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Snowboards

Bataleon Thunder Bolt 2021-2022 Snowboard Review

  • Price: £720 / €830 / $830
  • Category: Freeride + Powder
  • Sizes: 156, 158, 159w
  • Flex: 7/10
  • Shape: TDirectional
  • Profile: Camber
  • 3D: Yes
  • Base: Sintered
MORE INFO:
BATALEON.COM

There’s a place in every snowboard manufacturer’s line for a stealth bomber. We’re talking about a model that deploys all the latest tech, a scintillatingly-fast sintered base and more carbon than the average F1 team. Oh, and it’s got to be black. Boards like these will be expensive, of course, but that’s the whole point – so are stealth bombers. Introducing the Bataleon Thunder Bolt.

Damn, it even sounds badass.

“We’re talking about a model that deploys all the latest tech, a scintillatingly-fast sintered base and more carbon than the average F1 team”

MORE INFO:
BATALEON.COM

Who Is The Bataleon Thunder Bolt For?

Realistically, this isn’t a board that jib kids are gonna be throwing down handrails. Largely cos they can’t afford it. This is a limited edition freeride weapon for men with big balls and big wallets.

Shape, Profile and Sidecut

Though it’s a directional outline, the Thunder Bolt is based on the same silhouette as the less outlandishly specced Thunder; that is to say, it’s not a million miles off a twin, and it’s certainly got enough tail to ride switch. The set back stance and slightly longer nose come into their own when mowing over bumpy sections and jumping into the pow.

There’s a ton of 3D in this thing, too. It features the freeride-oriented version of Bataleon’s Triple Base tech, meaning a narrow centerbase with maximum uplift at the sides as you approach the nose. This – together with their dramatic SideKick scoops at the wide points – turns the Thunder Bolt into a straight-up speed boat when you point it down a powder face. Back on the piste, an aggressive camber profile combines with a stiff flex (see below) to keep the entire edge engaged through carves, with minimal flapping even as you push the needle into the red zone. This is one stable ride, though you can easily flick across the base in a split second thanks to that uplift near the wide points. Not everyone loves the way Bataleons ‘roll’ into turns, but if you’re a 3BT fan then this is the Triple Base carver par excellence.

“The set back stance and slightly longer nose come into their own when mowing over bumpy sections and jumping into the pow”

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.

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