• Price: £345 / €399
• Lengths: 143, 146, 149, 152, 155, 156W, 158, 159W, 161, 163W
• Flex: 7
• Profile: Hybrid Camber
• Shape: True Twin
• yessnowboards.com

UPDATE: Check out our review of the 2018/2019 YES Basic Decade here

Short on cash? Looking for a second stick for the days that don’t justify the use of your carbon-laced pow gun? Riders in either camp are well catered for these days, with plenty of snowboards that are high on quality but low on price. Perhaps the most proven of the bunch is this, the YES Basic.

“Each sidecut features two sections of edge, located just beneath the bindings, that retreat back towards the centre”

At first, or even second glance, it doesn’t look like much. The core is a straightforward poplar construction, with biax fibreglass – and no carbon or alternative wonder materials to speak of. It’s also got an extruded base, which can’t match its sintered equivalent for straight-line speed.

Still, that’s what to expect for the price. Anything beyond that is a bonus – and what a bonus the YES Basic has. Each sidecut features two sections of edge, located just beneath the bindings, that retreat back towards the centre. This changes how pressure is distributed along the edge, and the result is drastically improved grip and stability in the turns.

The YES Basic once again features a fairly simple graphic, but that’s all part of its unshowy charm. Those looking for more tech can choose the pricier YES Typo, but for everyone else the Basic continues to punch well above its weight.