Look closely, however, and you’ll see that the nose of the board has a slightly different shape to the tail. It’s not something that will affect you anywhere but in the pow, but in deeper snow the increased surface area of the nose will give you just a little more float. While some boards offer this by tapering the outline, the YES Standard maintains the classic true-twin feel that backcountry freestyle riders crave.

“The YES Standard maintains the classic true-twin feel that backcountry freestyle riders crave”

The Standard also features ‘MidBite’ on both edges. What this means is that the waist of the board is just a little skinnier than you would expect, resulting in quicker edge changes and less weight, but it’s normal service at the binding inserts so you won’t experience too much drag.

When there’s been a crazy dump, like the kind North America’s west coast experienced on a regular basis last season, you can get a little extra help by mounting your bindings on the set-back inserts. You’ll have to forget about sticking that cab 9, but at least you’ll stay afloat!

If your idea of heaven is a morning spent building a kicker and an afternoon of throwing yourself off it, it’ll feel like the YES Standard was made just for you.

Redesigning Romain de Marchi’s favourite board was fun in a post-Mid-Bite world.

Applying theories learnt from the past few years we were able to increase float, stability and edge hold while maintaining the aggressive response the Standard is known for.

Ride this one a couple of centimetres shorter than your ‘normal’ board, as it packs more power in a lower-swing-weight package.