A big mountain snowboard for hard chargers in a classic freeride shape, the Rossignol XV is Xavier de la Rue’s ride, so it should be pretty damn good – and we think it is.
The big upswept nose is stiffer than the tail, which is a switch from the norm, but this helps reduce chatter and drives the board through the terrain, especially when it’s choppy.
Stiffer than a stiff thing on a stiff day, if you don’t consider yourself an aggressive rider then give this one a miss. If you can handle it, though, there’s tons of lively feedback that’ll have you charging around the mountain like Xavier himself.
Despite big mountain credibility it’s surprisingly good on the groomers - you can really rail a turn and it’s stable edge to edge thanks to a 60% camber profile and a Magne Traction serrated edge.
