Niche Knew 2018 Review
The Niche Knew is soft flexing, flat profile park and jib board. For the price, it has a really good ride with a lot of features.
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Features of the Niche Knew 2018
- Flat to Early Rise Camber
A good mix between regular and reverse camber, the flat profile still has good edge hold, with a looser more playful ride.
- Soft Flex
Niche rate the flex of the Knew as a 4/10. Soft enough to press without much effort, but not a super soft noodle. - True Twin Shape
Like most freestyle board, it is a symmetrical shape, so riding it switch is going to be just the same as riding it in the regular direction. - Sintered Base
The base is hard and fast, and does a good job at soaking up wax. - Flip Flop Base
Depending on the board, the base colors might be reversed so that there isn’t any wasted base material. So while one board might have a gold/brown base with black letters, the next one might have a black base with gold/brown letters. - 2x Traction Bumps
The edges of the board extend out under your feet a little bit, which helps to give the board extra grip, and helps a lot when the snow is hard or icy.
- Profiled Tip & Tail
The core of the board is milled (reduced) at the tip and the tail of the board. It helps to reduce the swing weight (so it is easier to spin), and makes it a bit easier to press. - Flax Stringers
Used as a eco-friendly alternative to carbon fiber, the flax stringers help to add pop to the board, as well as keep it stable and absorb vibrations. - Snappy Sap Bio-Resin
A more elastic resin, that also helps absorb vibrations. - Digi-Print Topsheet
The graphics on the topsheet are digitally printed directly on to the board. - Water-Based Inks
They use non-toxic, solvent-free uv-based inks for printing the graphics on the boards. - Sustainable Wood Core
The cores come from sustainable sources, which means that they are replaced by new trees. - Recycled Materials
Sizes Available:
- 149cm
- 152cm
- 155cm
How the Niche Knew rides
Board: 155cm Knew
Bindings: Flux DS
Boots: ThirtyTwo TM-Two
Angles: +15 -12
Stance: 22″
Weight: 150lbs
Height: 6′
The snow was quite hardpacked, windblown at the top and a bit softer at the bottom of the hill.
Flex & Camber Profile
The Knew is rated as having a 4/10 for its flex rating, which felt right to me. It didn’t need much effort to hold a press, but it definitely wasn’t a super loose noodle board either. Overall it has a flat profile, and apparently has some early ride rocker at the contact points, but I couldn’t really notice that, it just rode like a flat board to me. I normally like flat park boards, and this wasn’t an exception.
Edge Hold
The snow was quite hardpacked and windblown on groomers when I was riding it, and the board still did a good job at holding an edge. I assume that it is almost all due to the extended sections under your feet, because at high speed, on hard snow it still felt very solid, especially for a board that I imagined would have a looser feel. It feels very similar to the Nitro Glory Stomper, which is the same style of flat board with extended sections under your feet.
Shape
It’s a true twin board, which is what you would expect for a park or jib board. Riding switch feels just as nice as it does riding regular.
Speed
I didn’t expect a super solid feel from the board at high speed, but it did ride nicer than I expected. A combination between the flex, flat profile and the traction bumps keep it solid even on chopped up snow.
Pop
You can get a decent pop out of the board, without having to put in too much effort. Overall the board has a smooth flex
Overall
Overall the board has a nice damp feel, and it is a good mix between soft and forgiving, with enough strength and edge hold to handle fast and harder riding when you need it. If you are going to be doing more jumps and all-mountain riding, it might be worth having a look at the slightly stiffer camber Niche Theme. Otherwise, I can’t think of many other boards that give you a ride as nice as this for the same price.
Pros
- Good edge hold
- Nice soft flex
Cons
- ?
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Niche Knew 2017 Specs
| Length (cm) | Effective Edge (cm) | Contact Length (cm) | Sidecut Radius (m) | Waist Width (cm) | Tip / Tail Length (cm) | Tip / Tail Width (cm) | Stance Width (mm) | Setback | Camber (mm) |
| 149 | 113.4 | 110.4 | 7.5 | 25.0 | 19.3 | 29.1 | 560 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 152 | 116.4 | 113.4 | 7.65 | 25.3 | 19.3 | 29.5 | 560 | 0 | 0.0 |
| 155 | 119.4 | 116.4 | 7.8 | 25.7 | 19.3 | 30.1 | 560 | 0 | 0.0 |
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2017
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2016
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