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Bataleon Evil Twin 2021-2022 Snowboard Review

Tested and selected for our top 100 snowboard products of the year: the Bataleon Evil Twin

  • Price: £450 / €550 / $550
  • Category: Park + Jib
  • Sizes: 149, 151, 154, 156w, 157, 159, 159w
  • Flex: 5/10
  • Shape: True Twin
  • Profile: Camber
  • 3D: Yes
  • Base: Sintered

Why we chose the Bataleon Evil Twin Snowboard: It’s a tried and tested platform for rapid freestyle progression, with the chops to take your tricks beyond the park.

A fixture in the Bataleon line since 2003 (damn, that’s nearly 20 years!) the Evil Twin has benefitted from several nips and tucks to keep the kids lusting after it. The 3D tech in particular has come a long way – these days it runs the latest Triple Base Tech including Sidekicks at either end (more on that below) – but at heart it’s the same park-focused rebel it always was, just… badder.

“Your all-mountain freestyle shredder, basically”

MORE INFO:
BATALEON.COM

Who Is The Bataleon Evil Twin For?

For a freestyle deck, the Evil Twin packs pretty aggressive response and will hold its edge impressively, so it’s best suited to riders who aren’t afraid to hit bigger jumps or who like to crank out some turns while the park shapers are having a lie-in. Your all-mountain freestyle shredder, basically.

Shape, Profile and Sidecut

The clue is in the name, here. It’s a true twin shape with identical flex at either end, which makes switch riding a piece of piss. Lengths start at 149 – making it a legit option for some women, as well as rail-rats who want to get techers – and run right up to 159 if you need something with more all-terrain grunt.

Twin 3BT combines a wide flat section in the middle of the board with mellow uplift at the edges that gets more pronounced towards the wide points, where Sidekicks really turn up the bevel factor. The result? Catch-free boardslides, more forgiving landings (especially if you’re spinning), smooth transitions from edge to edge and better float thanks to the hull-like shape. Bataleon have been at this 3D thing for a couple of decades now and trust us when we say that they really have it dialled.

From nose to tail the Evil Twin features a traditional camber that’s moderately pronounced but which won’t buck you off or submarine in the deep stuff thanks to that Triple Base. It gives plenty of snap off the lip and keeps the board feeling way more lively than a typical flat/rockered park stick.

“It’s a true twin shape with identical flex at either end, which makes switch riding a piece of piss”

Construction and Materials

Any board that wants to get airborne on a regular basis will need to be light, and with its ‘Ultra Light’ core the Evil Twin obviously ticks that box. It’s fashioned from a 70/30 blend of paulownia and poplar to deliver featherweight agility. With the help of some precision carpentry they’ve also managed to insert a single carbon ‘SuperTube’ which boosts the board’s rebound i.e. ollie power, without stiffening up the nose, tail or sidecut – so you can still butter and press nicely.

The triax topsheet weave delivers power rapidly into the edges and is beefed up longitudinally with a pair of carbon fibre stringers. All this means you can expect explosive takeoffs and, despite an overall flex that’s in the middle of the range, enough backbone to ensure it won’t buckle during landings. Together with a sintered base to keep you gliding over the slushiest of run-ins, the Evil Twin is one hell of a deck for hitting jumps.

Like all Bataleons, the graphic just pops, and the overall finish straight out of the factory is flawless. Base colours vary a little from board to board since the Evil Twin uses a Flip Flop base to minimise waste; essentially, a black logo on a white backdrop could become a white logo on a black background for the next example off the production line.

“Few freestyle boards can boast the pedigree of the Evil Twin”

Roundup

Few freestyle boards can boast the pedigree of the Evil Twin. It’s been a regular sight at every terrain park for so long it’s easy to forget that it’s still one of the most exciting designs on the market, especially with the tweaks Bataleon have made down the years. If you’re looking for something that will turbocharge your kicker and rail game, but which is powerful enough to keep up with your mates riding directional sticks on the piste, then we can’t think of a better choice. Hence, like a comeback from Dr. Drake Ramoray (or is it Hans?) the Evil Twin is back in the 100, baby.

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