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Nitro Cheap Thrills x Love

By PTO Team, PTO has not ridden the Cheap Thrills x Love - the spec, flex and terrain scores are Nitro's own, and the ride read comes from the shared Cheap Thrills platform and Nitro's descriptors · Spec analysis on this board

CarvingParkPlayful.Forgive.Stabili.Powder
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Playfulness
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The take

Nitro's softest park twin, now riding the fast sintered base its pricier stablemates use — built to press and jib, not to charge.

The Cheap Thrills x Love is the softest board in Nitro's park line dressed in a Love-distribution graphic, and the one spec that separates it from the plain Cheap Thrills sits under your feet: a Sintered EcoSpeed HD base where the base model runs an extruded one. A sintered base drinks wax and runs faster; the extruded base on the standard board is slower but almost care-free. That upgrade is most of the reason for the price gap - at $479.95 the x Love is forty dollars dearer than the $439.95 standard Cheap Thrills, so the base model is the cheaper board here, not this one. Everything else is the Cheap Thrills platform. The flex is a 5 on Nitro's own scale, the soft end of the park range, and it is soft on purpose: a board this bendy presses, butters and noses out with little effort, and the Cam-Out camber lifts the contact points so rails and off-axis landings are less likely to hook. The Whiplash Core Profile is thinned between the feet and left thicker just outside them, which is where the ollie pop comes from when you load the tail. Nobody at PTO has ridden this graphic and no on-snow test of it was read; the ride read here comes from the shared platform and Nitro's descriptors, not a session. Where the softness costs you is speed and size of feature. A flex-5 twin folds under a fast, hard-snow run or a big landing where a stiffer deck stays composed, so this is a park-and-street board rather than a charger. Nitro scores it Park 10 but Backcountry 4, and a centered true twin with no setback and no taper has nothing to float on in deep snow. If you ride fast or hit big jumps, the stiffer boards in the line are the honest answer. Inside Nitro, two siblings flank it. The T1 costs $559.95 and runs a stiffer Flex 7 on the same platform and sintered base, but it adds the dedicated Recycled Railkiller edge and wide sizing - it is the board for a rider who rides rails hard or needs a wider deck, where the x Love carries a plain steel edge in standard width. The Team Pro Marcus Kleveland is another class again at $679.95, with true camber and a Flex 8, built for the speed and big jumps this board is not. The x Love's own ground is the soft, forgiving, sintered-base park twin; nothing above it in price is this easy to press. Sizing is short and simple: three lengths in 148, 152 and 155, standard width only, with waists from 247 mm to 252 mm. There is no wide option and no 157; the standard Cheap Thrills is the version that adds those. Riders on bigger boots, or anyone after a wider platform, are better on the T1 or another board. Decks ship flat, bindings sold separately, and we set one up with you at the counter.

Bindings we'd pair with it

Mount point: Centered stance, no setback - it is a true twin. Our pick: No factory binding pairing is specified - sold as a flat deck.

    Sold as a flat deck; bindings are not included. We size and mount a setup with you in the shop, matched to your boots and how you ride.

    Common Questions

    What is the difference between the Cheap Thrills and the Cheap Thrills x Love?
    The x Love upgrades the base to a fast Sintered EcoSpeed HD base, where the standard Cheap Thrills runs a slower extruded base, and it carries Love-distribution streetwear artwork. It sells for $479.95 against the standard board's $439.95. The trade for that base is fewer sizes: the standard model adds a 157 and wides the x Love does not offer.
    How stiff is the Cheap Thrills x Love?
    Nitro rates the flex a 5 on its own scale of 1 to 10 - the soft end of its park line, where the T1 is a 7 and the Team Pro is an 8. That softness is the point: it presses and butters easily. It also means it is not built for speed or big jumps.
    Does it come in a wide?
    No - this version is standard width only. It comes in three lengths, 148, 152 and 155, and no wide option. Riders with larger boots or anyone wanting a wider platform should look at the T1, which comes in Standard, Mid-Wide and Wide.
    Is it any good in powder?
    Not really - it is a park and street board. Nitro scores it Backcountry 4, and a centered true twin with no setback and no taper has nothing built in to float. For deep days a directional board is the right tool.
    Cheap Thrills x Love or T1?
    The T1 is the stiffer, more capable rail board at $559.95 - a Flex 7 with a dedicated Recycled Railkiller edge and wide sizing, on the same sintered base. Choose it if you ride rails hard, want more support at speed, or need a wide. The softer x Love is the easier board to press and butter, and it is the cheaper of the two.