Ride Moderator Snowboard Review 2026: Too Much Board for the Park?

The Moderator is a fun deck that has some drive to its carving performance, but it’s also playful enough to press features in the park. It’s the type of board that is precise when you need it to be, while being skate-like when you want it to be. With that said, it’s marketed as a quiver killer with a tapered directional shape and an exaggerated camber profile. That description makes it sound like it’s going to be a hard-charging, aggressive board, and it’s not. I found it more to be a playful, all-mountain freestyle board that’s fast, surfy, and incredibly pressable for jibs and butters.

Quick Review of the Moderator

Summary of Board Specs

Riding Style: All-Mountain Freestyle / Park

Size Reviewed 151

Flex Soft (4.5/10) in the Nose / Medium (5.5/10) for the rest of the board

Profile Directional Hybrid Camber

Shape Directional (Long Nose)

Overall Score: 85.05/100

Quick Review Summary Video

Here’s a quick video of me riding the Moderator and narrating the highlights of what I liked about it.

1. Edge Hold & East Coast Friendliness

Score: 8.0/10.

For a medium flexing board, the Moderator really can grip and lock into a turn. I rode this on a 7-degree day in Vermont on what was basically a sheet of ice with the occasional soft patch. The grip was exceptional through it all. The Tapered Linear Quadratic Sidecut does exactly what it promises—it bites when you need it to, and it just doesn’t let up.

For those of us on the East Coast, this one held up well for the crummier conditions we ride most often.

2. Resort Riding / Versatility

Score: 9.0/10.

This board was built to go anywhere and do any type of riding, and that’s what it does. It carves incredibly well for tighter and medium sized carves. It holds and edge, powers through chop, and is still excellent in the park.

3. Pop

Score: 8.5/10.

The pop is easily accessible. You don’t need to load this board up with a lot of force to get it launch you. It feels noticeably light underfoot, making it easy to snap off side hits or launch in the park, and the generous camber really gives this board an extra boost.

4. Freestyle & Park Riding

Score: 8/10.

Despite what you might have heard elsewhere, this board is actually really great in the park.

Locks Into a Press Easily

The Moderator is a nose-presser’s dream in a camber-dominant directional package. That longer directional nose pairs well with the softer flex to allow you to lock into presses effortlessly. Maneuverability is high (8.5/10), and switch riding is a surprising 9/10. Despite the directional shape, it feels perfectly balanced when you’re riding it backwards. If you are an older park rider, like me, or someone who wants a board that can cruise the resort but still hike a rail line, this can be that board.

Outstanding for Medium-Sized Jumps & Sidehits

This board is also an outstanding jump board, too. It’s fast, stable, and poppy, making it perfect for hitting small to medium-sized jumps and side hits.

5. Build Quality

Score: 9/10.

Ride’s new tech feels high-end. The board is noticeably light, and the base is also high-speed. The only knock on the build is the dampness (7/10, which is still a hair above average). I note it here because you will feel chatter in the long, softer nose as you ride through uneven terrain. It wasn’t terrible, but it’s noticeable depending on your conditions.

6. Powder

Score: 8.5/10.

While I spent most of my time testing its freestyle capabilities on harder conditions, the “directional cruiser” DNA shines through here. The float is naturally good due to the directional tapered shape and the nose rocker. It feels surfy and quick.

Feel of the Flex

The flex of this board feels soft to medium. The nose has a softer 4/10 flex that’s easily pressable with very little effort. The the rest of the board feels closer to a 5.5/10. This is true of the the torsional (toe to heel flex too). So all in all a very butterable board, but even more so on the softer nose.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Fun Factor (10/10): It’s just an incredibly fun, surfy ride.
• Pressability: The nose locks into butters and presses easily.
• Versatility: Rips ice, carves well, and destroys the park.
• Weight: Noticeably lighter than previous Ride models.
• Switch: For a directional board, it still rides switch well.

Cons

• Price: At $649.95, you are paying a premium for a premium board, but it’ll be out of reach for some.
• Nose Chatter: You will feel some vibration in the nose at high speeds on rough terrain.
• Too Soft for Some Aggressive Riders: If you’re looking to go Mach 9, this isn’t the board. It’s for casual cruisers more than aggressive riders.

Who is the Ride Moderator For?

This is for the intermediate All-Mountain Freestyle rider who wants a playful board that can still carve well. It’s for the rider looking to lap the park, hit jumps, butter all over, float ollies over rollers, and just hold an edge in all types of conditions. It’s great on groomers, forgiving on choppy terrain, and its longer nose helps it float in powder without you needing to work too hard.

In other words, the Ride Moderator is for the intermediate rider who values the fun of the ride over aggressive charging or making the perfect shaped-turn.

Who is the Ride Moderator Not For?

It is not for the hard charger or freerider who wants a stiffer board to just bomb through most of their runs as fast as possible. If you want a board with virtually no chatter and maximum dampness, you’ll need to look for another board.

It is also not the cheapest board, so if you’re on a budget, this likely won’t work for you either unless you can find a deal on last season’s model.

Ride Moderator vs Ride Warpig

Some riders will get stuck deciding between these two because they both fall under the “fun, directional, all-mountain” category of Ride boards. However, they feel very different on snow.

• The Shape & Profile: The Ride Warpig is flat underfoot with a rocker profile in the nose and has a volume-shifted (short and wide) design. It feels looser than the Moderator to ride. It’s more surfy and skate-like. On the other hand, the Moderator is a hybrid camber board (camber underfoot) with a traditional directional shape. It has that camber, power-driven snap, drive, and precision that the Warpig lacks.
• Sizing: You size down 3-6cm on a Warpig (I’d ride a 148cm instead of my usual 151-154cm), whereas the Moderator runs true to size for its length (I rode the 151 to test its park abilities by keeping it on the shorter end for my size).
• The Vibe: The Warpig is more of a “party board.” It wants to slash slush and float in pow, but the trade-off is that it can slip out of carves on ice. The Moderator is more of a “precise yet still playful board.” It wants to lock into carves and pop off lips with precision, all while being pressable for buttering.

Verdict Between the Two: If you want a looser, surfy ride for casual cruising, slush and pow, get the Warpig. If you want its more precise cousin, for a board that can hold an edge on ice and still launch off jumps in the park, get the Moderator.

Verdict

The 2026 Ride Moderator surprised me. It’s a high-end all-mountain freestyle deck that I didn’t want to stop riding. It carves exceptionally well, presses easily, and holds a superglue-like edge on ice.

If you can afford this one, it might be the only board you’ll need this season. When I get a chance to update my best do-it-all boards for 2026, you’ll find this board added in there.

Review Rating Scores

The Ride Moderator earned an 85.05 out of a possible 100 (4.25 / 5) in our all mountain board rating scale for its versatility. This rating scale prioritizes the board’s well rounded nature for resort riding, and that’s exactly what you get with the Moderator. It’s a board that’s just ready to rip anything in its path.

See Image Gallery From the Review

Rider Name: Steve Weber

Field Test Notes: I rode the 151 2026 Ride Moderator during February of 2025 at Stratton, VT.

Rider Experience Level: Intermediate to Advanced – I’ve been riding for over 15 years. Park riding is my favorite riding style, so I like to hit jumps and jib over trying to making the perfect turn.

Bindings Used: The Union Ultra

Rider Weight: 142lbs

Rider Age: 42

Why Trust This Review?

With over 15 years of park riding experience here on the icy East Coast, I know what it takes to have a safe and fun time out on the mountain. I’m an intermediate park rider who can relate to riders of all skill levels. I’ve been writing in-depth reviews just like this one for the past four years, and my main goal with this review is simply to help you find the right board.

I write these reviews as a “for the fun of it” project. They are as unbiased as I can be for someone who tends to ride in an area with icier conditions. You can support this project by making a purchase through any of the links in the post. They point to the lowest offer for the board, don’t cost you anything additional, and tell the retailer I sent you.

Thanks for reading! Please leave a comment below if you have any questions.

Steve Weber

Steve Weber is the passionate snowboarder, skateboarder, and author behind Board of the World. He understands that most gear reviews focus on having the perfect snow conditions, but his testing methodology is different. Living in Pennsylvania, Steve describes exactly how a board performs when the conditions aren’t perfect. His reviews cover performance on ice, hardpack, and flat-out brick conditions. In other words, he reviews boards for the conditions that East Coast riders actually face.

Bringing 27 years of East Coast snowboarding and 21 years of skateboarding experience, Steve is a 42-year-old intermediate park rider. His recommendations are informed by decades of battling icy conditions, ensuring every review accounts for the board’s performance on the roughest of terrain.

For the last five years, Steve has poured his passion into writing in-depth, unbiased reviews that help riders make informed decisions about the gear they’ll use. He also works part-time at a snowboard shop in Northeastern Pennsylvania, which gives him a direct line to learning about the new gear tech months in advance. When he’s not writing reviews, Steve is often found riding at Montage Mountain and testing out new boards.

Steve’s goal with Board of the World is simple: to help every reader find the right gear so they can have fun outside from the first time they use it.