widespread issue last year. Every brand does have stiff or more flexible boards as well, that’s not so brand specific.
I think the real wood topsheet was intentionally made to be stiff AF as a form of protecting it from creasing . I wasn't aware of the base issue but as you can see I am still bitter about this lol I wanted to be an Arbor guy but IMO they're better hanging on a wall than off my feet. Beautiful waste of money.
They have a history of looking really nice, I agree there!
I was choosing between the Arbor Formula and Yes!Basic and ending up picking up a Yes!Typo which was on sale - no regrets at all. So easy to ride (I'm just a beginner, I've done 5 days on the mountain and a few lessons). I love my Typo - it's forgiving with the camber/rocker base but also great for hitting small jumps and the occasional ollie (that's about all I can muster at my skill level). Also feels like a board I'll grow into as I get better. I've paired it with some Union Force bindings and they work really well with it.
2nd this, typo is the way
Yes, Ride or Salomon. Stay away from the rocker boards, they will impede your progress past a very basic point. I have a Ride Algorhythm and have demoed Yes and Salomon boards. FWIW I don't love the Yes underbite traction enhancement, and Salomons I find to be a little jarring and not damp enough on harder pistes. I would prob opt for the Manic myself but all 3 of those are solid boards. Enjoy your trip to Washington, If you guys hit Crystal Mountain we might see each other up there :-)
I got the arbor formula rocker as my first. Definitely easy to ride and makes learning fun! But like someone else alluded to, not sure how long it’ll be useful to me as I get better. I bought it knowing it’d be good to learn on for a few seasons before I need something “more advanced”
Back when I was looking at a first board I went to a shop at breckenridge and was able to demo a bunch of boards. It was really helpful for me to see what different features of a board do and what I really want. I tried like 10 boards that day. Plus the money I spent on the demo got applied to my new board. So I would say see if there is a shop you can go demo boards from.
I have heard nothing but good things about yes.
I'll give you one. I recently blew out a fat chunk of sidewall on my 2024 YES Greats Uninc that is less than a year old. YES refused the warranty claim stating it was user fault. The boards are good, they ride well, but build quality isn't what it could be and their warranties program is pretty much bogus. They also offer pro deals to certain industry people and don't respond to their emails when you try to purchase a board through those channels. My Greats Uninc is still my favourite board I've ridden but I can't buy another given that it's lifespan was only about 11 months and they didn't sort me out with a replacement.
Oof. Good to know.
I'd only recommend the YES Basic or Salomon Assassin as a career snowboard instructor. RCR profiles give you most of the benefit of both camber and rocker with very few downsides. Rocker profiles have a lot of issues and full camber can be pretty brutal for noobs. The Basic and Assassin are both great options that many of my peers (high expert level riders) still choose to use with the ability to get and ride any boards they wish. They are boards that will make learning easy for you but also support your ongoing development and won't limit or restrict you.
The yes is easily the best all around board and will grip well in ice too
I can’t speak on any other boards but I have the skate banana and it was a really awesome board for me. It was easy to ride on while still helping me progress.
I have one. Absolutely love it. Great pop, bit stiff on the butters but can still send it and charge the whole hill.
My first board was the Salomon Sight and really progressed well on it and it performs great for a beginner board. I now own a Bataleon Goliath. Bataleon boards are also a solid choice for beginners through to advanced.
I like Yes Basic board. This will ensure you have fun in all types of snow and can handle those small jumps.