• Price: £483, €529, $615
• Category: All-Mountain, Freeride/Powder
• Ability Level: Intermediate, Advanced
• Size: 157, 159, 159W, 163W, 166W
• Flex: 7/10
• Shape: Directional Twin
• Profile: CamRock
• Base: Sintered
• BUY DIRECT FROM BOREALIS

Why we chose the Borealis Artefact Snowboard: It’s the hidden treasure from Borealis, criminally underrated.

Not only is the Borealis Artefact the snowboard of choice for Freeride World Tour athlete, Clement Bochatay, this winter it became a staff favourite for us mere mortals at Whitelines, too. While we previously championed the Marauder as one of the most exciting snowboards money could buy, it was the simple, classic outline and sustainable construction of the Artefact that won our hearts this time around. Well, that and the fact that it absolutely rips.

It gives very little away from its understated appearance. Although the Artefact will feel at home almost anywhere on the mountain, it thrives in the freeride environment most of all. There’s no taper to speak of, but the stance is slightly setback and comes equipped with the Powder Storm Inserts, allowing you to screw your bindings much further back to get the most float from the snowboard on pow days.

“It was the simple, classic outline and sustainable construction of the Artefact that won our hearts this time around. Well, that and the fact that it absolutely rips”

The Blizzard Camber also keeps things pretty versatile with a large section of camber underfoot that gives way to early rocker rise sections in the nose and tail. Whether you find yourself on the first chair for pristine groomers or standing atop a couloir looking down an untouched descent, there’s power and float are served in equal helpings on the Artefact.

Borealis have also upgraded to a new Ultra Light Forest Core for the 2020/21 season. This utilises a blend FSC certified poplar and paulownia stringers, enhanced with bamboo rods for some added lightweight snap. The core has also been milled towards the tip and tail to reduce any unwanted swing weight and primes the Artefact for time spent spinning in the air as much as it does for rock-solid takeoffs and landings.