• Price: CHF849 / €729 / $849
• Category: All-Mountain
• Ability Level: Advanced
• Size: 152, 154, 156W, 158W, 162
• Flex: 6-8/10
• Shape: Directional Twin
• Profile: Camber
• Base: Sintered

It doesn’t take a GCSE in French to know that ‘La Hache’ translates from French to ‘The Axe’. And after getting our hands on this one, we can only assume that ‘La Hache +’ translates to ‘Supercharged Hatchet of Death’. This is a serious step up from West’s flagship model and comes with all the credentials of a razor sharp weapon to deliver complete all-mountain domination – providing it’s in the hands of the right person.

This is not – repeat, not – a beginner’s snowboard. In fact, it’s not even classed as an intermediate option. A full tip to tail camber remains surprisingly uncommon in many modern snowboards, but it features here and plays a big part of the reason the La Hache + is classed as West’s most performant snowboard in the line.

“If it’s a speed machine you’re after, it’s a speed machine you’ve found”

The woodcore is incredibly light and snappy as it’s made from a premium combination of ash, bamboo and paulownia. This strikes a balance right down the middle in creating a board that feels close to weightless while still holding steady at speed and reactive to the forces you’ll be putting it through.

Somewhat surprisingly, for a snowboard with such a high end list of materials to its name is the presence of biaxl fiberglass sheets over more responsive and powerful triaxl layers. But this might actually be the secret to the versatility of the La Hache +. Opting for a slightly mellower torsional flex means the snowboard can be ridden with more of a freestyle flair, possibly even bringing some flatland jibbing to your riding.

Take it into the park’s big line, however, and you’ll soon see where the snowboard’s freestyle strengths lie. Two tip to tail carbon stringers run through the length of the snowboard (like the original La Hache) to deliver pop, stability and rock solid rebound of every lip and out of every turn.

This much performance wrapped up in a snowboard shaped package needs to be finished off with something pretty special on the underside, and here’s where you’ll find the pièce de résistance – the NHS P-Tex base. This high molecular base has graphite additives and is recognised as one of the fastest and best gliding bases in the industry. This is the same base material that’s been used in multiple victories in both the World Cup and Olympics. So, if it’s a speed machine you’re after, it’s a speed machine you’ve found