Bataleon She W Review
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Bataleon She W Review
Bataleon She W. Post-shred, in repose.
Who Might Ride the Bataleon She W Snowboard
The Bataleon She W is the kind of high-end park board that jibbers’ dreams are made of. Truly. In addition to offering stability on landings and takeoffs (I don’t do anything big—mostly mini to small to small-medium), not to mention the kind of flex you can really lean and lock into without losing it, the Bataleon She W also dons a sweet, retro-ish top sheet graphic—one that instantly drums up images of moms power walking in fresh New Balances. Really, at its heart, the Bataleon She W is a charmer of a ride that feels responsive and just looks downright dope.
““Lively, lithe, and full of pep, the Bataleon She W is adept at most any endeavor that centers on creativity and playfulness.””
Between its work ethic and physique, not to mention its shape, ride feel, and overall aesthetic, the She W exceeds expectations (not sure I had any) from every single angle. And if you’re like me, and a good frolic is high on your list of snowboarding priorities (mostly in the park, but all over the mountain works, too)—playing h-a-r-d, that is—then the Bataleon She W just might be your new gf.
Lively, lithe, and full of pep, the Bataleon She W is adept at most any endeavor that centers on creativity and playfulness. To parse that out: the She W is an ideal board for the perpetually active, present progressive -ing verb tense (yeah, I’m a sucker/nerd for active verbs). Riding, landing, tricking switch. Buttering, tweaking, bonking, spinning. Sliding rails, pressing boxes, and tapping car hoods. Tapping stumps. Dipping into gullies in search of natural side-hits. More pressing. Lots of popping. Some locking. You know, -ing shit.
And so, park mamacitas and/or womxn who treat the entire mountain as if it were one giant park (which it is, obvs), the Bataleon She W is for you. And you alone. Not sure about Bataleon’s 3BT? Or what the fuck 3BT even stands for? Read on, sisters. We got you.
Bataleon She W On-Snow Feel
If you’ve never ridden a Bataleon snowboard, let alone the Bataleon She W, you might not be familiar with the company’s proprietary Triple Base Technology (3BT). Translated onto a board, 3BT essentially looks like a spoon shape in the nose and tail. Translated onto your on-snow experience, 3BT says and does quite a bit more than you might think. Or at least that’s what Bataleon says, and I kinda believe them. Not just because they say it or because of the marketing efforts built around their 3BT or because I’m drinking the Kool-Aid, but rather because I’ve ridden a Bataleon (the Magic Carpet, to be precise) for about three years and I have found it, and its 3BT, to perform gloriously. Especially in terms of its versatility and ability to support a one-board quiver.
““...with the Bataleon She W you can just lean over and let it hang. Thanks to its soft (not a noodle) to medium-soft flex, pressing and buttering into the She W feels so damn good.” ”
Juicy-juicy. Bataleon She W.
Years ago (before Gold Snow was ever a thing), after moving to the PNW and deciding that I wanted a board that could excel in the park as well as through powder, I researched the shit out of shit and arrived at the Magic Carpet. For several seasons, that thing bestowed upon me many a joyous hour of riding (park and powder and everything else). Fast forward to the Bataleon She W and its true TWIN 3BT, and I am still a very satisfied snow camper.
Whether pushing into the tip or tail, with the Bataleon She W you can just lean over and let it hang. Thanks to its soft (not a noodle) to medium-soft flex, pressing and buttering into the She W feels so damn good. The balance point is, how do you say… peachy. And the torsional flex, again not noodle-y, just seems to feel, dare I say, perfect? Sure, why not, we’ll go with perfect for now.
According to Bataleon, here’s (partly) why :
“The base uplift angle is mellow becoming more dramatic at the widest areas of the board. It offers a loose jib feel while the wide centerbase makes it stable on takeoffs, landings, in presses and at high speeds. Designed for terrain parks and overall freestyle riding.”
Cool. So what you're saying, dear Bataleon, is that all my mouthing off about presses and balance points and stability on the She W actually has some credibility to it beyond my own personal opinion. Or at least some science and technological engineering to back it up.
Neat. I believe in science and (some) technology. That shit’s not fake news. And neither is this other verbiage from Bataleon:
“3BT shaping gives every board universal benefits. The hull-like shape of a jib board will still float better than a flat one in pow.”
Amen, brothers. Preach. Ok-ok, the Bataleon She W is not going to be your pow stick (I mean, it’s a true-twin park board), but if you wanted a high-end park board that’s a savage in the tp but that could also keep it up in some inches of fresh if you really wanted it to, the She W is your grrrl.
Why the Bataleon She W Women’s Snowboard Might Not Be For You
I see you over there, lookin’ my way. I see you and I like you
Plain and simple, if your riding style and on-snow proclivities are not park-centric or park-minded or even remotely driven by an incessant search for natural jibs and side hits, the Bataleon She W probably isn’t the most optimal board for you. That’s ok, though. There are plenty of other sticks in the frozen sea that are bound to speak your love language. Like, for instance, maybe the K2 Cold Shoulder or the Never Summer Proto Type Two. Or even one of the other women’s snowboards from Bataleon that we’re set to review come next season’s snow (they’re seriously gorgeous, and we can’t wait to rally around on them).
Why Buy the Bataleon She W Snowboard, Plus Some Parting Notes
After riding a Bataleon Magic Carpet for years, I had a feeling I'd be into the more park-specific women's She W. I wasn't wrong. Like Little Simz says, this thing is a boss in a fucking dress. It performs without pause and is a joy to ride, in and out of the park.
And you know what, even though shit is still really fucked (I’m talking pandemic here, because it’s May and life as we know it has been forever altered—for so many, in so many ways, and a lot more for certain demographics than for others), this past Friday the governor of Oregon started in on phase one of a statewide reopen. Yes, this reopening is, in my strong opinion, far too premature. But/and, it allowed Mt Bachelor to open up for one week. This week. For 500 of its pass holders each day. With a concert-ticket-style registration system that opened up at 6pm each night (translation: at 5:59pm your palms are sweating as you repeatedly hit refresh like the Atari master you are; you promise to take out anyone in your household who dares use the internet between 5:55 and 6:10pm—at the jugular, to be clear you will take them out at the jugular).
While I feel conflicted/elated/weird about such an opening, I’m not gonna lie: I sure as fuck tried for a spot this past Sunday, and got one. On Tuesday morning, I headed up to Bachelor—the Bataleon She W, my Deeluxe Team ID Lara boots, and some peanut butter-filled pretzels in tow—and had the privilege of getting to ride lifts and snow one last time. Face masks were required and enforced, lift lines were set up to ensure six feet of distance at all times, and only two people per quad was the loading deal.
While it felt surreal to be there, to get to be there, and while I’m still processing it all, Bachelor did a surprisingly superb job of ensuring and enforcing the whole social distancing thing. They took it seriously, and I commend them for that. They did not have to reopen the mountain for a week. They also did not have to limit the 500 daily spots to folx who already hold season passes (they could have opened it up to ticket purchases and made money, but they didn’t). Like I said, they did a surprisingly superb job with it all.
And then shit got all Miracle on 34th Street and it started to snow. In mid-May. And I stayed out there, lapping the single open lift, until almost everyone else had gone home and staff started to pull ropes and call last chair. And it was snowing (did I mention it was snowing?) and for a brief afternoon I made a ritual out of a few side hits, some drippy woods, a weird drop. A stump tap and the sweep of a lift finding me again. The whir of that lift. The wind.
And the ritual was a salve and it had a rough-sapling sweetness to it and it was everything right then. The whole world. All the conflicted feelings and the surreality and the freedom. All the things I cannot comprehend or fathom the reasons for, wrapped into something I don’t need to understand.
Tunes to Ride by With the Bataleon She W Snowboard
I’m pairing up the Bataleon She W with Little Simz’ Boss. Give a listen, you’ll see why.