Snowboard Review: 10-11 Arbor Eden
29 Nov, 2010
Location: Mammoth, CA
Snow Conditions: Mixture of hardpacked to icy to softpacked powder.
Setup: I rode the Arbor Eden with my Union bastardized bindings and Vans Veil Boots size 8.
Size: 152cm.
First Impression: Its been a while since I rode camber but it didn’t require any adjustment and was just solid. The first day on the eden was icy death and camber held an edge no problem.
Weight: average
Flex: The eden is right in the middle of the road, it didn’t feel like the cadence which has the park rocker but it wasn’t as stiff as the push. Overall it was middle of the road, medium flex from tip to tail. Torsionally it was really easy to get on edge and initiate the board into turns. The eden is a camber board so nothing crazy in terms of tech but camber has proven to be long lasting.
Turning: Really easy to initiate the board into each turn and features a blended tri-radial sidecut that makes turning super easy on the board without throwing you off balance or bucking you into a turn. The eden handled both short and long radius turns, holding an edge just fine and making it a very consistent ride down the mountain.
Stable: The first day I took out the eden, it was icy death on the mountain. Seriously the runs were just that screeching sound you have come to hate. Luckily the eden held it’s own and reminded me why I do love camber, it holds an edge on the icy death days. I found that it remained stable, never washing out on those conditions. When I took it out on more groomed normal days, it was stable at faster speeds and on better snow. In some powder, I definitely leaned back to ride through but it charged through some pow sections just fine. The smaller size did better than I thought and overall was a consistently good ride when it came to stability.
Pop: I hit one of the smaller jumps in the park but nothing crazy big, the pop was fun and typical camber pop. Its focus is more on the park and mountain which made the board a lot of fun just playing around with, even though it wasn’t reverse camber the camber gave it the stability and good pop.
Switch: The eden is a directional board but I didn’t find it too much of an adjustment when it came to switch riding. It handled quite nicely switch and I felt just as comfortable on it switch as regular.
Overall Impression: The eden was impressive, it was such a good all around board that I could ride it all the time and feel comfortable on it no matter what the conditions were. It was great to be back on camber and nice to have edgehold on the icy day but also be able to charge on the powder day.
Shay’s Honesty Box: It was a really refreshing ride. Not sure if it was the camber or just the overall feel of the eden but it was fun to get out on the mountain with both and enjoy the ride. It handled the whole mountain and I gotta say it’s one of my favorite graphics of the year. It never felt like a 152cm when I rode it either, felt like a bigger board.
Ready to buy? Head over to evo for the Arbor Eden or shop their full line of Arbor snowboards
On Snow Photo
Arbor Eden description
Review Disclosure: I borrowed this board from Arbor Snowboards.
About the author
Shay
From the beginning of time, I was Shannon. From the beginning of snowboarding, I was Shay. From the beginning of online communities, I was Shayboarder. In the end, I’m the writer, photographer, editor, publisher, guru of sorts, product tester, curvy girl, and most importantly the snowboarder behind it all. Follow me on this journey through snowboarding, mountain biking, traveling and fun experiences!
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15 Comments
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November 29, 2010Gorgeous graphics.
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December 02, 2010i feel like the graphics and the attempt at green is whats keeping arbors hype alive… i love the ride of their boards, but i feel like they need to start offering new tech or they’ll get left behind, and i don’t want that!
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December 02, 2010Tooscoops, they do offer new tech. Check out the line this year and look at the system they offer plus the grip tech. I think Arbor’s doing a solid job adjusting to the change in tech with the lineup. They also know which boards to keep camber and which to change.
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December 07, 2010Thanks for the review, Shay. I am excited to try out my Eden this year — but there isn’t much snow around Ottawa yet … I bought last year’s model at a deep discount and I don’t think too much has changed based on the specs. Also, it’s beautiful.
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December 09, 2010
Yessi, definitely a beautiful board. Let me know how you like yours when you get on it!
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December 30, 2010
It’s great! I can’t believe it. It really does feel like I got some of my control back and carving comes a lot more aggressively, a lot more naturally, with the regular camber. Oh, it’s good to be home.
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January 16, 2011
Yessi, Sweet! Great to hear!
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February 22, 2011Hi Shay,
I had a question about this board. Just for background, I am currently riding on a Burton Feelgood V-Rocker (size 151), which I enjoy, but since I ride in the northeast, which is mostly frozen granular, I am thinking about buying another board as a second board. I’m looking for a camber board to contrast the v-rocker. I had a few questions…
Do you think this board is different enough to make a substantial difference in edge hold? I do feel like I get pretty solid edge hold with the v-rocker but I would like to be able to charge through the crud better at times and I don’t feel that I go as fast on the v-rocker.
The board I started on was a K2 moment, which I still have but don’t use. I’m wondering if the Arbor Eden is different enough from the Moment to warrant another purchase, or if I should be looking at something else like the Arbor Push or the Roxy Envi? I would say I’m an intermediate rider who can ride advanced terrain but I don’t ride super fast.
Any help/feedback would be great.
And, your site rocks!
Thanks in advance – kj -
February 24, 2011
KJ, I think you won’t find this board different enough. The push would definitely be more aggressive and a camber option to continue. Roxy envi would be another good choice with the mtx, good edgehold.
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February 24, 2011
KJ — to add my unsolicited two cents:
I bought the Arbor Eden as a secondary board to my Gnu B-Street (banana) and it does the job. I find the banana to be useless on the ice coast, but the Eden does the job well. Much more stable, thanks to the regular camber. I’ll still break out the B-Street on fluffy days.
That being said, I agree with Shay — if you’re aggressive enough to handle the Push, which I don’t think I am, then go for it. I think the stability in that board would serve you better — as in, you would notice more of a difference in stability (in comparison to your current K2 backup). From what I hear, the Push is the ultimate in womens’ planks.
These bananas, eh? Fun, but not so useful on icy days! -
February 28, 2011Hi Shay,
I want to buy a new board which I will use to learn and develop curve turns. I’d like to have a board which I will use as a tool for learning freeride. The board which I am going to buy will probably serve me for many years, therefore I think it should be quite demanding so that I could progress every winter without getting bored
I’m thinking of buying the ENDEAVOUR DIAMOND or one of the ARBOR’s snowboards. Please tell me what you think of the Diamond model as I really fell in love with it If it appears to be only for super advanced riders than I will probably have to go for Arbor.
I’m waiting for your help
Thanks -
March 01, 2011
Yessi, thanks for your input! Awesome to have it on your experiences with the boards as well!
Kin, great question! I haven’t had the chance to try the diamond yet but it’s on my list of boards to try this year. It’s a more aggressive stiffer responsive ride than the eden which is more progressing, developing and forgiving. So really depends on you and how you’ll develop as a rider. If you want a more forgiving option eden will let you handle the mountain and will progress with your riding and the diamond will force you to progress faster since it’s more aggressive, it won’t be as easy on you.
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March 03, 2011
Shay and Yessi,
Thank you both very much for your responses. I think I will keep the Moment for now and maybe look at a Push or Envi next year. (I can’t wait for the reviews! ) I did get to ride an awesome powder day here in the east coast last Friday so that was fun on the v-rocker. Thanks again guys!
