Prior Wildcard Snowboard Review
Hand-built in Canada just outside of Whistler Prior Snowboards have a fantastic reputation, although not yet globally renowned. They were formed in 1989 by the late great Chris Prior and have been doing their thing ever since.
Disclaimer - I am not paid to write reviews about the gear I use and this board was purchased using my own money. I do not claim to be an expert just an average rider who is passionate about snowboarding and gear. If you find this review useful feel free to help me out and buy me a coffee using the button below.
PRIOR WILDCARD OVERVIEW
There are lots of variations and customisations available with Prior Snowboards so first of all I will talk about the standard Prior Wildcard.
SHAPE
The Prior Wildcard is a true-twin shape that rides the same in both directions. This suits the board’s all-mountain freestyle focus as makes riding away in switch easy.
CAMBER
The Prior Wildcard utilizes a hybrid camber profile. The Wildcard has a camber under the feet with a rocker on the tip and the tail. This is actually my preferred camber profile as it provides stability and pop but with that bit of help floating in pow.
FLEX
The Prior Wildcard utilises what Prior call their Twin Flex. The Twin Flex means that the board flexes the same whether you are riding regular or switch. The flex of the wildcard is also dependent on the construction but more on that shortly.
CONSTRUCTION
Part of Prior snowboards uniqueness is the ability to customise their boards in a number of ways. When you buy a Prior choosing its construction is part of this process. Standard boards come with a Triax glass weave or you can upgrade to an XCE carbon construction. The XCE carbon shaves around 15% of the board's weight. As someone who owns a version of the Prior Wildcard with both constructions, the XCE is also a more damp ride although both versions are great at cutting through crud.
SIZE GUIDE
Check the size guide below for regular Prior Wildcard Sizing. As a brand that prides itself on providing customs it is possible to make adjustments to the below chart. I have a 156 standard sizing and a 159 with an increased waist width.
BASE
The Prior Wildcard has a sintered base that is fast but needs regular maintenance. I love the speed that you get out of these boards but the bases are quick to show dry marks after a couple of days riding.
HOW DOES IT RIDE?
STABILITY
Ultimately when I am looking for a board I really want something that feels stable and isn’t going to wash out on me. The camber under the bindings is reassuring throughout the turn and you can feel the board lock into a carve. Even on icy snow the Prior Wildcard feels stable.
FLEX
I am not really one for pressing and buttering boards but the Prior Wildcard makes you want to do it. With your hips shifted over your tip or tail you can hold your press with decent stability. Doing a tripod and you can lock it in and just go. The flex between your feet is stiffer than on the tip and tail which means you are not sacrificing performance for that more playful ride.
TURN INITIATION
Some of the earlier hybrid camber boards like the Salomon Mans Board still felt catchy when initiating turns. That’s is not the case with the Prior Wildcard. The rocker on the nose just seems to lift those pesky contact points enough that you can just roll into your turn. The Wildcard feels quick between edges and is easy to throw around some tight trees.
PISTE
The Prior Wildcard’s underfoot camber makes the board incredibly fun to turn whether arcing across the piste or performing short turns down the run the Prior Wildcard has you covered. Both the XCE carbon and standard construction have enough ummpfh to powder you into your next turn.
POWDER
I was surprised at just how well the Prior Wildcard performs in deeper snow for a true twin snowboard. The rocker helps keep the nose afloat and although powder performance is never going to be as good as a true powder board check out these videos to see how it performed.
PARK
The Prior Wildcard is touted as an all-mountain freestyle board so it is fair to say that you should expect good park performance, it delivered. The Prior Wildcard was really fun to throw off jumps knowing that it will handle the landings. Similarly it has helped my confidence grow on rail features although it is not a jib board.
THE VERDICT
I love this board and have ridden it for a number of years now. Although other true twin snowboards have caught my eye I cant see myself replacing my Wildcard’s in my quiver anytime soon.