Construction and Materials

You’ll hopefully have realised by this point that the Thruster is a bit of a beast, and aside from the shape and profile, this is thanks in part to its premium and powerful internal makeup. Nidecker has gone full hog here, slapping a bunch of top shelf tech and nifty additives to turn the dial all the way up.

Starting off in the middle (as you do), Nidecker uses their lightest core. Consisting of a tri-wood blend and utilising specialist hardwood stringers down the sidecut for added grip and response to really up the ante to tip and grip when you’re up on your edge. This is sandwiched between ultra responsive triax fibreglass, the weave is milled to differing thicknesses down the board to target areas for increased reactivity.

A vibration dampening Absorbnid layer sits atop the Thruster, and you’ll reap these benefits mostly when you’re charging full speed. Some super stiff boards tend to be pretty bucky when you’re bombing hills, but this layer, plus the added carbon stringers in the nose and tail will help to keep things feeling smooth underfoot, even when encountering chunder and chop.

“While its day job is certainly as an aggressive carving machine, the Thruster moonlights as a nifty powder board as well”

Roundup

While its day job is certainly as an aggressive carving machine, the Thruster moonlights as a nifty powder board as well. The added volume and 3D shaping in the nose help eliminate the diving sensation that full camber snowboards can often fall victim to in deeper snow, and the reduced surface area in the tail helped it to sink down into the snow for pumping turns and slashing pockets. All together, you’ve got an impressive deck that handles pretty much any conditions or terrain with ease, providing you’re firmly sat in the driver’s seat!

Pros:

• It’s a really powerful carving machine
• Thanks to the profile and shape, it’s far more versatile than you might think

Cons:

• Way too aggressive for newbies

SHOP ALL SNOWBOARDS ON

Coming soon…

“This is the stick that is always out and waitlisted at our on-snow demos… we’ve probably serviced the Thruster more times than any other board in our demo quiver and it’s still riding just like new. People’s champ!”