Nitro Cheap Thrills
By PTO Ski Team, Based on Nitro's 26/27 catalog and order book and the board's construction - no independent on-snow testing · Specification and lineup analysis on this board · Spec analysis
The take
“A forgiving true-twin park board at an entry price - the savings sit in the extruded base, not in how it rides.”
The Nitro Cheap Thrills is Nitro's affordable park twin, and the honest starting point is what it is and is not built to do. This is a genuine true twin - centered stance, zero setback, identical nose and tail - wrapped around Cam-Out camber: positive camber between the feet for pop, with early rise at each tip so the contact points stay catch-free. Nitro rates its flex 5 out of 10 on their own scale, which puts it soft-to-medium: easy to press, easy to jib, easy to throw sideways. At US$439.95 it sits low in Nitro's park range, and it ships in standard and wide widths so larger boots are covered.
The Cheap Thrills spends its money on ride feel, not the base. Nitro builds it on a Premium Extruded FH base, and that base is what most separates it from the boards above it in the line. Extruded plastic is durable, cheap to fix and happy without regular wax, but it will not glide like a sintered base. Nitro says so itself: the Cheap Thrills x Love, at $479.95, steps up to a sintered base for more speed and a rail-tuned Railkiller edge, and the flagship T1, at $559.95, runs that same sintered base and Railkiller edge. The step up the line is a base and edge decision more than a shape one. Here you ride a Recycled Steel edge, a Powercore II wood core and Bi-Lite fiberglass - no carbon, no metal.
On paper the Cheap Thrills reads as a park and jib board first. Nitro still gives it a solid All-Mountain 8/10, so it will cruise the resort, but the soft flex and extruded base keep its heart on rails and jumps. The soft flex and Radial sidecut should keep it quick and predictable from edge to edge at park speeds, and the Whiplash Core Profile is Nitro's shaping for ollie pop. Push it into chop or onto steep, hard groomers and the same softness that makes it playful on rails is what, on spec, would let it wash out. The limits are exactly where the geometry says they are: a centered twin with no taper and a soft flex has nothing to float in powder and little to settle it once you point it straight. Nitro's own terrain ratings agree - top marks for park, near the bottom for backcountry.
We have not ridden this build, and no independent on-snow testing is in front of us; this read is off Nitro's 26/27 catalog, the order book and the board's construction, so treat the ride notes as informed reading rather than a tested verdict. The women's counterpart is the Nitro Mercy at the same price. If you want a forgiving, affordable deck for rails, jibs, side hits and medium jumps, the Cheap Thrills is aimed squarely at you. If you want speed, float or a base that holds a fast wax, spend up the line to the x Love or the T1.
Bindings we'd pair with it
Mount point: Centered stance, zero setback - match the length to your rider weight and the width to your boot. Our pick: Sold as a deck only; no factory binding pairing is named here.
The Cheap Thrills ships as a deck only. Pair it with a soft-to-medium flex binding for park riding; we mount and size your setup in the shop, standard or wide.
Common Questions
- Is the Cheap Thrills a men's or women's board?
- Nitro lists it as a men's board, but the shape is a symmetrical true twin with no gender-specific flex, so it rides as a unisex park deck. The women's board built on the same Cam-Out and Powercore II recipe is the Nitro Mercy.
- How is it different from the Cheap Thrills x Love?
- The x Love, at $479.95, is the same twin shape and flex with a sintered base for more speed and a rail-focused Railkiller edge. This base version, at $439.95, keeps the durable extruded base and a Recycled Steel edge. If you mostly hit rails and want a faster base, the x Love is the upgrade; if you want the lower price and the wide sizes, this is the one.
- What kind of rider is it for?
- It suits progressing freestyle riders who live in the park - rails, jibs, side hits and small-to-medium jumps - and want a soft, forgiving twin that presses easily. A first-timer still learning to link turns on groomers is better served by an all-mountain board. It is not built for powder, big-mountain lines or high-speed carving.
- Is it any good in powder?
- No. The Cheap Thrills is a centered true twin with zero setback and no taper, so the nose has nothing to keep it afloat. Nitro's own ratings put it near the bottom for backcountry. On a deep day you want a directional or setback board.
- Does it come with bindings?
- No - it ships as a deck only, so you will need bindings and boots to ride it. We mount the bindings and set your stance with you in the shop, and we will help you choose between the standard and wide sizes based on your boot.
