6 reviews for Descender B.C Splitboard

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Dan Green – February 7, 2023

   Just bought the Strand descender split from Zero G in Cham.

   Blown away by the boards.
   Coming from a Burton landlord and a regular rider of Koruas and Jones solid boards in the past.

   First up the performance of this split felt amazing on the piste before we’d even set off up the skin track. Edge hold and lack of any v flex was unreal.

   On the skin up the lightweight of the board and edge profile feels fantastic. Mixed bag from icy steep tracks and loose chopped snow made for a great test zone for the board and in all conditions the split excelled.

   Once on the bag for a hike the significant lack of weight was very welcome and another great feature of this board.

   Once at the start of the descent the board came into its own. High speed through the powder Was fun great float and in the wind affected sastrugi it just plows through! Into icy patches the edge hold felt ridiculously good.

   Back in bounds the return on the end of day tracks was fast and fun

   Now back home and selling my old split to go buy a solid Stranda.
   Great work guys

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Jakob – December 14, 2022

   I was a bit late in reviewing this item, which I received in november 2021 but unfortunately I broke my leg during the fall. Took the board to Engelberg for three days in december 2022, not sure what to expect since this was my first splitboard. Primarily in the slopes, I had no expectations.

   As stated by others, I too feel like the board is very responsive downhill. The edges held well on slopes that were a bit icy, I felt like the board works well in all aspects of the slopes, having gone out on Steinberg with it. I wasn’t sure if I needed to bring along an extra regular board for this winter, but am assured now that I only need this board for the whole mountain and regardless of purpose.

   It was easy to go from ascent to descent, and I felt like I could keep pace with my friends on skis without any issue.

   The only negative was the assembly of the bindings, but that is more on me than the board itself… 🙂

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Ursid – May 2, 2022

   The board exceeded my expectations. It’s very nice and has well thought details – Hercules hooks, tip and tail collars etc. The stiff camber makes uphill effortless and the board is very powerful and responsive on the downhill, edge hold is great. I have ridden it on Alpine powder, Lyngen spring slush and icy Lapland fjells and it’s my weapon of choice for one board to do it all. It also looks good.

   One little thing that makes me even extra happy is the top sheet treatment – it’s very non sticky. I never get much snow piling on it when touring while everyone else is carrying a load on their skis/boards even though their makers might be marketing a super non sticky treatment or whatever. I don’t know how you made it but you should keep it that way. Everybody has noticed it when I have been touring.

   I will definitely get another Stranda when it’s time for a new board.

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Jesse Scotland – June 4, 2021

   The Stranda Descender has been my ride now for the last 3 months, let’s start with my first impression. I was riding down a run in rogers pass called thorington after completing the jupiter traverse. We skied a mixed bag of conditions starting with awesome powder and ending in more melt-freeze spring like snow lower down. I felt extremely stable and in control right away making my first few turns down the steep face to the shoulder. I felt the weight of the board under my feet was perfect for my body weight for driving into tight carves and having the board remain stable under my feet while at speed, the board really could handle more than I was just willing to give it. On the way through the mousetrap section we encountered a couple good lip features. I was instantly surprised by the amount of response and pop I received when I launched out of the first feature, it threw me off guard and sent me much further than i expected.

   As I spent more time on the Stranda Descender I began to learn a bit more about how the board liked to be ridden. Let’s talk about the shape and construction for a quick second before we really start to understand this piece of art.

   The result of that pop I experienced was from the lightweight snappy wood core of paulownia. The core is also mixed with poplar and ash stringers/laminates, these dampen the vibrations when riding icy terrain or charging causing no chatter. The use of lightweight snappy wood keeps the board at a reasonable weight to consider the Stranda Descender for lightweight split mountaineering missions to hold an effective edge on the up and down hill when encountering those boilerplate conditions during a good freeze. The Triax carbon stringers make the board much more torsionally resistant. The shape is what really drew me to the Stranda descender at first. Having a background in freestyle and park I really enjoy boards with a more playful twin feel. The Twin directional shape with the shovel nose and tail, a true camber board with a light 4mm camber and light tip and tail rocker with power bumps. This board has the ultimate combination to tick all those boxes of an ex park rat gone freeride. Playful, charges, twin shape for switch landings, true camber, maximum edge effectiveness during those fast gs carves, support during those big landings, and ability to handle a variety of conditions from breakable crusts, icy faces, to staying afloat in deep powder. Really a quiver killer.

   We spent the ending phase of winter finding powder where we could and testing out the Stranda descender in some steeper terrain. The Satan’s Choice couloir in Kootenay pass really put the test on the steep and tight. Big jump turns on a marginal snow surface and it felt great. The north facing “Shelf line” on Cheops had me put all my trust in the Stranda Descender as this line is a serious no fall zone line traversing above cliffs. Again the performance was incredible, i was so happy with the Descender.

   Then we started to do some longer trips, like the uncommon but close by Ashlu-Elaho divide traverse in the sea to sky coast ranges. I mostly had the unfortunate “opportunity” to ski on the Stranda descender the entire 4 days of the traverse. I Felt very comfortable skiing the Stranda Descender which is super important in a split board for me. In quite challenging terrain and variable conditions, I could maneuver and control the Descender just as I would a set of skis in almost every snow condition. For breakable crust I would switch back to the board as it just handles so much better cutting and breaking through to be able to still put carves in without a heavy catch.

   The toe piece is Centered perfectly for early rise in your tips during kick turns and I was very pleased about this. Comforting to know you don’t have to mess around doing icy steep side hills and making switch backs with ski crampons. The power bumps really help when gripping icy surfaces and trying to make sure your edge holds a firm surface when walking up, riding down or traversing. The Phantom hercules hooks and tip and tail clip system hardware are an easy sell for extra board stability. The cut outs for the skin tail clips are great when hoping for the extra grip for the skin’s tail clip. While lastly The castor bean top sheet and incredibly scenic graphic make this board aesthetically pleasing to look at with the simple black base and small logo tucked in the top corner.

   Over all the Stranda Descender ticked all the boxes and performed exceptionally. I would recommend this board to anyone looking for another option to consider when looking into a premium free ride board that rivals names like Jones or Cardiff on the market!

   Thanks Mats for the incredible experience.

   Jesse S.

5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Ian – April 14, 2021

   Over the past few months I was lucky to test this board out over the course of 10 days of riding with a variety of conditions from powder to ice. I think the challenge in designing a great splitboard is finding the right balance for ascending with ease along with keeping the board playful for the descent. I came to really appreciate the balance the descender found to make this work.

   Hardware
   I’m a big fan of the hardware included on this board. Phantom Hercules hook are great since you don’t have hardware rattling around as you hike up. Voile Tip and tale connectors have the nice thumb handle so that are easy to get on without shredding your gloves. They are also riveted in place, since I have lost countless tip/tale connectors over the years that are attached with screws.

   Ascent
   For the ascent the Descender is stiff under the foot, which is great for the edge hold when side hilling as well as it keeps your foot stable when you are traveling over uneven terrain. I also love the cutouts for the skin tail connectors. With Stranda’s attention to detail it seems like a no brainer, but so many boards and companies don’t include them in their design. One area of improvement I would recommend is adjusting the placement of the inserts for the toe pieces. With the wider baseplate on my Phantom bindings, my front binding was difficult to twist into place. I was blocked by my toe piece on the inside. I feel like the the toe pieces could be placed a few cm back.

   Descent
   This board is amazing on the descent. I just love the combination of the sidecut, flex, shape and power bumps. It keeps the board floating in powder, this board is actually really hard to sink. The Stiffness of the Descender provides a really stable feeling at speed on big and fast descents. The sidecut on this board is a bit more aggressive than my previous board and I really like it. Because of that this board is actually really fun to rip on groomers. The “power bumps” are really effective for better edge hold on icy slopes. We only have 1 edge on a snowboard, so it’s nice to have 4 contact points. I do wish they included the “power bumps” on the inside(split) edge, That is one feature I missed after riding a Jones solution, I feel like it improves edge hold when skinning on a side hill.

   Overall, super fun board. I’ll buy one next season

6. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Leonardo – January 4, 2021

   I received this board early last year to test and I am extremely satisfied with it.

   Ascending with the Descender BC Split is a breeze. It tackles with ease soft snow along with ice crust and variable conditions. In walk mode, the skis have very stable under foot flex which really helps in uphill efficiency along with navigating any steps, roots or holes. Also, the low camber profile works wonders sidehilling giving you as much effective edge hold as you can get.

   Descending the Descender BC Split is a blast. The directional freeride board accels on steeps in powder to variable ice conditions. You can ride tight and technical along with bigger charging turns; the board can handle it. What I was most impressed with is that you can also take it to the resort on groomers and carve very enjoyably. It grips surprising well and the flex and dampness of the board has a great combination as you don’t feel much chatter and it still has pop. It is a fast board with a very grounded feel to it. This board can be your one board quiver.

   Thanks Mats!