Blank Snowboards Review

Hailing from Layton, UT, Blank Snowboards makes blank snowboards. We got a 157 reverse to try out so let’s see what they’re all about.

Conditions: 30ish degrees mix manmade & natural snow, corduroy, hardpack, sun-softened snow, fast, bluebird early-season fortunately no ice.

Board shape: 157cm twin, reverse camber

Stance: Dave rides 24.5″ 15/-15 regs, Leo at 24″ 18/-12.

Stats: Dave 6′ 210 lbs, Leo 5’9″ 180 lbs

First impressions 

Dave: I’ve heard about this company before building boards with no retail markup and no graphics to keep their costs down, it will be interesting to see how it stacks up. By the eyeball test it’s a pretty mellow reverse camber. No nonsense black on black colorway makes it look like you’re in between sponsors but leaves you plenty of creative freedom to sticker it up.

Leo: I knew about blank through SbF from a few years back.  I’ve always been interested in this brand and liked the fact that they came completely, well… blank.  From the limited reviews I’ve read, I was looking forward to a decent ride.  At first glance, the Blank felt light and sturdy with a mellow rocker.

Flex

Dave: The Blank reverse was somewhere around a 7 for me, so a bit stiffer than middle-of-the-road, due to the 4 carbon beams running lengthwise.  Torsionally this board was also on the stiffer side, the sort of feel you expect from an all-mountain deck.

Leo: Above mid flex and slightly below mid-stiff.  As Dave stated, torsionally stiffer, but not Custom X stiffer.

Jibs/Playfulness

Dave: A little stiffer than what I would really consider “playful”, and triax ain’t the best for this application but it’s still a full reverse camber so you butter it around or press this board but it seems better suited for all-mountain riding.

Leo: Not a butter board, that much I’ll say.  The rocker helps, but it wasn’t the best board to press on.  Was alright with the 50/50 on boxes, but not as lively as I would like underfoot for that.

Ollie/Pop

Dave: Reverse camber boards always feel like they’re a little lacking in this department for me but the carbon and triax gave it decent snap for boosting rollers and natural terrain. This board seemed well-suited for jumping, and even though we had only a few small side hits and tranny to play around on (such is the curse of early-season riding…) it felt stable on the landings even if you landed a little tail-heavy.

Leo: Ollies felt decent on this board.  I feel that they can definitely improve in this department.  Unfortunately, no jumps were to be had yet at that point in the season.  Popping off trannies and side hits felt pretty good.  As with most rockers, it allowed for some slop landings in which case, I’ll take all the help I can get.

Handling

Dave: I felt like I got a little more response from the board at medium to high speed, short-radius turns (think glades) especially felt better when I was really pushing it than at lower speeds but for the most part  you could hold longer carves without issue. With its twin shape and flex, this board was as well-suited to riding switch as it was regular.Dampeningwas pretty solid and I felt comfortable even at high speeds without losing stability or getting that squirrely feeling even through rough, choppy snow.

Leo: Handling on this board was good!  I was carving/making turns on the Blank just fine.  Not super quick edge to edge, but not at all sluggish.  As I said earlier, this board isn’t the liveliest which means it was damp.  Didn’t experience a ton of chatter, although the icier spots got a little sketchy.

Pricing

$199 is a tough price to beat without venturing in to some Big Box wasteland and really sacrificing quality.

Where to buy: Blank Snowboards are available direct from BlankSnowboards.com.

Summing it up

Dave: For me the flex pattern on this board seemed to favor all-mountain riding even though its extruded base is not the fastest (they will be adding an optional sintered base in the future). Some may gripe that Blank is not really breaking any ground in terms of innovation or groundbreaking tech and that’s true, but you have to take it for what it is. Seemed like a no nonsense boards at a no nonsense price point. Especially if you’re on a budget and looking for a cruiser or even something that will do a some all-mountain freestyle Blank is an option that can save you some cash without breaking your bank.

Leo: I’d also place this pretty squarely in the realm of all-mountain riding.  You can play on it, but it’s not its strong suit.  What surprised me the most is the performance-to-price ratio.  If this Blank had graphics, I would fully expect to pay around $300 for a board like this.  Although I wouldn’t really place a straight up beginner on this board, it won’t be a bad choice overall.  It’s not stupid fast or stiff and the light-weight lends itself to reduced swing-weight.  I would confidently recommend this to an all-mountain rider on a budget.