Nitro Cannon Snowboard Review
This Nitro Cannon is such a surprise, easily the standout out of all the boards I have ridden in the last few years. Much more fun that I would ever have expected, I didn’t want to stop riding it.
A few years ago I had ridden the 173cm model, and while that is still quite a bit bigger than most boards I had ridden, the 203 beats it in every way.
How the Nitro Cannon Rides
My setup
Board size: 203cm
Bindings: Nitro One / Burton Cartel X (Most of my time on the Cannon was spent riding the Cartel X)
Boots: Vans Infuse
I generally stick to a similar setup for all the boards that I test out, and this one I had the front foot on +12, and the back foot on -9, with a pretty narrow stance width of just over 21 inches.
Testing conditions:
I rode the Cannon for just a couple of laps at Mt Buller and then for much longer at Hotham. They were in spring conditions, so hard and fast in the morning, turning to soft slush by the afternoon.
Profile
The Cam-Out profile rides just like a traditional camber profile, with a little bit more forgiveness, which you need at slow speed to get the board pointed in the right direction. Other than that it has the feeling of traditional camber, which means that it feels stable at high speed, poppy or lively and holds a good edge in hard snow.
Flex
The flex is somewhere in the middle of the range, but to be honest it is way to big for me to properly ollie anyway. It doesn’t feel like you are riding a plank, but is still stiff enough to ride as fast as you could ever want.
Turns
It is a mission to move the board around at slow speeds. Getting on and off lifts is a pain, especially with someone sitting next to you. Starting from being stopped, I had to really push my weight around to get the board to do what I wanted, but that quickly fades away as you start moving. The faster you go, the better it works.
Although the waist width is pretty wide by Nitro standards, it isn’t really that wide so swapping edges still seems pretty fast.
It felt most at hole riding very fast, doing long, drawn out turns that took up the whole width of a run. Short and quick turns aren’t so bad when you are moving, and you will be able to see in the video that I can get it through some moguls – it just takes a bit of effort.
Edge Hold
No complaints about the edge hold, it is grippy even in the middle of a fast icy turn, which I assume is because there is probably a huge amount of edge touching the snow and giving you grip, compared to a regular board.
Speed
Even in the warm and slushy late afternoon, the Cannon flies. In the past I have ridden some very stable and fast race boards, and was comfortable riding very fast on some of the Korua boards, but the Cannon lets you do that, without the feeling that you will die if something goes slightly wrong.
The nose will chatter around most of the time, and you can see it going crazy when you are riding fast, but who cares?
Who would this board suit?
People who want a very unique board, that is hard to get to and from the mountain, but when they are there they want to ride fast.
Does it come in wide models?
There aren’t any specific wide models, though being such a weird long board with a waist of 255mm you could push some bigger boots on it if you had to.
Overall
I can’t see any board being more fun than this one – if you get a chance, I would buy it. Be warned, you won’t be able to ride normally, you’ll be getting stopped all over, on every lift, as everyone will want to talk about it.
It makes green runs fun, and it makes laps you have done a million time seem like they are brand new, because you can treat the whole mountain differently on a board like this, there is always something new that you can try to see how a huge board handles it.
Similar Boards
Not too many boards are going to come close to the huge size of the Cannon
The Surfer isn’t really that similar to the Cannon, you still ride it in your regular length, but it does have a similar swallowtail shape.
Features of the Nitro Cannon
Tapered Swallowtail
The Tapered part of the name means that the nose of the board is wider than the tail, and the swallowtail is the shape of the tail.
Cam-Out Camber
This profile is basically an old fashioned traditional camber profile, that has been mellowed out on the contact points. Basically it has the overall feel of a camber board, with a bit more forgiveness when you are a bit messy or things don’t go to plan.
Mid-Wide Width
By Nitro standards, which I would say are narrower overall, this is a mid-wide with a waist width of 255mm on both the 173 and the 203.
All-Terrain Flex
Rather than giving a something out of 10 rating, or a soft/medium/stiff Nitro simplify it a bit, by saying that this is good for riding everywhere. Not too stiff, not too soft.
Progressive Sidecut
A progressive side cut is a blend of a large radius in the front of the board, that changes into a tighter one towards the tail of the board. It helps make board feel smooth and easy to start a turn, and helps it accelerate out of the end of a turn.
Powercore II
Poplar wood core, with beech stringers.
Bi-lite Laminates
Sintered Speed Formula HD Base
A fast sintered base.
Standard Core Profile
FSC Certified
100% Natural Speed Wax
Sizes Available:
- 173cm
- 203cm
Technical Specs of the Nitro Cannon
| Size (cm) | 173 | 203 |
|---|---|---|
| Waist Width (mm) | 255 | 255 |
| Running Length (mm) | 1140 | 1420 |
| Sidecut (m) | 7.7 / 6.9 | 9.7 / 8.9 |
| Nose/Tail Width (mm) | 300 / 292 | 310 / 302 |
| Stance Range (cm) | 52-64 | 52-64 |
| Stance Range (in) | 20.5-25.2 | 20.5-25.2 |
| Rider Weight (kg) | 70+ | 75+ |
| Rider Weight (lbs) | 155+ | 165+ |
| Setback | -25 | -30 |
Find the best price on the Nitro Cannon