Snowboarders love performing tricks on the mountain. Tricks are satisfying to do and look super cool. Freestyle is a massive part of snowboarding, and the number of tricks seems to be endless. You can perform tricks in the air, on boxes, rails, and other features. Alternatively, you can jib around the mountain, impressing onlookers. But what snowboards are best for tricks?
The best snowboards for tricks have to be maneuverable and fun. But they need to be durable enough to take the punishment of hard landings and buttering. Therefore, we recommend the Never Summer Proto Slinger Snowboard for its versatility and entertaining ride characteristics. However, the Capita Ultrafear Snowboard will be the easiest on your pocket.
With this in mind, we have compiled a list of our favorite snowboards for tricks. We have based a decision on how easy they are to jib, maneuverability, versatility, tech, and price.
The Best Snowboards For Tricks
- Ride Twinpig Unisex Snowboard
- Capita Ultrafear Snowboard (Budget Buy)
- Never Summer Proto Slinger Snowboard (Top Pick)
- YES Jackpot Snowboard
- GNU Head Space Snowboard
Compare Top Snowboards For Tricks
| Snowboard | Overall Score | Bottom Line | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
 Ride Twinpig | 76 | Versatile and great for jibbing | Check Out On Amazon |
 Capita Ultrafear | 76 | 
Easy and predictable | Check Out On Amazon |
 Never Summer Proto Slinger | 78 | 
Easy jib snowboard that’s surprisingly versatile | Check Out On Amazon |
 YES Jackpot | 66 | An all-mountain snowboard with a freestyle bias | Check Out On Amazon |
 GNU Head Space | 78 | Make the mountain your playground | Check Out On Amazon |
Detailed Analysis Of The Best Snowboards For Tricks
Tricks are easier to perform on short and flexible snowboards. The short length makes spinning easier, and the flexibility makes them forgiving, making landings more manageable.
1. Ride Twinpig Unisex Snowboard
Overall Score: 76
Advantages
- Versatile and lots of fun
- Excellent for jibbing
- It looks after you when you’re pushing yourself
Disadvantages
- It doesn’t perform that well in powder
Jibbing
The Ride Twinpig is an excellent snowboard for all kinds of tricks, especially jibbing. It is a directional twin volume-shifted snowboard, so you would ride it shorter than regular snowboards.
If you’re unaware about the specifics of a directional snowboard, do check out my article on the pros and cons of directional snowboard.
The extra width makes the Twinpig stable when jibbing and pressing the nose and tail.
This snowboard is easy to press, and the twin shape makes it predictable. Buttering is doable with some effort, but once you’ve initiated the trick, it feels excellent and encourages you to get creative.
Maneuverability
The Ride Twinpig is an aggressive snowboard, but you’ll find initiating turns easy. If you’re unfamiliar with wide snowboards, the extra width may take some getting used to.
However, once you’ve built up momentum, you’ll find transitioning from edge to edge pretty easy.
If wide snowboards are something that you want to dig into, do check out my recommendations in the article best wide snowboards.
Versatility
Ride has built the Twinpig to be an all-mountain snowboard that leans towards freestyle. Therefore, you can bomb around, treating the mountain as a snowpark.
You’ll like how well it performs everywhere, but riding deep powder requires speed and effort to maintain float.
My article on how to snowboard faster can help you with the speed part!
Tech
Ride is constantly developing new tech to incorporate into their snowboards.
The Twinpig is loaded with innovations, such as the hybrid camber profile, which makes it incredibly stable and provides lots of traction when you’re on an edge.
This is enhanced by the quadratic side cut, while the sintered base runs fast and is durable.
Price
Even though the Ride Twinpig is a pricy, high-end snowboard, it is good value for money. This is because it is highly versatile, doing the job of several snowboards.
However, you’d benefit from having an additional snowboard that performs better in powder for deep days.
2. Capita Ultrafear Snowboard
Overall Score: 76
Advantages
- Very forgiving
- High level of predictability
- Excellent for pulling tricks all over the place
Disadvantages
- Doesn’t perform well on uneven terrain or ice
- Its carving abilities are limited
Jibbing
The Ultrafear is an excellent snowboard for jibbing around, especially buttering.
This is thanks to its predictable nature and medium flex rating. You’ll find it easy to press the nose and tail and have fun on features in the park.
Maneuverability
The maneuverability of the Capita Ultrafear makes everything easy. We like how agile and playful it is at low speeds and how easy it is going from edge to edge.
The twin shape and its forgiveness make riding switch predictable and manageable. The only downside is that it doesn’t carve very well, as it becomes chattery while carving at high speeds.
However, turning initiation is easy when you dial the speed down, and the edges are catch-free.
Versatility
We like how versatile the Capita Ultrafear is, but it performs best on features in the snowpark. You can use it to play all over the mountain, but this is not where its talents lie.
Neither would it make a good powder snowboard, but this isn’t what it’s designed for.
Tech
Capita has loaded the Ultrafear up with lots of tech. So much so it has won the Transworld Good Wood Award three times. You can expect a high-end core that gives the Ultrafear lots of pop and power.
It also has cork embedded into the edges to dampen vibrations, giving you a smoother ride.
As this snowboard is made for tricks, its construction gives your ollies an immense amount of power to pop on and off those park features.
The construction is also incredibly robust to cope with the punishment of park riding.
Price
Capita does a great job of keeping the prices of their boards down, and they have managed to stay true to form with the Ultrafear.
The lower price of this board means you can add it to your quiver for freestyle days. However, if you only ride in the park, the Ultrafear could be the only board you’ll ever need.
3. Never Summer Proto Slinger Snowboard (One of the best snowboards for jibbing)
Overall Score: 78
Advantages
- Lots of fun to ride
- Super easy to jib
- A freestyle snowboard that allows you to pull tricks anywhere
Disadvantages
- Not great in powder
Jibbing
If you’re looking for the ideal snowboard for jibbing, the Never Summer Proto Slinger should be on your shortlist.
You’ll love how easy it is to do presses and butter, and the low swing weight allows you to spin effortlessly in the air and on the ground.
This freestyle ability comes from its super soft flex rating. It is incredibly forgiving, allowing you to push your freestyle riding to new levels.
Maneuverability
The forgiving nature translates to the Proto Slinger’s turning ability too. You can turn this snowboard at slow speeds with hardly any effort.
It also transitions from edge to edge just as easily. It makes short, and sharp carve turns lots of fun, which also makes carving into kickers more precise.
However, long, drawn-out carves are not as fun as the board’s softness causes chatter when charging hard.
Versatility
Even with the incredibly soft flex rating, the Proto Slinger has a lot of versatility. It isn’t a great powder board, but it will do the job if you want to get first tracks before heading to the park in the afternoon.
The Never Summer Proto Slinger performs best when you spin off jumps, side hits, and also when jibbing and buttering.
Advanced freestyle riders may find it too flexible for big jumps and hard landings, but everyone else will love it.
Tech
You can expect some great tech in the Never Summer Proto Slinger, and its excellent features make it one of the best snowboards for tricks.
For example, its wood core is sandwiched by Carbon VXR, Bi-Lite Fiberglass, and STS Pre-tensioned Fiberglass laminates.
It also has a Co-Extruded Polymer top sheet that adds to the Proto Slinger’s durability.
Price
The Never Summer Proto Slinger is quite expensive for a freestyle board. But its versatility makes up for the higher price, making it better value for money.
Also, the durability and fun factor will make you want to ride it for many winters to come, especially as it will help you progress as a freestyle rider.
However, if you progress to bigger jumps, you may want a stiffer snowboard that will look after you more on heavy landings.
4. YES Jackpot Snowboard
Overall Score: 66
Advantages
- Excellent in the park, but you can ride it everywhere
- A super fun snowboard for tricks
- Quite forgiving
Disadvantages
- It’s not a great snowboard for riding powder
Jibbing
The YES Jackpot is an excellent snowboard for jibbing and buttering, even though it has no rocker in the tail and nose due to its cambered profile.
It also has quite a stiff flex rating, meaning it takes a little more effort to press, but it feels great once you’re in the correct position.
Maneuverability
The YES Jackpot is stiffer than other freestyle snowboards, so you’ll find it less maneuverable at slow speeds. However, it still has a good level of agility and easy turn initiation.
You’ll like its snappiness and how well it holds an edge, especially for a freestyle snowboard. The Jackpot’s nimbleness allows you to blast through mogul fields and actually enjoy riding bumps.
The stiffness also means it’s possible to chop the top off bumps in the snow, making it great for aggressive riders.
Versatility
YES has designed the Jackpot as a freestyle snowboard, but you can certainly use it for all-mountain riding.
You’ll love it if you consider yourself a park rider who likes to charge around the whole mountain, lay out carves, and have a blast.
However, it may be too aggressive for beginner riders. It is best suited to intermediate to advanced snowboarders who like to jump off everything in sight.
It works OK in powder, but you’ll get an achy back leg when the snow gets deep.
If you’re interested in more intermediate snowboards, I suggest you check out my recommendations for the best intermediate snowboards.
Tech
The YES Jackpot features the MidBIte shape, which gives the board a narrow waist and wide nose and tail. This shape provides stability on landings and allows you to make tight turns.
The core is made entirely from poplar, which gives the board consistent flex and predictability. It is also strong and lightweight.
YES has given the Jackpot a sintered base with excellent wax retention and lots of glide and durability.
Price
YES has priced the Jackpot in accordance with its rivals, so it is just about right for a board like this.
However, before you buy, make sure it meets all your requirements for what you want to do on the mountain.
It is just versatile enough for all-mountain riding, but don’t expect it to perform in powder as a proper all-mountain snowboard.
5. GNU Head Space Snowboard (Best for getting creative wherever you ride)
Overall Score: 78
Advantages
- Incredibly agile
- A fast and durable base
- Versatile
Disadvantages
- It’s expensive
- Doesn’t perform well in deep powder
Jibbing
The Gnu Head Space has a hybrid camber profile and a medium flex rating.
Therefore, buttering and jibbing are pretty easy, as you can hold presses and mess about on boxes without much effort. The low swing weight makes spinning lots of fun, too.
Maneuverability
You will like how agile the Head Space is at low speeds, making setting up for jumps and tricks much more manageable.
It carves exceptionally well, especially on tight turns. You’ll benefit from this when riding into side hits, but long, wide carves are not as fun, thanks to the tight sidecut radius..
Versatility
The Gnu Head Case is a fantastic snowboard for tricks, and it really allows you to get creative on side hits and in the snow park.
It is also the type of snowboard that lets you turn the whole mountain into your park, as you’ll want to jump off everything in sight.
However, its carving ability means you can also pick up some speed on-piste. The only thing that lets it down is its ability to ride powder.
But the Head Case is not meant to be a powder board; you’ll need something else for the deep stuff.
Tech
Gnu has packed all sorts of tech into the Head Space, including the C3 hybrid profile and Magne-Traction. The aspen and paulownia core provides lots of pop while being durable and lightweight.
The base is nice and fast but also tough enough to withstand heavy park days. As with most Gnu snowboards, the Head Space has an asymmetrical design.
This design makes the heel edge shorter than the toe edge, compensating for imbalances in our physiology which affects edge-to-edge transitions.
Price
You have to expect such a high-performing snowboard to come with a hefty price tag. But the Gnu Head Space is incredibly fun to ride and versatile.
Therefore, you’ll be glad you didn’t opt for an alternative just because it was cheaper.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking to perform tricks on your snowboard, then these options are some of the best available for you to purchase right now.
Not only will they enhance your freestyle riding skills, but they also allow for creativity no matter where you ride them.
However, before making a purchase, it’s important to have a clear idea of the type of riding you want to do.
While some of these snowboards are designed specifically for the park, others offer the flexibility to perform tricks in other areas of the resort.