Powder snowboard review(s)
Arbor Clovis

Expert level freerider
Alex's rating of this snowboard:

Considering his boarders profile:

Twin board, freeride looks

The Arbor Clovis (tested at 161 cm) is a special freeride board in the sense of combined qualities inside and shape. The shape (small fish tail, rocker arrowtip) suggests a focussed powder board which it is not. More about the powder performance later. First the qualities inside of the Clovis, it is medium stiff in the middle and torsional as well. The early grip points on the edges (looks waved, grip tech) grab in on pistes quickly. With the medium torsional stiffness it rides fine on the edge without breaking out. Only in full carve turns where you want that kick from the tail it breaks out. Too soft in the tail for that or too short of an effective edge. This fits with the mellow camber which is fine for riding turns without extreme rebounds. The arrow shaped rocker tip has no extra value on hard pack, but I like the looks of it. So the length of the effective edge felt short while carving, the limit of pushing it through turns with power is probably not enough for better aggressive riders. In case you like your board to be more playful, the Clovis might be more interesting for you. The non-symmetrical shape gives the mind a freerider idea, but the Clovis is a twin inside and behaves like it.

Maneuver short

Arbor Clovis as a freerider is a different story. Enough float in powder snow and the tail does help with that. The arrow shaped tip behaves as you may expect. In turns no problem at all, going straight it feels slightly unstable. All together the Clovis is easy to maneuver, especially short turns in powder, which makes it suitable for forest and lower speed as well. At 161 cm I have tested the longest Clovis. That fits just fine although I am interested in the performance of a longer one, wouldn't mind if Arbor would make it as it might be better for big powder lines. This 161cm length is easy to take anywhere. Surfing slush is a piece of cake as it steers so easy. That also helps to ride the moguls. In crud it is fine, but could use more strength/power there. I had some trouble defining the Clovis (balancing behavior, specs, looks, shape), it is a 3.5 star snowboard for me.

Arbor about the Clovis

"The Clovis, available in both men’s and women’s versions, is Arbor’s latest Camber System gun. It was designed with pro team rider Mark Carter, who drew shaping inspiration from Native American arrowheads to deliver the performance, power, and stability required for hunting massive mountain lines. We’ve updated the Clovis’ shaping profile and increased its performance for 2019 by adding more volume in the nose, increasing the board’s overall width, adding a slight taper, and shortening the tail length. Increased snap and torsional rebound increase control in critical situations thanks to four carbon a-frames that run diagonally towards the center of the board from the outside contact points. To see the Clovis in its natural habitat, look for Mark Carters full part in our full-length team video‘Cosa Nostra’, now available on iTunes.", says Arbor.

Related snowboards

Burton Dump Truck: good float and maneuverability, nice freerider.
Amplid Surfari: specific freeride board with a fish tail that gives more carving kick.
Nitro Quiver Squash: another fish tail camber board, stiffer.