Nidecker Tape Deck Review: A Jumper’s Camber Twin That Rides Above Its Price Tag

The Nidecker Tape Deck is great for jumping, easy and stable to carve with, and decent for jibbing and buttering.

It’s a traditional camber, true twin-shaped freestyle deck, with a generous amount of camber between your feet, but the tips of the board were made specifically to make it more forgiving and easier to ride.

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Nidecker Tape Deck 2027 at a Glance

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Board Reviewed	Nidecker Tape Deck 2027
Shape / Profile	True twin, traditional camber with a steep kicked nose and tail, 0mm setback
Flex	6.5 out of 10
Best For	Park riders who want a twin that jumps, carves, and holds its own outside the park
Size I Rode	153cm (for reference, I am 142lbs, 5′ 6″ tall with a US men’s size 9 boot

Summary: My Overall Impression of the Nidecker Tape Deck

Overall, the Nidecker Tape Deck was an easy and intuitive board to ride. It isn’t overly loaded up with tech you’ll never use, but there are two noteworthy features of the Tape Deck’s tech.

1) Carbon in the nose and tail for extra pop off jumps

2) A light core with extra dampening added to make the ride feel higher end than other boards in its price category.

I rode the Tape Deck for two sessions at Big Snow in East Rutherford, NJ, on the 153cm with the new Union NEO bindings and Thirty Two STW Boa boots. Big Snow is an indoor slope, so that’s consistent manmade snow with no weather surprises added in the mix. The main thing to know is that the snow there is often dirty and slow, and the base of the Tape Deck held its glide perfectly with just a normal wax job.

As you read, please keep in mind this is a review of the board’s park and groomer performance as I’ve only ridden it indoors so far. I’ll update this as I get more time on it. One important thing to flag up front is that I actually broke an edge jibbing during my review of this board, and I get into exactly what happened and what Nidecker had to say about it in the I Broke an Edge Jibbing at Big Snow below.

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Review Rating of the Nidecker Tape Deck

Considerations	Score Out of 100	Weighted Importance to Score
Pop / Power	85	10
	85	10
Speed	80	10
Ice / Poor Conditions	75	10
Switch	100	10
Jumps	85	10
Dampness	85	10
Fun to ride	80	10
Resort Riding / Versatility	75	5
Responsiveness	75	5
Jibs	60	5
Powder	65	3
Buttering	75	2
Total Weighted Review Score	81.45	100

The Nidecker Tape Deck earned a rating score of a 81.45 out of 100 points in our All Mountain freestyle review rating scale. This rating scale prioritizes carving and versatility, along with park performance. The weighting column of the score will give you an idea of how much each consideration contributed to the overall score.

This rating is the equivalent of a 4.07 out of 5 stars.

Learn About Our Testing Process

How Does the Nidecker Tape Deck Perform Across Riding Styles?

Carving

This is where the Tape Deck really shined for me. The carving experience felt smooth and stable, which is what you want out of a slightly stiffer than medium traditional camber twin.

What stood out to me was its easy turn initiation and how locked in it felt once I engaged a turn. While it’s got 90s inspiration, this board is easier to turn than the camber decks I grew up riding, and I’d give the exaggerated nose and tail angles credit for that.

The rest comes down to the sidecut. It’s got a continuous radial sidecut that measures out to be 7.4m on the 153cm size I rode, so the turn shape stays the same from the second you set your edge to the second you come off it. There’s no point in the middle of your turn where it felt like it hooks or changes on you. It stays locked in and finishes through its arc before it lets you make your next turn.

Speed and the Base

This has a sintruded base that’s a blend of extruded and sintered material. For me, it held its speed really well, and there is barely a scratch on it after two sessions of jibbing. 

At Big Snow, the snow is usually very slow, so it can be difficult to keep a consistent glide through the bottom of the course. I didn’t have that issue with this deck. With a quick wax job before I rode it, I was able to get from feature to feature to the bottom with no issues.

It wasn’t the fastest base I’ve ever been on, but it definitely wasn’t the slowest. Speed-wise, it felt like a sintered base. You get the benefits of not needing to wax it as often. 

Jumping

The Tape Deck is a great deck for jumping and hitting side hits. The pop has that little extra snap of power to boost you, and I found it easy and predictable to time. The combination of camber with carbon in its tips adds a noticeable kick to it. I’d say it offers around 5% more pop over the average camber freestyle board.

It’s worth mentioning the shock absorption built into this deck helps to make your landings feel a little easier too.

One thing to keep in mind is that I rode this deck on a short indoor course that you lap over and over, so hitting the same jump twenty times in a session gives you a strong feel for how well a board pops and when to time it. I just didn’t get to use it on a variety of jump sizes. Big Snow had one 15-foot jump. The extra pop in the Tape Deck worked well to give me the extra boost to clear the rutted-out section of the landing everyone was falling into.

Jibbing

The Tape Deck jibs decently, but I wouldn’t say it’s this board’s highlight in the park. The Tape Deck was built more for hitting jumps over jib features. This is due to its 6.5/10 (slightly stiffer than medium) flex and the carbon in the tips fighting you when you try to flex it. So it’s the type of deck that wants to snap back rather than let you easily hold a press across a feature.

With that said, with some effort and precision, you will find a sweet spot to hold presses that’s just outside the insert packs. So while it isn’t the type of jib deck that easily presses, its jibbing highlights are more in the extra pop you get when you’re coming off the features. It’s also got a decently wider waist width to help offer some stability when you’re sliding sideways on it.

I also broke an edge on the sample pre-production version of the Tape Deck I reviewed (more on this here). I came down slightly toe-heavy on a flat bar and an edge dented to the point of breaking into the base. I don’t think that same experience will happen for you in the production-ready version, but I had to call it out.

So if you’re looking for a dedicated street/jib board, you’ll want to find one with reinforced edges that is a pinch softer. I compare the Tape Deck to Capita’s Ultrafear below. It’s a similar board, but I’d say it’s the better jibber while the Tape Deck is the better jumper.

Buttering

It can butter with speed and practice, but it is not an easy board to butter with. It’s got a 6.5/10 flex with carbon in the tips that will fight you when you try to press the board for a butter.

The flex and carbon are meant to help the board pop higher, so they don’t do many favors when it comes to helping you butter with it. If you’re looking for a board that butters easily, maybe check out the Nidecker Sensor instead of the slightly stiffer Tape Deck.

Riding Switch

It’s a true twin, so it feels exactly the same regardless of which end you have in front. There were a few times I rode away from a feature switch and just kept going into the next one without thinking about it.

The Actual Feel of the Flex

Nidecker rates the Tape Deck with a Mid-Stiff 6 out of 10 flex rating. It feels slightly stiffer to me, so I landed on 6.5 out of 10.

For presses, there is a sweet spot that helps you lock in, but due to the carbon in its tips, it wants to fight you to rebound when you try to flex it. That’s a large factor for why I felt the need to rate it slightly higher than a medium flex score.

Weight of the Deck

Weight-wise it feels pretty average to me. I weighed it at 6.3lbs for just the 153cm deck, and 10.3lbs with the NEO Bindings mounted.

A Note on Durability While Jibbing: I Broke an Edge Jibbing at Big Snow

I have to be honest and report back about some edge damage I ran into. It’s the first time anything like this ever happened, so I am treating it as a quirk, and if you run into anything odd with your board, remember that Nidecker has its 2+1 warranty, and they’ll make the quirks right for you.

Here’s what happened.

I rode the Tape Deck indoors at Big Snow in East Rutherford, New Jersey. One of the jib features there is a square flat bar, meaning it’s a flat bar with 90-degree corners rather than a rounded rail. I went to do a tail slide, and instead of landing flush on my base, I came down a little toe edge-heavy at first.

I rode the trick out fine, but I heard a loud ping, and after my run I saw I’d dented and broken the toe-side edge right where that first impact hit.

The board looks repairable. The core, base, and top sheet look fine. I should be able to pull the edge out, bend it back with a heat gun, and epoxy everything back together, and be back off to the races. But an edge breaking like that isn’t something I’ve run into before, so it’s worth flagging.

I reached out to Nidecker for context on whether it might be unique to my deck. Their team explained that I was given an early sample to demo, and it’s from a run where the production-line and quality control processes weren’t held to the same standards as the production-ready boards that get sold to the public. That means small defects and bonding quirks can occasionally slip through, and it sounds like that’s what happened with mine. They also noted that their team riders, like Sam Anderson and Jed Sky, have put the final production version of the Tape Deck through heavy street jibbing missions without running into this same issue. So most likely, it is just a quirk and not the experience you’ll run into.

With that said, I still am impressed with how well the Tape Deck rides. I would just be careful if you get a little too toe-heavy with your jibs (which you should never be, because who wants to catch an edge on a rail anyway?).

Who Is the Nidecker Tape Deck Good For?

The Nidecker Tape Deck is great for the intermediate all-mountain freestyle rider looking to carve all over the resort while also leveling up on their jump and side hit progression.

So Who Is the Tape Deck Not For?

The beginner who is just learning to connect turns. For anyone not used to riding camber, this deck can feel catchy, and there are other boards that will help you through your learning curve of connecting your first turns.

The aggressive carver who knows one speed, and that’s as fast as humanly possible. While the Tape Deck is decently responsive and locks into its turns, it is meant for casual resort and park riders. An extremely aggressive rider will want something directional and stiffer that offers even more response.

The park rider looking for a dedicated street or jib board. This board is going to be a pinch too stiff, and its edges don’t have the reinforced tech that a dedicated jib board has. (This board’s park highlights are more for helping you get in the air and to soften your landings.)

The frequent powder rider. While the nose and tail are angled upward to help this deck a little bit in light pow, it doesn’t have a set back stance or any other feature to help it float.

What Are the Pros of the Nidecker Tape Deck?

You Get A Lot of Value for the Price

At $529.95, the Tape Deck comes in at $65 under the average board I’ve reviewed for 2027. That’s before you get into how damp it feels and how well the base holds its glide, both of which had me feeling it cost more than it does. It’s also $20 less than similar boards like the Capita Ultrafear.

Outstanding for Jumping

This deck has an extra 5% boost of pop to offer. This comes from its traditional camber and the Pop Carbon tech found in its nose and tail. The pop is also easy to time, so you can step up to bigger features without the board getting away from you.

A Smooth, Locked-In Carving Experience

Carving is where this board shone for me. Turns roll from toe edge to heel edge without any effort, and it’s great at linking tight to medium s-turns. It felt powerful without feeling like it was too much, which is a hard balance for a freestyle twin to have.

A Quick Base You Won’t Have to Wax Often

The N-7000 hybrid base held its glide through slow, dirty indoor snow with nothing more than a quick wax before I rode. It felt faster than an extruded base and held its wax better than one too. That means less time tuning and more laps.

Rides Like a Higher End Board

Between the Absorbnid topsheet and the Pop Carbon placement, this board kills vibration better than its price point suggests. I originally gave all the credit to my Union NEO bindings. A good chunk of it is the board.

Classic Camber Feel in an Easy to Ride Package

This is real traditional camber, not a hybrid that borrows the name. The pill shape and the generous camber underfoot read as a straight throwback. What’s different from the boards I came up on is the steep kick in the nose and tail, and that’s what keeps it from punishing you the way those decks did.

What Are the Cons of the Nidecker Tape Deck?

Will Feel Too Stiff for Some

At 6.5 out of 10, it’s slightly stiffer than medium, so pressing takes some getting used to and the board wants to fight you a bit. If buttering is your main thing, there are softer twins out there.

Edge Durability for Jibbing

I broke my toeside edge on a pre-production version of this snowboard during this review process. Nidecker reps let me know there are stricter quality control processes in place for the production versions of this snowboard, and assured me that it is unlikely to happen for anyone reading this. I am sure the Tape Deck will be fine to get your first box and rail tricks dialed. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that this board is a better carver and jumper than a jib board (it isn’t the softest anyway).

Nidecker Tape Deck vs Capita Ultrafear

A similar board to the Nidecker Tape Deck is the newly reshaped Capita Ultrafear.

Both of these boards are true twin all-mountain freestyle decks. Both have that rounded-off nose and tail, and both are aimed at the rider who wants to jump and jib and still be able to ride the whole mountain. They cost within twenty dollars of each other.

The Tape Deck is traditional camber, tip to tail, at a 6.5/10 flex. The Ultrafear runs Capita’s Resort V1 with a Flat Kick, which is a rocker, camber, rocker profile, at a slightly softer 6/10 flex.

• The main difference is that the Tape Deck offers more benefits to the jumper while the Ultrafear caters more to the jibber.

• The Tape Deck is the slightly stiffer, fully cambered, more powerful of the two. The Ultrafear has rocker at both ends and is the softer, looser one.

Spec	Nidecker Tape Deck 2027	Capita Ultrafear 2027
Price	$529.95	$549.95
Shape	True Twin	True Twin
Profile	Traditional camber, steep kicked nose and tail	Resort V1 + Flat Kick (rocker nose / camber / rocker tail)
Flex (brand)	Medium-Stiff 6 / 10	Medium 5.5 / 10
My Flex	6.5 / 10	6/10
Sidecut	Radial	Radial
Core	Light Core (paulownia, poplar, beech stringers)	P2 Superlight (paulownia, poplar)
Laminates	Biax Plus + Pop Carbon	Hybrid Carbon Holysheet Bi/Bi + Magic Bean Resin
Damping Tech	Absorbnid topsheet	1.5mm Full Cork Edge Dampening
EdgEdge Material Tech	Standard High-Grade European Steel	360 Degree HRC48 Steel Edges
Base	Sintruded – N-7000 Hybrid	Sintruded – Superdrive ADV
Sizes	147, 150, 153, 156, 156W, 159, 159W	149, 151, 153, 153W, 155, 155W, 157, 157W
Ability Level (evo)	Intermediate to Advanced	Intermediate to Advanced
Warranty	3 Years	2 Years

The damping tech is the difference worth covering.

Both boards are aiming for the same dampening goal from different parts of the build and the difference caters them to different types of freestyle riders (the jumper for the Tape Deck vs the jibber for the Ultrafear).

Nidecker adds its dampening from the top down with its Absorbnid topsheet.

Capita adds dampening from the edges inward, with a 1.5mm layer of cork sitting between the steel edge and the ABS sidewall. Both technologies work well, and both are a large factor for why these boards feel more expensive than they actually are.

Choose the Nidecker Tape Deck if

• Jumping is what you care about most.
  • The Tape Deck’s full camber and the Pop Carbon tech in the nose and tail give you an extra boost of pop off the lip of jumps and side hits over the Ultrafear.
    
• You carve as much as you ride park and want something that holds an edge on hardpack.
  
• You came up on ’90s camber and want that feel back. The Steep Kick tips take some of the catchiness out of it without taking any of the power or response out of the profile.
  
• You want the longer warranty, which is 3 years against Capita’s 2year warranty.
  
• You need a 159 or a 159W, which the Ultrafear does not offer.

Choose the Capita Ultrafear if

• Jibbing is what you care about most, and rails, boxes, and street missions are your priority.
  
  • The rocker in the nose and tail is more forgiving when you’re not perfectly flat on features, and CAPiTA designed the 360 Degree HRC48 Steel Edges to resist denting when you smash the edges of your board against an iron rail or support leg. 
    
  • The Ultrafear also runs a 1.5mm layer of cork between the steel edge and the ABS sidewall to help protect the board from edge impacts further. The Tape Deck can jib well, too. It doesn’t add in any extra durability features specifically to its edges.
    
• You want a slightly softer board. At 6/10, it presses and butters with a little less resistance.
  
• You’re still working up to advanced and want something with a more forgiving profile.
  
• You want more sizing in the 149 to 157 range, including three wide options.

Read my full Capita Ultrafear review for the complete breakdown.

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Nidecker Tape Deck Specs

Model Year	2027
MSRP	$529.95
My Flex Rating	6.5 / 10 (slightly stiffer than medium)
Nidecker Flex Rating	Mid-Stiff 6 / 10
Shape	True Twin
Camber Profile	Traditional camber, tip to tail, steep kicked nose and tail
Setback	0mm (all sizes)
Sidecut	Continuous radial, 7.2m to 7.7m depending on size (7.4m on the 153)
Construction	Premium Sandwich (carbon and Kevlar)
Core	Light Core (paulownia, poplar, beech stringers)
Laminates	Biax Plus fiberglass + Pop Carbon
Base	N-7000 Hybrid (extruded / sintered blend)
Topsheet	Absorbnid (vibration damping), matte finish
Insert Pattern	2×4, 6 inserts at 2cm intervals
Terrain	Freestyle / All-Mountain
Ability Level	Intermediate to Advanced
Sizes Available	147, 150, 153, 156, 156W, 159, 159W
Warranty	3 Years (Nidecker’s 2+1)

About the Graphics

With the Tape Deck, every size gets a different graphic, and they’re all famous paintings with Nidecker’s own take dropped on top. The 147 is Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, the 150 is Klimt, the 153 I rode is the Van Gogh self-portrait, the 156 and 156W are the Mona Lisa, and the 159 and 159W are Munch’s The Scream. Each one has the same grin painted over the face.

I was stoked my size got the Van Gogh graphic with the bright organgeish yellow base. The topsheet looks great with the teal NEO bindings I paired it with and the bright colored looks so sick contrasting against the snow.

What Is the Shape and Camber Profile of the Nidecker Tape Deck?

The Tape Deck is a true twin on traditional camber with no setback (0mm you stand perfectly centered).

I measured the camber’s arc on my 153cm to show you what traditional camber actually looks like in inches on this board. Here’s what I found on my men’s 153 cm, which comes out to about 60.24 inches tip to tail.

• At the camber’s highest point between your feet, the arc sits a little less than 1/4 inch off the ground when the board is resting flat on the snow. I’d say that’s a generous amount of camber for a freestyle deck.
• The camber arc runs out to about 7 inches past the last set of holes in the insert packs.
• From there you get about 4 inches of flat before the nose or tail starts to arc upward.
• Then it’s roughly 7.25 inches of upward angle making up the nose or tail.

That last stretch is what Nidecker is talking about when the catalog calls out a “Steep Kick” that makes the board ride and land easier than traditional camber usually does. The angle is more exaggerated than the tips of the camber decks I grew up on in the ’90s, and that’s what makes the board feel more forgiving than a traditional camber. All in all, you still get all the power and pop of real camber underfoot. You just don’t get the same level of catchiness for being slightly off axis on a landing.

The sidecut is a continuous radial, and on my 153 it’s a 7.4m radius. That tracks with how smooth and predictable it felt on edge.

What Are the Main Tech Features in the Nidecker Tape Deck?

When you’re riding the Tape Deck, you’ll notice two things over any plain freestyle deck. It’s got an extra boost of pop, and it feels damper than most all-mountain freestyle decks in the $500 to $700 range. Looking at Nidecker’s build sheet, both line up with how it’s put together. The Pop Carbon in the nose and tail is the carbon I was feeling, and the Absorbnid topsheet is why I have to give the board credit for dampness I originally chalked up to my Union NEO bindings.

You can learn more about the specs on the Tape Deck’s product page .