By: Elliot

Board Model and Year: Atomic Alibi 2009

Board Size: 156

Age: 25

Riding Style: All mountain

Pros – Nice flex and pop to the board. Floats a lot better in powder than I expected, especially since it’s not a wide board. Pretty fast for a board in this price range, and it handles excellently (probably the best handling board I’ve ridden – if the terrain is good, see cons below).

Cons – the edge, it kind of sucks. On powder and ungroomed terrain you won’t notice it. On packed powder (as long as it’s still powder) it probably won’t bother you. On hard packed or icey terrain, you’ll be pissed. It just doesn’t respond well here and the edge will give out if you make a hard turn. Also the board is NOT durable. After day 3, I noticed some big scratches/gashes in the base and the edge already needed to be sharpened. And I wasn’t doing anything crazy, just normal riding. Top sheet was also chipping away. Either Atomics QC department snoozed on this one, or they just don’t use good materials.

Final Thoughts: Overall it’s a good board and a moderate to advanced rider will be happy. West coast riders will find a lot to like about it, it’s handles powder nicely and it turns very well (especially good in the glades). East coast riders won’t be so pleased, since the edge won’t hold well on hard packed runs. Overall stability is a question mark at high speeds. But it’s not a very expensive board either (I paid $225 for mine), so overall you’re getting a little more than you’re paying for. Don’t expect it to last forever though, after 1 season of moderate use (no cliffs) it’s showing the mileage.