Loading...
Loading...
PTO Review
We know them. Here's how they stack up.
These snowboards span 2 categories (Freeride, Park). Scores reflect each snowboard's intended use — direct comparison across all dimensions may be misleading.
The Matriarch — advanced to expert riders who ride on edge and drive the board - full traditional camber run at a directional 7 rewards technique and punishes a passenger. Kink — riders whose day is mostly jibs, boxes and handrails, and who want a deck engineered for repeated metal contact. Check the radar chart below to see where each one wins.
Each row compares all boards on one dimension. 🏆 marks the highest score.
| Dimension | The Matriarch | Kink |
|---|---|---|
| Carving | 8🏆 | 5 |
| Park | 5 | 9🏆 |
| Playfulness | 4 | 8🏆 |
| Forgiveness | 2 | 8🏆 |
| Stability | 8🏆 | 3 |
| Powder | 5🏆 | 2 |
Advanced to expert riders who ride on edge and drive the board - full traditional camber run at a Directional 7 rewards technique and punishes a passenger. The 'park to powder' rider especially: a freestyle background moving into natural terrain, side hits, cliffs, backcountry transitions and variable snow, which is CAPiTA's own brief for it. Nose-forward riders who value pop and edge hold over the ability to ride switch, and who want a premium build - SuperCarbon glass, a sintered base, a brand-new core - and will pay $729.95 for construction rather than a bargain. Torstein Horgmo fans who want his first signature board and the two years of prototyping behind it. Riders with US 10.5 boots and up belong on a Wide - the same board, a separate style, the same price.
Beginners and most intermediates: full traditional camber with no rocker at a Directional 7 flex is the least forgiving thing CAPiTA makes, and $729.95 is an expensive place to learn. This is a structural call from profile, flex and price - the construction is demanding and the money is real, and CAPiTA's forgiving boards sit elsewhere in the line. Switch, park-and-jib and true-twin riders: it is directional with a 0.8 in setback and a stiff flex, so the D.O.A. and the twin family are your tools, not this. Deep-powder specialists chasing maximum float: 4 mm of taper on a fully cambered deck is modest, and the Navigator or Kazu Kokubo Pro will out-float it. Value hunters: it sits above the more versatile, more forgiving Mercury at $699.95, and the CAPiTA-value reputation built on the D.O.A. does not apply here. Women shopping for a women's-specific board: CAPiTA files the Matriarch as a men's board, and the women's freeride deck in this range is the Artemis at $679.95 - a woman wanting a women's board should start there, not on a softer default. Riders who never wax, because the sintered base gets slow when it is neglected.
Riders whose day is mostly jibs, boxes and handrails, and who want a deck engineered for repeated metal contact. It suits riders who press and butter, since a Mellow-rated twin with camber under the feet bends into a press and springs back out. It suits switch riding as a default, because insert setback is published as zero and tip and tail measure identically at every length. And it suits bigger-footed riders who want this specific board: 154W and 157W are published wide options.
Anyone shopping for a powder board should skip it outright. Ride's own Specialty field says Park on the product page and Park/Groomers in the dealer feed — neither lists pow — while the Warpig and Superpig in the same line both carry Park/Groomers/Pow, and this deck is a true twin with zero setback, which is the opposite of what floats. Riders who want a stiff, damp, high-speed charger should also look elsewhere: Ride rates the response Mellow, and publishes no number to argue with. Riders who prioritize straight-line glide are buying the wrong base — extruded is slower than sintered by material class, and Ride's own description sells repairability rather than speed. And anyone who needs a published boot-size match before committing will not get one: Ride prints waist width and rider weight for every length, but no boot-size range at all, including for the two W sizes. That fit call has to happen in person on your actual boot.
The The Matriarch is best for advanced to expert riders who ride on edge and drive the board - full traditional camber run at a directional 7 rewards. The Kink is best for riders whose day is mostly jibs, boxes and handrails, and who want a deck engineered for repeated metal contact. The right choice depends on your primary terrain, ability level, and riding style.
The CAPiTA The Matriarch scores highest in Stability at 8/10, making it the strongest all-mountain option. It handles groomers, chop, and variable conditions without losing composure, so it's the best single-snowboard choice for riders who want one board for the whole mountain.
The CAPiTA The Matriarch leads in Carving with a PTO score of 8/10. Its edge grip on hard snow and groomed runs is the strongest in this comparison.
The Ride Kink is the most forgiving option with a Forgiveness score of 8/10. It doesn't punish imperfect technique, making it the easiest snowboard to progress on among these.
Not sure? Ask us.