Construction and Materials

Nidecker have spared no expense in the construction of the new Thruster. The ‘Light Core’ is, well, the lightest in their range, a high-tech blend of poplar and paulownia with beech stringers for extra strength. It makes for a super reactive ride that’s easier to get airborne than heavier competitors in the all-mountain segment.

This finely-crafted piece of wood is wrapped in triax weave fibreglass, maximising the torsional stiffness for instant edge control. Remember, this thing replaces the legendary Rave (as seen in those Slice ‘n’ Dice vids) so it needs to be able to hold down a full eurocarve. Hence there’s also carbon fibre at the nose and tail to keep a lid on any high speed jitters, and a dampening layer within the layup which Nidecker call ‘Absorbnid’.

All in all, then, the Thruster is built to be a smooth-sailing rocketship, and to guarantee escape velocity it comes loaded with one of the most face-meltingly fast bases we’ve ever tested. Strap in and prepare for launch.

“It makes for a super reactive ride that’s easier to get airborne than heavier competitors in the all-mountain segment”

Roundup

Any time a brand replaces a popular model (or in this case, two popular models) the pressure is on to justify the change. Nidecker’s strategy to convince any doubters with the Thruster was to conjure up a crowd-pleasing, ultra modern outline and then chuck the kitchen sink at the spec list. And heck, it’s worked. If you need an uncompromised turning machine that chews corduroy for breakfast and can hammer down powder lines at lunchtime then there’s basically nothing finer on the market. You need to be a pretty experienced rider to unleash all that full-cambered, carbon-boosted carving power but, if that’s you, congratulations: you just hit the jackpot.

“This board was intentionally shaped for All Mountain ultimate versatility. However when we asked Sebby K to test the first protos and tell us his feelings, we were surprised his answer was “it pops amazingly and lands perfectly corks in the park”! Right – Versatility also means killing it in the park!”