# Nitro SubZero 2010 Review



## twin89 (Jan 21, 2009)

Location: Snow Summit and Bear Mtn CA.

Conditions: packed powder, but got a little slushy towards 1 or so, bluebird.

Setup: Ridden with L/XL Union Sierra Contact SLs and Burton Freestyle boots (10.5)

First Impression: Wow this board is flexy, this is also my first ever ride on a rocker board so i thought the shape of the gull wing camber looked pretty cool and i spent a min or two putting it on the ground and spinning it lol.

Size: 152cm

Weight: Pretty light, but just a tad heaver than my 148 stairmaster, prob just cause it is 152 compared to 148.

Flex: I don't think i can stress this enough; it is very very flexy both longitudinally and torsionally, and i am a light rider, 6'0 and 140 lbs. on my stairmaster i was terrible with presses and they prob looked like i was trying my hardest to press and i could prob only get a few inches off a box, but with the sub zero, i enjoyed having my nose or tail clearly off the box and i didn't have to put much effort into it.

Turning: 

Since this was my first ride on a rocker board i decided to take it easy on the first few runs and hit up a long mellow green to get used to this new camber type. The gull wing camber really threw me for a trip! i have read so much about rocker boards being "catch free" and really playful and having all the control between your feet instead of outside the bindings, and all of this was true! i just had to experience it for myself. The first few turns were a little shaky cause on this board the turn initiates like a second later than i was used to as it is initiated between your feet rather than outside the bindings. Once i got used to turning and riding with the rocker after a few runs i was having a blast just riding. It is really amazing at how hard it is to catch an edge, i don't know if it is just this board, but my impression is that rocker boards are VERY forgiving and i now know why they are loved so much in the freestyle community. The side cut is a little odd on this one cause it has a very small radius in the middle and a large one on the tips. This prob makes the board less hooky at the tip and tail, so when you get the board on edge and start to really use the side cut the board can really fling you into some tight turns once you engage the inner side cut. The side cut is going to take some getting used to for me as i am used to riding radial side cuts.

Stability: 

The board was actually more stable than I expected it to be as it is prob the softest board I have ever hand flexed. I never felt out of control going fast, and I bombed a few runs just to test it out and the board handles speed pretty well. I just prefer my o-matic celebrity for high speeds, I feel like camber just can grip in a way that rocker can’t, they celebrity is also much stiffer. If you are looking to bomb runs on this board, it can do it, however there are better boards for the job. This board really excels in the park, and can handle all mtn. riding, but it won’t be the best for high speeds.

Pop: 

I have not ridden any other rocker boards so all I can really say is that it has less pop than my stairmaster, but it does pop pretty well. I feel I just have to load up the tail a little more, but the pop is much smoother than my stairmaster as it was pretty snappy, all I can really say about this board is that it is smooth in terms of pop, if anyone knows what I mean haha.

Switch: 

It is a twin board so that pretty much sums it up, but I did ride much better switch on this board than any other board, but that is just due to the rocker.

Overall Impression:

ROCKER IS AMAZING! I can’t count the number of times the rocker on this board saved me from catching an edge as I was trying more new stuff in the park I really wouldn’t feel comfortable trying on my stairmaster, but I felt much more safe on this board. Rocker is really great for if you are feeling lazy and don’t want to have to concentrate on riding so much. The board was actually really hard to skate on. I can go down a mellow green one footed on my stairmaster, but I could hardly turn this board one footed. I think it is a combo of the beveled base (raised edges between the feet) and the rocker that makes it so that when the board is flat, there is almost no edge contact. I just need to get used to skating on it. This board was soo much fun for me, as it takes very little effort to butter. This board is EASILY the most fun to ride out of everything I have ridden. I rode the board from 8:30 am to around 9 pm with about an hour lunch, and I loved every minute of it. All this said, I think the snowboarding world has found another rocker convert. 

Questions are welcome! =)


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## phile00 (Jan 7, 2009)

Great review. I have the Sub Pop. I was trying to sell it because I have two other boards, but it is a super fun board. You should try it in powder. Despite a perfectly centered stance, it's super easy, and a lot of fun. 

The edges were razor sharp from the factory, so I detuned the crap out of it, and surprisingly it remained stable bombing some runs. Obviously not my first or even 5th choice for a board to bomb on, but it worked.

I never rode it in chop/moguls but I imagine it would be a train wreck.


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## FLuiD (Jul 6, 2009)

I liked the ride on mine (152 Sub Pop) but the inserts were drilled off and Nitro was retarded about it so F them! 

The review is good but just the switch from camber to rocker is a big change. To be fair you would have to compare it to something more similar. Good work though and good to see you liked it. Are your inserts drilled true center?


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## phile00 (Jan 7, 2009)

FLuiD said:


> I liked the ride on mine (152 Sub Pop) but the inserts were drilled off and Nitro was retarded about it so F them!
> 
> The review is good but just the switch from camber to rocker is a big change. To be fair you would have to compare it to something more similar. Good work though and good to see you liked it. Are your inserts drilled true center?


Oh shit, I forgot about this. I'm gonna check and see if mine are centered too. Based on how it rode, I'd say I got lucky and mine were centered.


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## twin89 (Jan 21, 2009)

FLuiD said:


> I liked the ride on mine (152 Sub Pop) but the inserts were drilled off and Nitro was retarded about it so F them!
> 
> The review is good but just the switch from camber to rocker is a big change. To be fair you would have to compare it to something more similar. Good work though and good to see you liked it. Are your inserts drilled true center?


yeah, cause im not sure what is different cause of the rocker or just a characteristic of the board haha. but yeah i will have to demo another rocker board and update this one then.

I got the SubZero, and not the SubPop (the late release edition) cause i heard about the off center inserts and wanted to avoid it. I measured mine when i took it out of the bag and they are centered, i think they fixed the insert issue for the actual 2009-10 model release.



phile00 said:


> I never rode it in chop/moguls but I imagine it would be a train wreck.


Haha, yeah i don't think that would be very fun seeing as i am terrible at ridding moguls lol


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## Enigmatic (Feb 6, 2009)

No way, I was just testing out my new sub-zero at Bear this weekend too! I was riding on Saturday.

I got the 155. Pretty sure its centered, got out the tape-measure and it looked good on each end. 

Your review is pretty much spot on to what I was going to say. Definitely a super fun board. 

Takes a little getting used though. I found coming off a Burton Custom, I had a big tendency to over-press and eat heavy shit on small tricks. I just gotta get used to putting minimal effort into my presses now. But my spins got a lot better with this board though, I dk if thats cause of the board or just because I was stoked and more down to try harder. Either way, I'm glad I got this stick.


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## twin89 (Jan 21, 2009)

haha keep an eye out for my set-up at bear Enigmatic, i will be there as much as possible week of the 22cnd.

I will watch for a 155 one haha.


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## Guest (Aug 27, 2010)

I read somewhere that this board breaks easily, is that true?

Also: do you guys think I can strap my Burton bindings on the Nitro SubZero?

Thanks!


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## Nivek (Jan 24, 2008)

I've had 2 hard seasons on mine, not broke yet. With a 4x4 disc your Burtons will fit.


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## twin89 (Jan 21, 2009)

mine has held up so far, even showing less signs of wear than my other boards at the same age, the top sheet seems to not get chipped as much, it feels like better topsheet material =)

yes, as nivek said, burton bindings will fit if they have 4x4 discs


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## sumo28 (Nov 4, 2009)

Just wanted to say thanks for the review! My previous board was also a stairmaster so this helped a lot. This board is SO much funnn!! If I see it on sale in the future in the other graphic design I want to get another.

I took mine out to Utah and the end of last season and fortunately we got hit hard with pow! i hit up snowbird, solitude ... brighton i think? and canyons. all pow days and all epic. It was really fun in steeps and maneuvering through trees... so playful and so soft a board - i had a lot of fun showing off its flex. I had to really work going through chop but it was fun. Had problems keeping up speed in the untracked at snowbird on the biggest pow day. 

love this board! the pow was FUNNN but i'm actually looking forward to playing around with it on the east now


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## twin89 (Jan 21, 2009)

sumo28 said:


> Just wanted to say thanks for the review! My previous board was also a stairmaster so this helped a lot. This board is SO much funnn!! If I see it on sale in the future in the other graphic design I want to get another.
> 
> I took mine out to Utah and the end of last season and fortunately we got hit hard with pow! i hit up snowbird, solitude ... brighton i think? and canyons. all pow days and all epic. It was really fun in steeps and maneuvering through trees... so playful and so soft a board - i had a lot of fun showing off its flex. I had to really work going through chop but it was fun. Had problems keeping up speed in the untracked at snowbird on the biggest pow day.
> 
> love this board! the pow was FUNNN but i'm actually looking forward to playing around with it on the east now


Great to hear!!, i just recently rode 2 days at snow summit, and they have really poor coverage, so twice i heard the dreaded *board going over rock sound* only to discover there were only a few nicks on the bottom on my base/edge so i'm still impressed with this board, it really is too much fun haha


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