When I committed to a trip to Japan, I decided that I was going to buy a Japow board. Wanting something made in Japan meant that I was going to have to look beyond the normal. Past the obvious options. After some digging I came across Island Snowboards Deep Psych. Its short tail, drastic taper, and long radius had me hooked. Then I saw the Factory Edition – 1 of only 3, with its custom graphic and stiffer build – and I just had to have it.
Review details
- Board Size: 156cm
- Shape: Directional with 2mm Camber
- Bindings: Rome 390 Boss/Arbor Cypress
- Stance: 15/-15 at 22” Wide
- Rider: 6′, 175 lbs
- Conditions: Powder and Packed Powder
Overall
This board is built for a relatively strong rider who can ride with a surf style, and for deep days. From steep lines to low angle inbounds Japan riding, this thing floats, often at much lower angles than other snowboards could manage. It flattens out steep lines in the powder and carves hard on the groom, though it wants to be driven from the back foot. You also want to keep a good coat of wax on this thing due to its width, otherwise the edge to edge transition will be much slower than is fun.
Overall Nerd Edition
This thing has a 9.5m radius with a 45mm taper, sitting on a 271mm waist width. I can’t tell exactly where the apex of the side cut radius is, but I have my bindings slammed all the way back and it still wants to be driven from the back foot. But this means when you’re floating in deep snow on steep terrain with the nose of the board out of the snow, you still have precision steering. It’s also super stable landing off of pillows and cliffs in deep as well as firm snow.
Playfulness
Given the width of this board paired with the short tail, what it means to be playful changes. It’s somewhat slow edge to edge if you’re not rather dynamic in your riding, and this is foreign to many riders. Where it shines and feels most playful is deep snow, especially the kind you find yourself pumping through or with natural terrain features to play on. The ability to drive the tail of the board into the snow means dolphin turns in the pow are incredibly easy. You might also find yourself riding tighter trees than normal as the short tail allows effortless skidded pow turns. If you're a strong wakeboarder, you'll feel very at home here.
Pop
There isn’t really a lot of pop or snap on groomers because there isn’t any tail to build energy from. But because of this shape, you have more speed at your disposal. This means more pillows or cliffs than normal. Those situations - where you wouldn’t normally have enough speed to feel safe dropping off - come online with this board. This is great considering the Deep Psych is incredibly stable on these landings. I even got the chance to hit a double set of 3 foot pillows on it that most of my other boards wouldn’t have been able to get the speed for. Popping in the powder however, is a real special treat. The shape of the board lets you drive the whole board into the snow to make your own ramp wherever you want. The nose will stay high while the tail sinks, giving you a soft, mini kicker wherever you are. It's a related movement to what lets you dolphin turn in deep snow.
Handling
It has a 9.5m radius. I mean, come on, anything with a radius like that will rail so long as you can get it on edge. This board likes to be driven from the back on the groomers, and sitting on the back of this board pushing it through a 9.5 meter radius carve at high speed is just incredible. And while it’s easy to think of Japow built snowboards to be only good at low angle terrain riding - and the Deep Psych excels at this - it also makes steep lines really easy. According to CalTopo I had it in terrain in the 35-45 degree range, and the overhead blower sure made it feel that way, but it didn’t ride that steep. The way this board handles steep lines in deep snow is just magical, and made for one of the best runs of my life.
Flex
This is where the Deep Psych Factory Model is different from the mainstay. It’s got a thicker core than normal, and some extra carbon running the length of the board and from binding to contact point. I’d put this board around a 7.5-8.0 on the stiffness scale, and maybe a little harder to twist. If these things don’t sound like they’re for you, you’re in luck because the standard issue is more of a mid-flex.
Final thoughts
I adore this board for what it's good at, and its construction. A board made in Hokkaido, from trees grown and processed on Hokkaido really speaks to me. But none of that matters unless it rides well. And ride well it does. Every day I've been on it I've learned something new about it. Being able to ride deep pow like I'm wakeboarding again is just magic. The ability to pressure the front foot when it's deep out, making quick short turns that you can pump through, and the amount of low angle terrain it can float on makes this board incredibly pleasant. It still rips high-speed steeps with long open turns reminiscent of an OG fish shape, but with far more versatility. Shipping costs might make it hard to order to the United States, but if you go that route, you'll be glad you did.