_REVIEWS2008-2009_BOARDS

Snowboard Review: 08-09 Endeavor Roots

2008-2009 Endeavor Roots

Location: Whistler, BC

Snow Conditions: Mixture of groomed runs with slushy to hardpacked conditions.

Setup: I rode the Endeavor Roots with my Rome Madison bindings and my Vans Omni Focus boots.

First Impression: I had a lot of time waiting for a friend to get his demo so I was strapped into the board on flat doing ollies and presses with the roots…definitely more fun than I was expecting.

Size: 156cm

Weight: Average weight

Flex: It’s a moderate to stiffer flex all mountain freestyle board. The carbon in the topsheet gives it the stiffer feeling but it feels overall like a more forgiving flex. I was impressed with the handling through slushy and bumpier conditions with the flex. It absorbed them very well and still held an edge.

Turning: The roots has a deeper sidecut so it was easier to initiate turns with and offered up really quick turns. I made some really sharp turns on it and had no problem initiating and holding it into each turn. Long radius turns were fine but I definitely spend more time making short radius quicker turns.

Stable: I found it relatively stable at higher speeds as long as it was groomed runs. Definitely some moments on the choppier conditions with speeds where I didn’t feel as stable but also didn’t feel out of control or that the board was chattering.

Pop: When I was on the flat surfaces, it was really fun to pop ollies. I liked that it was a tad stiffer flex for a park board, but you still had some pop in the tail of the board. I was able to pop some ollie 180’s off the side of runs and no problem with the pop on it.

Switch: I had some fun riding switch with the roots…not only was the flex not different but initiating turns was the same switch as regular. Since I was riding with two others, I was able to ride switch a lot as I waited up for them.

Pipe: I honestly really want to ride this board in the halfpipe. Unfortunately since the demo was at Whistler, there is no halfpipe unless you get over to Blackcomb.

Overall Impression: I was really glad I checked them out and rode an Endeavor. A lot of times at demo’s you get to ride the more popular brands and ignore the smaller companies. This time due to readers wanting Endeavor info, I rode an Endeavor and was stoked on it. Even though the board I was riding was a all mountain freestyle board, it was a fun all mountain freestyle board that I could do everything with. I wish I had more time to spend on it to take it into other arenas of the mountain to really test it’s capabilities. However what I did get was a solid board for the conditions I rode, handled the groomers to bumps with ease and made it fun.

Shay’s Honesty Box: I’d buy this board…

On-snow photos