Board: 2011-2012 Venture Zephyr, 155 cm
Dimensions (mm): Length 1550, Waist 250, Effective edge 1210, Sidecut Depth 21.60, Stance -20, Taper 5.8, Equivelent Sidecut Radius 8.48
K2 Thraxis boots, K2 Auto Uprise bindings
Stance: Goofy, Width 26”, Front 9 degrees, Back -6 degrees
Days tested: 10
Venture Snowboards has been on my radar ever since they moved to Silverton. I was living in Durango at the time and was very impressed with a start-up company moving to the remote San Juans.
I got to demo some of the original Venture decks, and I have to say that I was less than impressed. There was a funky stepped-back stance and a strange floppy characteristic that made the board unpredictable in turns and bumps of any sort. The only advantage to these early boards (though it certainly aligns well with riding in Silverton) was in DEEP POWDER.
Even though they were great boards in terms of powder specific components, what about the other days that are crunchy, sun-baked, slushy, icy, and worst of all, rocky?
Fast forward a few years and meet The Zephyr: a true testament to a company with unrelenting focus on figuring out the details on possibly the best board I have ever ridden. Let’s just say that next year I’m getting one of these.