2012 Gnu Carbon Credit Snowboard Review

So the muted blues and blacks of this board don’t look so hot against the Starburst flavored Flux RX-30s but don’t let that sway you. Gnu’s Carbon Credit series (also available in wides) is designed to be an all-mountain freestyle killer. Let’s see how it holds up.

Flux RK-30 bindings on Gnu Carbon Credit BTX

Size: 156cm
Stance:24″ regs 15/-15
Shape:BTX twin
Bindings: Flux RK-30
Dave’s stats: 6′ 210 lbs
Leo’s stats: 5’9″ 180 lbs

Conditions: Boyne Mountain cold, overcast. 17 degrees not too windy. dust on crust about 1″ of natural snow but mostly hardpacked groomers. Small amounts of sidepow but nothing to write home about. Decent test conditions for a variety of boards.

Flex:

Dave says: Slightly stiffer than middle of the road flex, 6 out of 10-ish. Some give through the center but slightly stiffer outside.

Leo says: Hair past mid flex for me too.  Pretty lively underfoot which I like.

Ollie/Pop:

Dave says: The Carbon Credit definitely had pretty good pop for a full rocker and it consistently delivered with minimal effort. Plenty to get you up on to that rail in your park or over that shrub line.

Leo says: No real complaints from me here.  Not outstanding either though.  That’s pretty much the norm for me for Libs and GNUs though.  There are definitely poppier boards out there.

Handling:

Dave says: General cruising it was stable at speed and quick to transition edge to edge. With the added MTX and slightly stiffer through the tips I thought the edge hold was really awesome for a rockered board.

Leo says: Magnetraction is my favorite for hardpack/icey conditions.  It just bites allowing you to lay that edge down.  Does it turn cruddy conditions into powder?  Not by a landslide.  Magnetraction just makes it a more pleasant experience.

Jibs/Playfulness:

Dave says: I had a lot of fun on this board, you could jib it around,rocker profile lends well to general buttery shenanigans and you could get pretty reliable pop for the natural stuff, too.

Leo says: Definitely a fun board to mess around on.  Not the best presser, but nothing to cry about.  I took it on a wide box and it felt good underfoot.  I wouldn’t recommend this for a jibkid though.  More like the all-mountain shredder that laps the park here and there and doesn’t do anything insane on the jibs.

Pricing:

Summing it up:

Dave’s Take: the rocker shape and magnetraction edge tech combined really well on this board. Although it’s playful enough to take through the terrain park personally I would ride this more of an “all mountain” board. MTX is a little different so try to demo it first if you can. Overall I’d recommend it for intermediate riders and up, geared towards the guy who is going to spend a little bit of time in the park but mostly wants to cruise around and hit natural features.

Leo’s Take: Same story as before in regards to BTX.  I personally love Magnetraction in combination with Banana Rocker.  However, if you do not ride icey/hardpack most of the time, I really don’t see why you would want it.  For those that find MTX to be “too grabby”, just take an edge tool to it and you’ll be golden.  You’ll still get all the extra contact points.  Definitely recommend this for the all-mountain freestyle guy.  Skill level is irrelevent here.