Best 5150 Snowboards: Reviews by OutdoorEquipment.com

Best 5150 Snowboards: Reviews of the Bestselling Models

5150′s models may not be as insanely extreme as they were originally intended to be, but there are still some really good boards available.

This is a company that didn’t survive on their own long enough to really make innovative discoveries about board design. Instead, they used popular features and tweaked them just enough to make them their own. But innovation isn’t everything. What’s important is that even though the features themselves are fairly pedestrian, they are still well executed.

Most 5150 boards are created with a number of good design and construction traits, including:

• Full wood cores for strength and durability
• Twin-tip or directional shapes for resort versatility
• Biaxial or Triaxial fiberglass for speed and edge control
• UV-protected finishes for long-lasting style

Even better than those, though, is the 360 degree steel edge made from a single piece that goes around the better models, giving you superb control over these tough models.

If you’re looking to pick up a board for your first ever season on the mountain–or if your budget’s a bit tight and you just need a decent stick to destroy the park with–then consider 5150.

To give your research a kick start, here’s a look at three of the bestselling 5150 snowboards on the market.

5150 Vice Snowboard Review

One of the more popular boards in the 5150 lineup, the Vice is touted as a rockin’ all-mountain model, but it does have a few hang-ups in certain areas of the resort.

It’s a great snowboard for beginners just looking to master going downhill or snaking between the trees, but you won’t find the Vice tearing up the park with insane tricks or floating gracefully atop any kind of powder.

The best features of the 5150 Vice snowboard include:

• 5150′s RadRock rocker
• Tip-to-tail aspen core
• 360-degree edge protection
• 3D structural cap

This isn’t an all-terrain performance snowboard on par with the Burton Custom snowboard or the K2 Believer, but it will teach you the very first ropes of your carving career.

Learn more about 5150 Vice Snowboard

5150 Velour Snowboard Review

There are boards that are meant for women by name only, and then there are those that are actually designed to fit the female form. This, fortunately, is one of the latter. It’s a directional deck with a narrower waist, making it suitable for lady riders who don’t have the biggest feet in the world.

Like the Vice, this is labeled an all-mountain board, and like the Vice, it just doesn’t have the float or pop to run super well on powder or in the park.

The best features of the Velour snowboard include:

• Tru-Flex all wood core
• 3D structural cap
• 360-degree edge protection

Good for beginner ladies, but not great, the Velour is a cheap way to learn the basics, but not much beyond.

Learn more about 5150 Velour Snowboard

5150 Covert Snowboard Review

This is a snowboard that isn’t quite good enough for the advanced riders, but a little bit better than just a training stick. Think of it this way: if you’re new to the sport, but think you’re a pretty aggressive learner, then the Covert may be just the ticket for you–if you’re committed to the 5150 line, that is.

Some of the Covert’s better features include:

• Capkote UV protection finish
• 360-degree edge protection
• Tru-Flex all wood core
• 1000-grade die-cut extrusion base

The downside to these decent specs are fairly substantial, however, with the most wide-spread disadvantage being how easy it is to damage. They frankly aren’t that well constructed and aren’t suitable to take a beating.

5150 Snowboards: Summary

These aren’t crazy boards–you won’t turn pro with a 5150 model. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth your time to investigate further.

If you’re a beginner–or on a tight budget–a 5150 snowboard is a good way to learn the ropes. These are highly affordable, well-made products. But sadly, they won’t grow with you for very long.

5150 Snowboards is yet another brand in a long line of brands that started off as an independent manufacturer and ended up as part of a corporate conglomerate.

In 1992, the company was founded in Seattle, Washington. The boards were designed in the Emerald City and tested in the snowy peaks of the nearby Cascade Mountains.

In the mid 90′s, when money was tight, 5150 was bought out by Ride Snowboards and then by K2 Sports in 1999. While 5150 is a brand that is lucky enough to at least still be produced today, they have suffered the same fate as Morrow Snowboards and Liquid Snowboards–pushed to the back of the line and manufactured as cheap beginner snowboards.