The Capita Mega Death is a pretty silly, high end upgrade to the Black Snowboard of Death. If you have a ton of money to throw at a snowboard, and want high end gear, then this will be it.
How the 2024 capita mega death rides
Board size: 156cm
Boots: Vans Infuse
Bindings: Union Atlas Pro
I weigh 70kg or 155lbs.
This review is based on riding the 156cm 2024 Capita Mega Death, with the Union Atlas Pro bindings, that have a stiff flex – which I think is a good match for this board.
I was riding this board at Mt Hotham, in Victoria, Australia. It was spring conditions, so quite firm snow in the morning, which stayed hard in the shade, while the rest turned into slush by the time it warmed up in the afternoon.
They aren’t bad conditions for testing a board out, because you get a good test for icy turns, as well as seeing how fast the board will ride in softer slushy snow, which can really slow a board down.
I was pretty keen to try this board, it’s always interesting to see how a board that has the price of two boards can be justified. I had fairly high hopes, considering that I like the other high end Capita boards – Super DOA and Mega Merc.
Camber Profile
To simplify it a bit, the profile is pretty much just traditional camber, with a rocker/reverse camber nose. The nose helps take the pressure off the front of the board, and makes the start of a turn a little smoother, when comparing it to a full camber traditional board.
Profiles like this feel quite solid under your feet, so at high speeds, and on rougher terrain the board feels planted. To explain that, I mean that it feels like if I suddenly need to make a quick turn, or handle something surprising in the terrain, I felt confident the board will handle it.
Flex and Pop
If anything, I would say that the board feels a bit stiffer than Capita rate it, at least at my weight of 70kg. Nothing crazy, and the board never feels like it is a handful.
Especially in the tail, the board has tons of pop. I guess that the carbon fiber everywhere instead of fiberglass is adding to that.
Edge Hold
I found that the board had very solid edge hold in all the conditions that I rode the board in. I felt as confident on this board in icy snow in the shade as I would on any stiffer flexing camber board.
Float
I rode the Mega Death in spring conditions, so there wasn’t any chance to ride it in proper fresh snow. With the shape and profile I would expect it to do well.
Turns
Turning the Mega Death is quite smooth and easy. Slow speed and high speed turns don’t take a ton of effort, but have a reliable feel that let you push as much weight in as you need, without much of a worry that the board will want to slide out at any point.
Speed
The Mega Death is the fastest board I have ridden. Similar to the feeling that I had from the Aeronaut – which was like the board is trying to pull you down the hill, this feels like it was taken a notch further. I am not sure if it is the base material, or the structure being very suitable for the snow I was riding on, but it felt extremely fast.
Pros:
- Super lightweight
- Very fast base
Cons
- Expensive
Overall
The Mega Death rides like you would expect an expensive board should. It is silly light, super fast but still has a friendly enough flex and profile that you wouldn’t need to be an expert to get lots out of it.
Does anyone need a board like this? Nope, but if you want the “best’, or just a super light and fast board then this would be it. It even feels like a jump up from the Mega Merc and Super DOA.
I have no doubt that this board will sell out quickly because of the novelty and quickly building name. It could very easily become your one board quiver, though if you are buying a board like this, I think it is going to be very unlikely that you aren’t already going to have a decent collection of other boards to ride.
The choice that makes the most sense is to make the small downgrade to the Black Snowboard of Death, which has a very similar flex, with the same shape and profile, but with a more standard construction. It is a little bit heavier, and little more damp, but a very good option.
If you have a big budget, and want an all mountain board, then there isn’t really anything that this board doesn’t do well. As long as you are a confident intermediate or better rider, than I think you will be able to get quite a lot out of the board, hopefully enough to justify the price.
They might be hard to get this season, but it should get easier and easier as shops want to stock what’s popular.
FEATURES OF THE Mega Death
Alpine V1 Camber
6.5/10 Flex
A bit stiffer than a medium flex, enough strength or stiffness to power through chopped up snow without feeling like too stiff.
0.8″ Setback
A slightly setback stance.
Thermopolymer Starship Core
They use some fancy sorting to choose the highest grade FSC certified poplar, with 3 thermopolymer channels running down the length of the board. This core is just used on the Mega Death, and the Mega Merc.
Pure Megacarbon
Unlike the normal fiberglass that sits above and below the wood core on a normal board, the Mega Death uses light carbon fiber instead. Expensive, but light.
Megadrive Base
A race base, which is made of UHMW (ultra high molecular weight) polyethylene, with high amounts of carbon and fluoro additives. Basically, an expensive hard base material that has the things added to make it fast.
Moonshop Omni Tune
The Mega Death comes with a good structure, which means that it is more efficient at moving water from under the base.
New Age Progressive Sidecut with Death Grip
A progressive sidecut means that it has a larger radius for the majority of the board, that blends in the a smaller/tighter radius towards the tail. They give the board a smooth and easy entry or start to the turn, with a strong or powerful feeling exit to the turn. This version also has Death Grip, which is a little bump in the center of the sidecut to add some extra grip in icy conditions.
Inlaid Alloy Skid Plates
Extra skid plate to give the board a little more protection.
Capita Mega Death TECHNICAL SPECS
| Length | Effective Edge (mm) | Nose/Tail Width (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Sidecut (m) | Weight Range (lbs) | Weight Range (kg) |
| 156 | 1197 | 29.6 / 29.5 | 256 | 8.2/7.8/7.6 | 130-190 | 59-86 |
| 159 | 1221 | 30.0 / 29.9 | 259 | 8.4/8.0/7.8 | 140-200 | 63-90 |
| 162 | 1245 | 30.4 / 30.2 | 262 | 8.6/8.2/8.0 | 150-210 | 68-95+ |
| 157 Wide | 1205 | 30.5 / 30.3 | 264 | 8.2/7.8/7.7 | 140-200 | 63-90 |
| 161 Wide | 1237 | 30.9 / 30.8 | 267 | 8.5/8.1/7.9 | 150-210 | 68-95 |
Hey Lachy. Great review as always. I got to test out this board(2023/4 model) at Cardrona NZ a few weeks ago. There was a crazy mix of conditions from blue ice to knee deep soft snow – they had heaps of snow storms while we were there. Plenty of poor visibility & high wind days, but a couple of cracking blue bird days as well. I was surprised at how approachable & versatile it was. I found it best in the deeper snow. While I’d say it has reasonable edge hold in the more icy conditions. I was also riding the Burton Home Town Hero(2023/24 model). Comparing the two, I was surprised that the HTH felt more solid under foot & handled the ice & crud much better. Not sure if that’s because the HTH has more camber & is a bit stiffer. I haven’t ridden the BSOD, but I’m wondering if, like you, I would prefer it to the BSOD? Also, I have the Kazu Pro – which I like a lot. How would you compare the KP to the BSOD? Cheers.
That does make sense, there has to be a tradeoff for being super light somewhere.
I can’t compare either of those two to the Hometown Hero yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the damper/more solid feel of the BSOD gives you back a bit of the edge hold a bit better.
Although the Kazu and BSOD aren’t super different technically, there was something about the BSOD that made me like it a bit more – it might just be the shape.