The Rome Rene is Rene Rinnekangas's new signature board, and the first thing to be clear about is what it is not. This is a brand-new Directional Twin on Fusion Camber, and it takes the place of the Rene-Gade in the Rome line - a different board with a different job. Nothing the old Rene-Gade did on snow carries onto this one. One more honest note up front: nobody at the shop has ridden this board yet. What follows is read off Rome's card, the order book and retailer pages - construction and intent, not first-person feel.

Construction is where the Rene shows its hand. Fusion Camber puts positive camber between the feet and then rockers the nose and tail; the camber underfoot is what bites an edge, stores pop and holds speed and landings, while the rocker at each end keeps the contact points from catching and makes the board easier to steer. The core carries Bamboo Omega HotRods - carbon rods laid in for a rebound that loads up progressively rather than firing back fast and twitchy. A Radial sidecut keeps every turn consistent and predictable, and the SinterStrong sintered base runs fast and asks for little maintenance.

On snow the Rene reads as a driver's twin, not a passenger's. Rome rates it 8 for all-mountain, 6 in the park and 5 for powder, and the flex backs that up: the card markets a mellow flex, but the number on Rome's scale is mid-stiff, and retailers describe it the same way. For an intermediate-to-advanced rider who is happy to give the board input and steer it, that means pop, edge hold and freestyle range across the hill. A rider who wants to be carried, or to butter on the softest deck in the rack, is asking the Rene for something it was not built for.

Against the Rene-Gade it replaces, the Rene is the more freestyle-balanced board. The previous Rene-Gade was a setback, traditional-camber directional carver - an old-school shape built to hold a line and run straight. The new Rene trades some of that pure directional carve and set-back stability for a twin stance and Fusion Camber, which is the right trade if you want one board for park and all-mountain, and the wrong one if what you really want is a dedicated carver. Know which rider you are before you choose.

Sizing is short and specific: 153, 156 and 159 in the standard width, plus two Wide builds, the 157W and 160W. The Wide lengths carry a noticeably wider waist for bigger boots, so the number on the board does not tell you which width you are on - pick width off your boot size, not your weight or your height. Rome does not publish per-size sidecut radius, full dimensions or board weight, so if you choose gear by exact numbers, know that part of the spec is not on the table. We size and mount with you in the shop.