The Ride Moderator is a pleasure to ride, regardless of skill level. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia
Festivus is behind us, and the only grievance I have to air is that 2026 isn’t bringing much in the way of snow out West. That’s a particular bummer when it means I don’t get to shred on one of my favorite boards this season, the Ride Moderator ($650). But if I can’t ride it, I can write about it, and I’m here to urge you to consider adding it to your quiver, or, heck, making it the whole damn thing.
The Ride Moderator is truly a board for the rest of us. Who, you may ask, are the rest of us? Well, I might mean most of us. We’re the weekend warriors, the resort rippers, the few-trips-per-year folks. We live to get our turns, but we’re not able to ride 100 days per season, and so our skills don’t stay as sharp. We want a board that can hold up to our best days, and help us out on our, hmm, not-as-good days. The Moderator will meet you there, again and again.
Bottom Line: A premium all-mountain snowboard that isn’t overly stiff or difficult to ride is somewhat hard to come by. The Ride Moderator is an everyday, every lap type board that is approachable for advancing riders, but can hold its own regardless of your skill.
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Mammoth Mountain was the perfect place to test the Ride Moderator. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia
Testing the Ride Moderator at Mammoth Mountain
At our annual snowboard test, the Ride Moderator was one of the most universally beloved boards among our team. I think we had something like six different people ride this snowboard (in a 159), from relative beginner riders to skilled shredders, and everyone came away singing its praises. The conditions were variable in our few days, from a warm, sunny day with heavy, wet snow to a particularly cold and icy day. The tech and design of the Moderator make for an impressive all-mountain board, emphasis on the all.
Ride Moderator ($650)
Sizing: 144, 148, 151, 155, 157, 157W, 159, 161W, 162, 165W
Riding Style: All-Mountain Freeride
Profile: Directional Extra Camber (Rocker just in nose)
Shape: Directional
Flex: 5 or 6/10
Pros: Surprisingly easy to ride yet fully capable of big lines
Cons: Slightly less capable than Deep Fake
Best For Riders Who: Are intermediate riders who want a serious all-mountain board.
Who Should Buy This Snowboard?
I’m not one to tell you how to live, but I think you should buy the Ride Moderator. Who? All of you. It was tough to give this a singular award in our snowboard list, but the Moderator is appealing to pretty much every rider. Typically, quiver-killer-type boards are kinda meh, but the Moderator is anything but. This board features all the premium tech you’ll find in high-end decks, but its mid-flex profile is perfect for anyone who is a committed beginner and above. If you’re a more advanced rider, though, check out the Ride Deep Fake, which is a stiffer, even more premium board that shares the shape and profile of the Moderator.
The poppy yet approachable flex profile of the Moderator was a favorite. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia
Glass With Class
The triax and biax glassing on this board pair beautifully to build a stable flex profile that isn’t difficult to ride or turn over. The Moderator feels very snappy and responsive, but if you make minor mistakes, it’s not going to dig and throw you. For most of us, especially those of us who can’t get out every day, that’s a really good thing: It means you’ll be able to send side hits and string together carves, but you don’t have to be perfectly dialed on a tree line or when dodging groms exiting the lift.
The shaping and camber profile of the Moderator combine beautifully for all-mountain riding. Photo: Nate Lemin//The Inertia
Shape For Sure
The Ride Moderator and Deep Fake share one of my favorite board shapes for all-mountain and freeride applications. You’ll notice on first glance it looks a little angular, and that sidecut beautifully matches the setback of the stance position. The fancy name Ride uses is “Linear Quadratic Sidecut,” but basically the sidecut arcs until about the back foot, and then straightens out for a bit more bite when turning, especially in deeper snow. The board is certainly directional with a nice floaty nose that was a blast to throw around in mashed potato snow, but we actually found it to ride switch pretty well. Oh, and this board features a pretty classic camber profile (a bit of rocker up in the nose), and we found that long camber section paired with a slightly softer board is part of the reason that both leveling-up riders and advanced riders can all enjoy this deck.
The Moderator is approachable for intermediates but you can lay a trench if you know how! Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia
These Are Material Things
One other reason I felt like the Ride Moderator was so sweet, regardless of skill level, is that bit of carbon, both in laminate sheets and stringers, in the construction. The board feels light and springy, and a few of us were having a blast dipping into tree runs and shooting sidehits. I’d make the claim that this is one of the most approachable high-level, premium construction snowboards available right now. At $650, it’s not inexpensive, to be sure, but it’s still $110 less than the Ride Deep Fake!
The Ride Moderator was among our favorites at Mammoth. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia
More Snowboards To Consider
While the Moderator doesn’t really have major drawbacks (other than it’s somewhat pricey), there are a couple of other boards that might suit you a bit better. The snowboard that most readily comes to mind when comparing to the Moderator is the Jones Frontier 2.0. As far as a high-quality board that can do everything but isn’t prohibitively hard to ride, the newly updated Frontier 2.0 is right there with the Ride. With a similar flex profile and the same do-it-all nature, the Frontier is an incredible value. It’s only $530, so if cost was turning you off to the Ride, the Jones makes a great alternative. Another deck worth mentioning is the Burton Hometown Hero. With a similar ethos (but a bit more powder chops), the Hometown Hero is a super capable snowboard that intermediate riders won’t be scared off by.
This is one sweet ride. Photo: Will Sileo//The Inertia
Final Thoughts on the Ride Moderator
I’ve got a lot of problems with this snowboard season, but the Ride Moderator certainly is not one (last Festivus reference, I promise). One of my favorite daily drivers, the Moderator is my pick for (dog) dad laps: This is all-mountain versatility that doesn’t beat you up. I might have a soft spot for Ride because my first ever board was a 142 Menace, but I have a whole team of riders to back me up on this one. The more approachable version of the Deep Fake (our favorite all-mountain board in 2026) deserves your attention, and if there is one board that will serve an intermediate rider well for your daily needs, it’s the Ride Moderator.
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