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Arbor Candle Rain Review

The perfect board if you're ready to take your freestlyle tricks from the park to the entire mountain
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Arbor Candle Rain Review (A timeless and classic shape built with modern materials and techniques.)
A timeless and classic shape built with modern materials and techniques.
Credit: Natalie Kafader
Price:  $650 List
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Manufacturer:   Arbor
By Ross Patton ⋅ Senior Review Editor  ⋅  Nov 3, 2024
72
OVERALL
SCORE


RANKED
#6 of 8
  • Edging - 25% 6.0
  • Float in Powder - 20% 7.5
  • Stability at Speed - 20% 9.0
  • Playfulness - 20% 5.0
  • Pop and Jumping - 15% 9.0

Our Verdict

The Candle Rain is more akin to King Arthur's sword, Excalibur, than it is to your run-of-the-mill board produced for the two or three weekend a year rider. With snowboarding legend Pat Moore behind the design, the intended use of this board is no mystery — the Rain is made for big storms, big jumps, and big tricks. With double carbon stringers, a real wood powerply, and a Highland III core combined with a relatively small sidecut radius, this thing makes a mockery of side hits and cat tracks. Where are our testing team felt like the rain excels the most is platform step-downs and poppy jumps with powder landings.
REASONS TO BUY
Ridiculous pop
Great float in powder
Wants to go fast
REASONS TO AVOID
Lacks playfulness
May be too stiff for some
Difficult to carve

Compare to Similar Products

 
arbor candle rain
This Product
Arbor Candle Rain
Awards Top Pick Award
Best for Cliffs and Kickers
Editors' Choice Award
Best Overall Snowboard
Editors' Choice Award
Best Overall Directional Snowboard
Top Pick Award
Best Alternative Freeride Snowboard
 
Price $599.95 at Evo
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$599.95 at Evo
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$750 List
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Bottom Line A poppy, floaty, freestlye machine that is not to be ridden by the faint of heartThe versatile performance and sheer enjoyment make it a top choice for the teamAn all-mountain ride of exceptional quality and capability with a flex pattern that is friendly to intermediates and expertsJones produced a highly adaptable and enjoyable board that excelled in all aspects of performanceA well-excueted all-mountain snowboard with a touch of freestyle flair
Rating Categories Arbor Candle Rain Yes Standard Uninc DC Cardiff Goat Enduro Jones Stratos Weston Range
Edging (25%)
6.0
8.5
7.5
8.0
7.5
Float in Powder (20%)
7.5
7.0
7.5
8.0
6.0
Stability at Speed (20%)
9.0
8.0
7.5
7.5
8.0
Playfulness (20%)
5.0
9.0
8.0
7.0
6.0
Pop and Jumping (15%)
9.0
7.0
7.5
7.0
8.0
Specs Arbor Candle Rain Yes Standard Uninc DC Cardiff Goat Enduro Jones Stratos Weston Range
Shape Directional twin Directional twin Tapered directional Tapered directional Directional twin
Camber/Rocker Parabolic camber Camber, rocker Camber, rocker Camber, rocker Camber, rocker
Flex 7 7 6 7 7
Tested Length 159 cm 156 cm 162 cm 156 cm 158 cm
Measured Weight of Tested Length 6lb 8oz 6lb 10oz 6lb 8oz 6lb 10oz 6lb 8oz
Available Lengths 149 ,153 ,155 ,157 ,158w ,159 ,161 149, 152, 156, 159, 162 150, 154, 156, 162 149, 153, 154w, 156, 158w, 159, 161w, 162, 164w 155, 158, 158w, 161, 161w, 164w
Core Material Bamboo and poplar Poplar, paulownia, bamboo, carbon Poplar, paulownia Paulownia, poplar, basalt Poplar, paulownia, bamboo
Waist Width 25.5 cm 25.8 cm 26.5 cm 25.4 cm 25.6 cm
Radius 8 m 7.5 m 10 m 7.2 m 7.85 m

Our Analysis and Test Results

Performance Comparison


The Candle Rain is our hands-down favorite for all-mountain freestyle on cliffs and kickers. It's not the best for buttering or playful carves, but it more than makes up for what some would consider to be shortcomings with power, pop, and responsiveness when it matters most – cranking tricks off jumps and landing in powder.

When the crew went out to hit a kicker, the Candle Rain was the first board to be grabbed.
Credit: Ben Wynn

Edging


This metric was a tough one to score for the Candle Rain. With a small, aggressive sidecut of 8 meters on a 159 cm deck, it practically wants to carve in a circle. However, this comparatively small radius paired with a stiffer flex means it's much harder to lay into deep, playful carves at medium speeds.


If you'd rather have us cut the technical jargon and get to the point – the Rain is perfect for the quick turns you'd make while initiating a spin off a jump; especially kickers or natural jumps where you don't have the room for the setup turns and long, drawn out carves you might utilize on a park jump. Because our reviews are written for most all-mountain snowboarders, we gave this board a lower score than models we tested that were designed with the fresh corduroy harvester in mind.

arbor candle rain - the board's stiff, cambered profile and longer sidecut enabled...
The board's stiff, cambered profile and longer sidecut enabled smooth turns at high speeds, but required more effort at slower speeds.
Credit: Natalie Kafader

Float in Powder



While the Rain might be a bit difficult for some riders to tame on the groomers, this does not at all hold true for powder. We found the 8 meter sidecut to be ideal in the deep stuff where there is less of a sweet spot in terms of toe-to-heel balance meaning you can lay into quick, short powder turns with ease. However, with its downright stiff construction our testers found themselves charging hard on this board any time they came across an open field of the good stuff during our season-long testing period. It floats, it slashes, and it slices through chopped-up runouts like nobody's business.


The hole pattern is set back 1.5 cm, but with plenty of mounting options and a mere 3 mm taper from nose to tail, you have the option to set the Rain up in a practically true-twin stance should you desire to do so. This brings us to one of our favorite elements of this beast of a snowboard – it is phenomenal for riding powder switch.

arbor candle rain - 5 insert packs give you the opportunity to setback the stance for...
5 insert packs give you the opportunity to setback the stance for more float.
Credit: Natalie Kafader

Stability at Speed


Another strong suit for the Candle Rain is its ability, no, it's need, to go fast. The combination of the wood powerply, the Highland III core, and carbon stringers means you'll hardly even notice chop with this all-mountain bandit on your feet.


When we got the chance to point the Rain down some untouched groomers, the only thing slowing us down was the natural limitation of the slope. When we took it into the backcountry, far away from ski patrollers and flatlanders hiding below rollers, we were grinning from ear to ear after pointing every chute, bowl, and powder field in sight. But a word of warning – go easy on the high speed carves because the deep sidecut can take you from barreling downhill to barreling sideways across the fall line in the blink of an eye.
arbor candle rain - plenty of camber and a stiff profile make this thing a missile.
Plenty of camber and a stiff profile make this thing a missile.
Credit: Natalie Kafader

Playfulness


We consider a snowboard's playfulness to be how it performs at low speeds on smaller features, shallow powder, or a mellow open groomer. If you're looking to dial in your funbox tricks, try your hand at tail-blocks, or mimic the wild butter combinations you saw in a TikTok reel, the Candle Rain isn't going to be of much help.


The primary factor that determines a snowboard's amount of playfulness is its flex. Candle gives the Rain and 8 out of 10 on their flex meter, 10 being the stiffest. In our experience, that rating is spot-on. Unless your definition of playfulness is hitting the biggest jump in the park, you're better off going with a softer board for goofing around on sunny, soft days.

Pop and Jumping


When it comes to touching some sky, it's hard to top the capabilities of the Candle Rain. All of the elements of this board come together as you're speeding into a jump – The stiff flex absorbs small bumps like dirtbike suspension, the deep sidecut is perfect for making micro-adjustments on the approach, and the near-true-twin shape is great for taking off switch.


All of these factors play into the most important part of any maneuver – landing and riding away. We've found that reverse camber or camber combinations can often lead to looping out or tumbling over the bars in a big impact landing, but the aggressive positive camber of the Rainlikes to put a death grip on the snow the second it touches down. In those first few moments of not knowing whether you're going to be getting Apres high fives or going for the tomahawk of a lifetime where this thing really earns its stripes. The stiff flex and the sidecut radius are both components that you'll want on your side as you regain your balance and control on your way to glory country.

One of the best feelings in the world and even better on the Candle Rain.
Credit: Ben Wynn

Should You Buy the Candle Rain?


The Candle Rain is not for everyone. This snowboard is a hard-charging freestyle destroyer, built for all gas, no brakes. It's at home on sketchy in-runs, do-or-die chutes, and landing switch in the powder. This board is not for beginners or those searching for a playful deck. In fact, if a beginner tried to learn on the Rain, they might be opting for some hot chocolate by the fire instead of going back out after lunch.

arbor candle rain - the sintered base on this model is fast and should hold wax well.
The sintered base on this model is fast and should hold wax well.
Credit: Natalie Kafader

What Other Snowboard Should You Consider?


If freestyle isn't your focus and you're all about carving deep turns, the Cardiff Goat Enduro is your go-to all-mountain powerhouse. For a board that cranks up the playfulness while still delivering solid performance on jumps and in powder, see the Yes Standard Uninc. Finally, our hands-down favorite for deep powder is the Burton High Fidelity.

Ross Patton