Reviews You Can Rely On

Gnu Ladies Choice Review

Earning the highest honor, it did exceptionally well in all our tests
gearlab tested logo
Gnu Ladies Choice Review
Credit: Gnu
Price:  $630 List
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Manufacturer:   Gnu
By Marissa Fox ⋅ Review Editor  ⋅  Nov 15, 2023
90
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Edge Hold - 25% 9.0
  • Powder Performance - 20% 8.0
  • Stability - 20% 9.0
  • Playfulness - 20% 9.0
  • Pop and Jumping - 15% 10.0

Our Verdict

The Gnu Ladies Choice is one of the best boards we have tested to date. This board has a fantastic edge hold and is super stable across every type of snow condition. It excels across the entire mountain and in the park, making it an excellent choice for anyone who spends significant time in both the park and the trees. It's a super playful board with tons and tons of pop, and we would highly recommend it for pretty much everyone; it basically does a large portion of the work for you while riding, and you will feel like a better and more confident rider the moment you strap in. This is Jamie Anderson's signature board that she rode in the Pyeongchang Olympics, and it is extremely easy to see why she chose it and why she rides it across the world. Our review of the top women's all mountain snowboards shows how it stacks up versus competing products.
REASONS TO BUY
Unmatched pop
Great edge hold
Supremely stable
REASONS TO AVOID
Not the best board for powder
Editor's Note: We updated our review of the Gnu Ladies Choice on November 15, 2023, to show the 2024 graphics for this board.

Our Analysis and Test Results

To really find out which snowboards are the best, we purchased all the most promising models available and tested them out head-to-head. We took these boards all over the mountain in different types of snow conditions and rated their performance in five different categories — edge hold, playfulness, pop and jumping, stability at higher speeds, and performance in powder.

gnu ladies choice - the ladies choice is one of the most solid all-around boards we...
The Ladies Choice is one of the most solid all-around boards we tested.
Credit: David Wise

Performance Comparison


gnu ladies choice - the ladies choice has superior edge hold in all conditions.
The Ladies Choice has superior edge hold in all conditions.
Credit: David Wise

Edge Hold


Regarding edge hold, the Ladies Choice is one of the best you can get. We rode this board in all types of snow, both off and on-piste, to see if this board ever lost an edge or washed out from under us.


The Ladies Choice has Magne-traction edges, meaning they are serrated — similar to a steak knife. These knife-like edges really bite into all sorts of snow — even the icy patches.

gnu ladies choice - the ladies choice delivered on edge hold on everything from slush to...
The Ladies Choice delivered on edge hold on everything from slush to steep ice.
Credit: David Wise

This increases the effective edge length and gives you phenomenal edge hold in all conditions, even when riding steep icy sections. This board never slipped or washed out on us, giving us complete confidence when carving at high speeds or on steep icy terrain.

gnu ladies choice - deep snow was no issue for this board.
Deep snow was no issue for this board.
Credit: Lauren McMillan

Powder Performance


Next, we evaluated this board's performance in deep snow, which constitutes 20% of its final score. To rate this, we rode this board all over the mountain after big storms, taking notes on how it handled and how it floated. It did very well, but it wasn't the absolute best.


This board is a blast to ride in the pow, but as mentioned above, it wasn't our absolute favorite, and we would pick a few other boards over it for the deepest days. However, all of the boards that outperformed the Ladies Choice in the deep snow have a ton of very powder-specific features, such as a directional shape, a fishtail, or a really long nose with a very setback stance. These boards might outperform the Ladies Choice on the deepest days, but their powder-specific design features are detrimental when riding other terrain or playing in the park. For being such a versatile and well-rounded board, we were amazed at how well the Ladies Choice floated and handled in the freshies. It has an astounding amount of float for being essentially a twin board with a centered stance.

gnu ladies choice - we love this board for its awesome stability at speed.
We love this board for its awesome stability at speed.
Credit: David Wise

Stability


This next metric is for anyone looking for a board to rip the groomers. Stability accounts for 20% of the total score and is based on the board's performance when we really opened up the throttle. The Ladies Choice did very well, earning one of the top scores of the entire group.


We were quite surprised at how stable this board felt at speed, given its medium flex and a relatively softer ride. At first glance, it doesn't seem like this board would be an excellent carving board, but our initial impressions turned out to be completely wrong once we got the Ladies Choice up to higher speeds and started doing turns.

gnu ladies choice - we found the ladies choice to be playful in just about any condition.
We found the Ladies Choice to be playful in just about any condition.
Credit: David Wise

This board's C2 Rocker profile makes it great for carving and gives it a really strong and stable feel, even on uneven terrain. We did occasionally notice a little bit of chatter, but the Ladies Choice's flex and profile seem to absorb it.

gnu ladies choice - the ladies choice is a super fun, playful board.
The Ladies Choice is a super fun, playful board.
Credit: David Wise

Playfulness


While the Ladies Choice might not have been the best at powder, it truly excels when it comes to playfulness. It's an absolute blast to ride, which similarly accounts for 20% of its final score.


The lightweight balsa/aspen/paulownia core gives the Ladies Choice a super fun and poppy ride. It has a medium flex and is one of the most fun boards that we have seen so far in the park and on natural features. Its camber-rocker-camber profile makes it particularly fun in the park, and it's great for rails and jibbing.

gnu ladies choice - this board earned top marks for its pop.
This board earned top marks for its pop.
Credit: David Wise

Pop and Jumping


For our last set of tests, we compared and scored how well each snowboard is at jumps and how much pop it has when you are trying to take off. These tests are responsible for the remaining 15% of the overall score for each all-mountain snowboard, with the Ladies Choice delivering a phenomenal performance.


This is one of the best freestyle/park boards that we have tested, which is slightly surprising given its fantastic edge hold and excellent performance in powder. While other boards can outperform the Ladies Choice in specific riding areas, none can match the overall versatility of this board. The giant swallowtail board may give you slightly more float in powder, but good luck taking that on rails. We thoroughly appreciated that this board's design is a fantastic option for ladies who want to spend equal time shredding the trees and hitting the park and spend their days roaming the entire mountain. It has tons of pop — enough to launch you when doing an ollie. We thought it was the best board of the bunch for riding switch, and it stomps the landings exceptionally well.

Value


While this is one of the best boards you can get, it is also a decent value. It's an expensive purchase, but it has a fairly average price tag, considering it's a top-tier all-mountain snowboard.

Conclusion


All in all, it is hard to go wrong with the Ladies Choice by Gnu. It's Jamie Anderson's signature model and excelled across the board in our rating metrics. It's super stable, crushes it in the park, and has plenty of pop, all while being a blast to ride in powder. We had a blast riding the Ladies Choice in all sorts of terrain. However, this board is a true twin freestyle board, making it an awesome park board. It's also great for groomed terrain and in the trees, but it just can't quite match the float of powder-specific boards in the deepest snowfalls. If you truly want a quiver killing all-mountain snowboard that covers the park and is designed with a ladies' riding style in mind, you would be incredibly hard-pressed to find a better one than the Ladies Choice.

Marissa Fox