Nitro Snowboards T1.5
A hands-on look at both limited edition 2013 Hyped! and 2014 all mountain models
While a mild winter seems to be leaving most regions with a lackluster snowpack this year, the Northwest was blessed with a heavy snowfall over the holidays, providing a more than ample range of terrain to test the limited edition 2013 T1.5 Hyped! and 2014 T1.5 from Nitro snowboards. To get a feel for the twin tip, all mountain board we jumped on both this and next season’s models, with positive results all around.
Washington’s generous snowfall kept us out of bounds and off the hardpack where we found the T1.5’s stiff and responsive personality react positively to both tracked out and deep snow. While many companies tout the benefits of wacky camber variations, for the T1.5 Nitro stuck with standard camber, adding stability through a poplar wood Powercore II, horizontal fiberglass Pop Band and Tri-Lite directional laminate fibers.
To adress the all mountain/park board label we also took a few laps in the park while in Oregon with ThirtyTwo. Here we found the Whiplash Core—which reduces board thickness between the feet—to provide plenty of pop and impact-ready RailKiller edges to hold up to plenty of abuse. These innovative features helped the T1.5 earn the prestigious TransWorld Good Wood label earlier this season.
Although we’d like to report a significant difference between the 2013 and 2014 models aside from graphics and a slightly stiffer core profile in the 2014 model, the two seemed to ride quite similarly—which is to say we enjoyed both. The 2013 Hyped! edition builds its graphic from screenshots of the Nitro team video by the same name released earlier this year, whereas the 2014 model harkens back to the typical T1.5 design with a subdued graphic dominated by brand’s signature typeface. Keeping boot to board was the Raiden Zero, a flexible binding that offered plenty of stability and range of motion.
While you’ll have to wait for next season to get your hands on the 2014 T1.5, and the limited edition T1.5 Hyped! seems to be nearly sold out—but may be found online with some serious searching skills—the 2013 T1.5 standard edition is currently available online from Altrec for $420. The Zero binding can be found at EVO online for $210. Visit Nitro online for more information on all models and keep an eye on CH for more snowboard gear coverage coming later this week.
Images by Eddie Grams and Graham Hiemstra
