For the 18th year, snowboarders from around the country who we hand selected based on skill and board knowledge joined us for our annual Good Wood snowboard test. In years past, both tests have been conducted at the same location. This time around we mixed things up and traveled to Carinthia Parks at Mount Snow, Vermont, for the park board test, then to Aspen Mountain in Colorado for the all-mountain portion. We sought more specific terrain for each test, even though it meant extra time in planes and not-so-spacious rental cars. This is Good Wood, and we know test results determine where hard-earned cash is spent.

Our 30 testers were exhausted at the end of each day, but all were happy to contribute. Most grew up following Good Wood and selecting their own weapons based on test results, so they took pride knowing the extent of their efforts. It’s not easy to choose the perfect board. There are so many widths and camber profiles to choose from, fractional differences in taper and sidecut, and boards with tons of flex but lacking stability or vice versa. Those are just a few aspects of board selection we’ll help you sift through. And to simplify things further, we’ll use minimal technical jargon. No time to decipher all the mumbo jumbo. It’s time to shred.