I got the GNU Beast Splitboard handed to me the day I was leaving to drive to BC for a two week hut trip. It was part of a ski guides training where we got a heli bump into a lodge and toured from there. I didn’t want to commit to a board I’d never used before so wasn’t sure I was going to bring it until the last second when the pilot gave me the go ahead to bring two splits. I ended up setting up the GNU Beast the first night at the lodge and never went back to my other board the entire trip! It performed under all sorts of conditions, from waist deep blower to steep ice to mashed potatoes.
GNU Beast Float
To begin with, the nose is huge and floaty. Depending on snow conditions you can bring your stance forward and ride switch with ease, or go for the full on hippy turn mode with the fully set back stance. I set both bindings all the way back on the last inserts, creating a tiny tail almost like a fish. This was sweet because the Monashees got 3 feet of super light snow and avy conditions were super high, restricting our terrain selection to pretty low angle glades. The other riders I was with were struggling with leg burn in the waist deep fluff and the GNU Beast Splitboard was literally effortless.
Stability
When things mellowed out and we started riding couloirs, I left the stance the same and that short tail made it easy to do quick, tight turns on the steeps in places skiers had to do hop turns. For higher speed riding, you can just “center” the stance, creating more tail and a bit less nose (its still going to be set back quite a bit) and charge with chatter free confidence. The tail on the Beast is stiff, which is a good thing. It’s super poppy and tracks well on high speed turns/carves. Good for holding speed down the steep stuff.
The Base/ Flex Pattern
I felt like I was hauling ass on traverses without even trying. The website says its a “fast and low maintenance dual layered fluoro base material.” I don’t know what that means but the base seemed super fast to me, and I like low maintenance.
DC3 BTX Directional All Terrain Freeride? When you set the board on the floor and look at it from the side its easy to see whats going on. The GNU Beast has camber under your feet and a slight rocker between, called mellow banana. The camber under foot is awesome, and the added float of the rocker is noticeable in pow and heavier snow.
Versatility
It rides pretty well switch, even with the directional stance. Im guessing this is because the large nose is super soft, so it’s easy to press it down in powder when you’re using it as a tail. It makes for super fun butters. I found it was easy to land switch in deep pow and ride out of it a ways before buttering back to regular.
The very last run I made on the Beast was coming back in bounds from the side country at Revelstoke and the lifts were closed so with no reason to rush, we took the longest groomer they have; a green circle winding 14 miles down 5600 ft of switchbacks. I hadn’t really ridden a groomer with it, and I was surprised it was that fun on a splitboard. It’s fast edge to edge without being swirley, and has a perfect sidecut for laying out swooping armpit turns around hairpin corners. Good pop off the tail for wall hits too.
GNU Beast Splitboard Pros & Cons
Pros:
- GNU Beast provides exceptional float
- Stability for high-speed riding
- Versatile for various snow conditions
Cons:
- Large nose may feel cumbersome in tight spaces
- Directional stance may limit switch riding
Overall Impression
The GNU Beast Splitboard is a super fun, versatile, surf-rocket-charger. It really does make you feel like slashing every windlip in sight. It could easily be a quiver of one. I really don’t have anything constructive to say about this board, it rips and is fun. What else could you want?
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