Nitro Beast

Nitro Beast 2020 Review

The Nitro Beast is a very full on board, super stiff, traditional camber, that would be a top choice if you want to ride the biggest jumps, and charge everywhere. You would want to be a pretty aggressive rider to get the most out of this one.

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Features of the Nitro Beast

• Twin Shape
  Exactly the same shape no matter if you are riding it regular, or switch.
• True Camber
  The classic, traditional camber profile that can’t be beaten. The best pop, edge hold and stability at high speed.
• Park Flex
  Although there are a few Nitro boards that are listed as having a Park Flex, the Beast is rated as an 8/10, though seems even softer than what I felt when riding it.
• Radial Sidecut
  A simple classic sidecut, made from one radius circle.
• Whiplash Core Profile
  The profile of the core means that it is thinner between the inserts (between your feet), with extra thickness outside your feet, for lots of pop, but still letting you flex the board.
• Sintered Speed Formula II Base
  This is the base that Nitro use on their high end boards, which is a sintered material that is already infused with wax to give it a fast ride in all snow conditions.
• Railkiller Edge
  Twice as thick as regular edges, more steel means they can take bigger impacts on rails than normal boards.
• Ballistic Impact Panels
  Kevlar panels are used around the bindings to help protect the board from big impacts and hard landings.
• Tri-Lite Laminates
  Three directions of fibers, which means you get a responsive flex, both longways and torsionally.
• Diamond Band
  The Diamond Bands run lengthways down the board, that are made from strong but lightweight carbon.
• Powercore II
  Made up of mainly poplar wood, with beech stringers to add extra strength.

How it Rides

Board size: 155cm

Boots: Salomon Launch Boa SJ

Bindings: Salomon Brigade

This review is based on me riding the 2020 model, with my standard boots and bindings setup, which I was riding with positive 12 degrees on the front foot, and negative 9 on the back.

Camber Profile

Classic traditional camber, combined with a radial sidecut gave me a very predictable ride, very similar to the boards I learnt to ride on. No little rocker sections, just plain old camber to the contact points. Like you would expect, it has super good edge hold, as well as being (almost) the most stable board that I have ridden.

Flex and Pop

Although Nitro give the Beast a flex rating of 8/10, I don’t really know how it could be any stiffer. If you put in the effort to load up the tail, the pop is huge.

Edge Hold

Combining the radial sidecut, with traditional camber gives the Beast edge hold you can’t really beat. Riding as fast as possible into sketchy turns is no problem at all, the edges just drive into the snow without effort.

Speed

I had just given it a fresh wax, and the sintered base was nice and fast even in warm slushy Australian conditions. Late in the day, as big moguls turn up, you normally start to get thrown around a bit, but not on the Beast. Almost like the chopped up runs weren’t there, it tears through everything with ease, making it way easier on your legs than any softer boards.

Pros:

• Classic camber feel
• Stable at any speed
• Huge pop

Cons

• Mega stiff, too much for me

Overall

Overall, it completely lives up to its name. I can easily see how it is the sort of board that pros can be doing triples on, it has the flex and design to handle the biggest landings. Although technically I fit within the weight range for the 155cm (I’m 155lbs/70kg), maybe the smaller 151 would be better. Keep in mind that it has tiny waist widths, so if you have even size 10+ boots you are probably best at looking at the Mid-Wide 157cm model, with its 254mm waist.

If I only wanted to ride as fast as possible, then it is the board that I know can smash through anything with minimal effort, but I don’t ride that aggressively enough to justify it.

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Nitro Beast Technical Specs

Length	Running Length (cm)	Waist Width (mm)	Nose/Tail Width (mm)	Sidecut (m)	Setback (cm)	Weight Range (lbs)	Weight Range (kg)
151	111	241	284	7.5	0	110-155	50-70
155	115	247	290	8.0	0	120-165	55-75
157	116	254	298	8.1	0	145-185	65-85
158	117	250	294	8.2	0	130-175	60-80

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2019 Volcom Model

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2018

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