Like a wonderful variety of skiers and snowboarders, I’ve found myself hiking farther and farther into the backcountry, more and more often, over the past few years. This past season was the most ambitious, with various adventures taking me to such far-flung, lift-free destinations as Colorado’s Bluebird Backcountry (R.I.P.) and Canada’s Chic Chocs.
While these trips gave me the chance to boost my backcountry skills while earning turns with friends, they also provided ample opportunities to field-test some pretty impressive splitboards — and see just how far the design and functionality of this category has come.
As someone who spent his first few touring seasons wrestling with a Rossignol Sushi Split (a hella fun downhill board that is hellish on the uphill for a noob like yours truly), I can attest that when you are doing it all yourself, what’s underfoot can mean the difference between backbreaking frustration and powder-slashing bliss. With that in mind, here are some thoughts on three sweet splitboards I heartily recommend, plus a couple additional items I dig.
Best Uphiller: K2 Freeloader
K2 SnowK2 Freeloader Unisex Split Package 2023
-
$1,349.95 (40% off)
This board made its debut in the Chic Chocs north of Quebec, and wow was I stoked to have it after the first half of a nearly 2,000-mile road trip. While the uphill paths were pretty well laid out on the mountains around Murdochville, that’s not to say they were not technical — festooned with narrow passes, steep climbs and tricky switchbacks. While I did not exactly ace those all of those challenges, I would have been lost without the Freeloader, which has a number of features to make uphilling easier. I found the squared-off shape made getting into the rhythmic slide-step smoother, while the ultra-light core eased the effort and the Pomoca skins made every plant more stable.
Just because this board is an uphill champ doesn’t mean it isn’t a blast on the way down too. Tip-to-tail carbon fiber strings keep the deck lively and nimble underfoot, while a carbon-infused 5500 sintered base retains wax and reduces drag for swift and satisfying descents.
Right now, the Freeloader is an incredible deal for someone just getting into splitboarding. Not only is it on sale for a whopping 542 bucks off, but of the three options here, it’s the only one that comes with climbing skins (as well as pucks, heel risers and mounting hardware). Quality skins can cost well over $200, so having them included removes one more barrier to entry from the jump.
