Construction and Materials

Take a deep breath, because the list of ingredients in this thing is loooong. It all starts with the core. Bataleon call it Super Ultra Light. We call it 80% Swiss paulownia, 20% poplar, and 100% fire. They’ve infused it with their trademark Air Ride additive to dampen any vibrations, and milled in carbon fibre tubes towards the edges for good measure. Not only that, there are pre-cured carbon stringers at the tail and regular carbon stringers at the nose, both of which stiffen the tips and dampen the ride still further – with just a bit more snap in the tail to help drive through turns.

If that sounds like quite enough carbon for one board, you’d be wrong. The layup incorporates carbon fibre directly into the triax fibreglass weave for the ultimate in powerful response. So that’s carbon, carbon, carbon, and carbon. Anything else? Well, yes. The Thunderbolt caps it all off with the fastest base in the Bataleon line, essentially the same P-tex used by downhill skiers in spandex.

“The Thunderbolt caps it all off with the fastest base in the Bataleon line, essentially the same P-tex used by downhill skiers in spandex”

Roundup

Blink and there’s a very good chance you will miss this snowboard. Partly cos it’s black. Partly cos it’s so damned rapid. And partly cos it’s rare – this is a limited edition money-is-no-object affair that comes in its own special sleeve. If you have the desire to go downhill very fast – and the pockets deep enough – then stand-up sledges do not come more exclusive than this.