Arbor Swoon Splitboard Review
| OVERALL RATING 5/5 | $699.99 RETAIL | SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL SNOWBOARD SHOP |
OR BUY THE ARBOR SWOON SPLITBOARD THRU US & SUPPORT GOLD SNOW.
Arbor Swoon Splitboard Review
Luh-luh-luh-look at dem jewel tones. OK, fine, we threw in a wee bit of saturation. But not much, and only because it was a sun-filled day and things got washed out. Still, the hues on the Arbor Swoon splitboard are luscious.
Who Might Ride the Arbor Swoon Splitboard
First. Let’s start with a poem. A haiku, in traditional 5-7-5 form.
dreambabydream: your
frosted wheat treetops / your squint-
lens—woolly bouquet
Being my first real experience on a splitboard, I must say: getting up to get down on the Arbor Swoon splitboard is pure bliss. Not only is the Arbor Swoon simple to snap back together after going uphill, it’s also one-hundred-percent joy on the way back down. And so yeah, I’m starting this Arbor Swoon splitboard review with a poem, as well as with many bows and yesses to the beauty that is this board on snow. All of these things, my dears, are warranted.
““The Swoon split feels alive underfoot and playful... and like the kind of splitboard companion you want whether shuffling uphill or snaking your way back down. Over and over again.””
As far as who might right the Arbor Swoon splitboard? Again, let us turn our currently breathing bodies to the haiku. Feel its center as it caroms, descends, circles us like snowstorm. Which is to say, first and foremost, the women’s specific Arbor Swoon splitboard is a feeling. And that feeling (sorry, newbs—you’ll get there) is for advanced riders—those who can wander out into and among the frosted wheat forests of February, squint into the bellies of storms (greet their cold bouquets of wool and floss), and know that even if the dream for the day takes a backseat to safety, morphs into something “less epic,” then that is good and fine and the opportunity alone to wade into the wild tide of winter is more than enough.
Scrapey (Pow) Saturday on the Arbor Swoon Splitboard.
And so with that… once you’ve acquired some kind of chops (riding prowess and backcountry knowledge), get yourself on a goddamn Arbor Swoon splitboard. The Swoon split feels alive underfoot and playful (yet stiff enough for bigger, choppier, more demanding terrain and lines), and like the kind of splitboard companion you want whether shuffling uphill or snaking your way back down. Over and over again.
Arbor Swoon Splitboard On-Snow Feel
““The Arbor Swoon splitboard holds its fucking own.””
Thanks to a few late-season storms, the majority of my time on the Arbor Swoon splitboard has been spent riding different varietals of powder. Some dry and fresh and full of tannin, some robust and cement-y—much of it untracked, at least for the first lap or two. Needless to say, before staying at home became a reality, I gathered up enough ride-time chi on the Arbor Swoon splitboard to know how that babe feels on everything from fresh pow to chopped up fresh to scrapey Saturday turns after an inch or two atop ice. And you know what? The Arbor Swoon splitboard holds its fucking own.
Prior to getting on the Arbor Swoon splitboard, my rather uninformed notion of splits was one of stiffness, length, and girth (please, do tell me where your mind travels with such attributes). But. With the Arbor Swoon splitboard, I feel like I am riding a slightly stiffer version of what I would normally ride on the lift service side of things (park boards aside). And, for me, that’s a good thing.
““...nimble and sly through the trees...””
Here, I’ll break it down for you. The Arbor Swoon splitboard is: nimble and sly through the trees; medium-stiff in torsional and tip-to-tail flex; sturdy underfoot on both the ascent and descent. So what I’m saying is that despite my long, stiff, girth-filled notions of what a splitboard is, the Arbor Swoon splitboard isn’t any of these things. In fact, it’s quite the opposite, especially when paired with the gorgeously rock-solid Spark R&D Arc splitboard bindings (I tested the two together and the setup was tits). Basically, the split version of the women’s specific Arbor Swoon is exactly what and how I was hoping a splitboard could be. Thanks, Arbor. Just… thanks.
Why the Arbor Swoon Splitboard Might Not Be For You
Going up. Before coming down. Before then going back up and then down, again.
If you don’t venture into the backcountry and you don’t care to, the Arbor Swoon splitboard, or any splitboard for that matter, is most definitely not for you.
Obviously.
If you love the resort and want to stick to that plan (which is great, we love resort riding), and you have no desire to sweat and breathe hard and go uphill before you get the opportunity to then go downhill, you’ll want to skip the Arbor Swoon splitboard and look into the women’s specific Arbor Clovis (a sweet fucking board, with a Gold Snow review coming soon!). Or perhaps a Never Summer Swift, RIDE Psychocandy, or Elevated Surf Craft Minni Fish. Either way, if splitboarding isn’t for you, we have plenty of other resort-oriented sticks to explore.
Why Buy the Arbor Swoon Splitboard, Plus Some Parting Notes
While there are a variety of splitboards out there, including a handful of women’s specific splitboards, there are some things about the construction of the Arbor Swoon splitboard that help set it apart from the rest. In addition to its playful yet sturdy inner spirit, easy-to-use Karakoram UltraClips (the metal shit that holds the board together at the seam), and generous 3-year warranty, the Arbor Swoon split uses (new in 2020) Entropy Bio-Resin. WTF is Entropy Bio-Resin? I don’t exactly know, but I like it. Here’s what Arbor Snowboards has to say about its new EB-R.
“Entropy Bio-Resin is a replacement for traditional petroleum-based resin that doesn’t affect performance or usability. [Its ingredients]… are sourced as co-products or waste products of other industrial processes, and are manufactured employing green chemistry techniques that reduce the carbon footprint of the material by up to 40%”.
So, yeah. Arbor Snowboards (the Swoon split included) does things a little differently when it comes to “ingredients” standards and reduced-waste sourcing. Oh, and they also employ recycled steel edges and Wend Natural Wax. Once again—thanks, Arbor.
Tunes to Ride by With the Arbor Swoon Splitboard
Uhhhm. If Megan Thee Stallion and Beyoncé did a remix of Savage, the result would be similar to what it feels like to bop through trees in fresh pow on an Arbor Swoon splitboard.
Oh, shit! They did the remix! Word. Close them eyes, listen up, and envision your very own booty bop through dem woods.
And for the way up—the yin to the Stallion'’s yang? Let’s go with one of my favorites, Asa-Chang & Junray’s Hana.