Weston Japow Review

The Weston Japow is many things, but a solid park or freestyle board isn't one of them. It excels in the deep snow and is fun on natural features but we would strongly recommend you stay out of the park.

Performance Comparison

Edge Hold

For our first metric, we rated and compared how well each board bites into firm snow while carving at speed, which is responsible for 25% of the final score for each board. While icy groomers are far from what this board is designed for, it fared surprisingly well.

The Japow isn't an exceptionally stiff board, but the bamboo and poplar core with reinforcing stringers made from carbon is more than sturdy enough to carve down some groomers without issues. It's quick and responsive edge to edge, letting you cut banked turns smoothly and effortlessly.

This snowboard is made for powder — no denying that — but it holds its own in icy conditions as well. However, we can't guarantee that you won't get some rather odd looks from the lift if you are ripping groomers on Japow when it's so clearly made for the deepest of snowfalls.

Powder Performance

We were exceptionally excited to see how the Japow handled deep powder, with our series of powder tests responsible for 20% of the final score for each snowboard. As expected, the Japow completely killed it, delivering one of the best performances we have seen from just about any snowboard when it comes to deep snow.

The binding inserts are set back on this board, creating a much larger surface area under the nose of the board than its tail. The Japow has a taper running the length of the board, making it hard to keep this board from planing and floating to the top of deep powder.

The deep swallowtail keeps the tail of the board down and helps maintain the perfect angle for slicing through deep snow like the samurai sword printed on the top sheet.

Stability

Next, we moved back to the groomers to see how well each board handled when we opened up the throttle. This metric accounts for 20% of the Japow's overall score. While this board might not be our first choice for setting any speed records, it did a fine job when riding at top speed.

This medium flex board didn't give us any major issues with chatter or wobble at high speed. It offers plenty of control and is responsive to ride when jamming down steep runs, giving us plenty of confidence to let the Japow rip.

However, the setback stance can feel a little awkward at higher speeds until you get used to it.

Playfulness

While the Japow delivered excellent performances in our first three metrics, it faltered a little in these last two assessments. It's plenty playful on powder days but can't quite match some of the springier boards if the snow isn't fresh.

The Japow isn't so stiff that you can't do a press with it — with the setback stance aiding in this — but it isn't ideal for this by any means. This board is solid for freeriding but falters in the park for sure.

Pop and Jumping

As mentioned above, we would strongly discourage you from taking this board in the park. It does fine off natural features in wide-open terrain, but this board definitely wants to float more than it wants to fly.

While you can ollie, and the reinforced tail does stomp landings acceptably well with this board, it really feels like you are forcing this board to do something that it simply doesn't want to do. Our advice is to stick with the Japow for the deepest days and leave the tricks to other boards.

Value

Unfortunately, the Japow isn't a great bargain option. It's a far cry from a quiver killer and usually has a higher price tag to boot. If you are shopping on a budget, then we would suggest going with a more versatile board.

Conclusion