A crew of testers just logged months in the Sierra, Wasatch and Rockies riding more than 100 decks — 44 of them brand-new for this season — and narrowed the pile down to 15 winners for 2027. If you're shopping for a board before your next ski trip, the shortlist covers everything from park jumpers to big-mountain chargers, with prices ranging from $550 to $850.
The overall favourite is the unisex Salomon Highpath ($700), an all-mountain board given a serious overhaul by Salomon pro and 2026 Natural Selection champ Nils Mindnich. The squared nose and moontail are gone in favour of a more classic rounded silhouette that floats and rides switch better, while a lighter, springier core plus basalt reinforcements add snap and damping. Testers called it the most stable board they'd ridden — though it's stiff enough that intermediates and lighter riders should look elsewhere. For women's-specific shapes, the top pick is the CAPiTA Artemis ($680), an all-mountain freeride board that testers loved for straightlining technical terrain.
Beyond those two, the picks break down neatly by riding style. Park rats get the ThirtyTwo T32M ($550), a surprisingly durable jump-twin that holds its own off-piste. Freeriders have several options: the K2 Commonwealth ($700), a turbocharged version of the easy-riding K2 Passport; the Jones Howler ($700), which earned more perfect scores than any board in the test's history thanks to its icy-hardpack grip and surprising agility in glades; and the Venture Storm ($699) and CAPiTA Navigator ($650) for powder specialists. The Nitro Alternator FX ($600) takes the quiver-killer slot for riders who want one true-camber board to do everything, while the Rome Viper Pro ($630) is the pick for pure all-mountain riding.
On the women's side, the Rossignol After Hours ($650) wins for freeride, the Burton Feelgood ($650) is the intermediate-friendly all-mountain choice, and the Gnu Barrett ($600) with its camber-dominant C3 profile suits advanced riders. There's also a fun-category winner — the enormous $850 Lib Tech Mayhem Libzilla at 188cm — and the CAPiTA Matriarch ($730) for high-performance charger types.
Why care if you're booking a winter trip? Most resorts offer demo days or rental shops stocking exactly these brands, so you can test a shortlisted board for the cost of a demo rental before committing. If you're upgrading from a starter deck, the Burton Feelgood and K2 Passport-style shapes are the forgiving entry points; the Salomon Highpath and Jones Howler reward experienced riders who'll actually use their stability. Buying a board that matches your terrain — park, powder or piste — will shape your trip more than any other gear decision.
