Cardiff Lynx Review

Performance Comparison

This board performed superiorly in all testing categories, making an impression with its carving capabilities, float in powder, and all around performance when taken through varying terrain and conditions.

Edging

Built to carve, the Cardiff Lynx loves ripping deep turns when put on edge. Featuring Cardiff's HALFCamber system, this board has camber between the feet and rocker at the tip and tail, which creates smooth glide and solid edge control when engaging through turns.

The Lynx earned a great score when we took it to trenchtown, as we felt it was able to transition from one edge to another with minimal effort and ease. The BUTTERblunt nose and WINGtail are Cardiff's unique board design features that allow easy transition from edge to edge without getting caught up on the nose or tail. That, paired with a radial sidecut, and you have yourself one heck of a carving machine. Once put on edge, the Lynx engaged into turns and locked in from start to finish, providing an incredible carving experience and one we felt you could really feel your progression with carving take place.

Float in Powder

Though Cardiff rates it as having a soft stiffness, our tester felt the Lynx performed well in deep powder. Given its wider footprint and blunted nose, this board naturally wanted to stay afloat through pow and glided on the surface without worry of bogging beneath the snow.

The construction of this board features Cardiff's Boundary Build – which is noted to be damp, powerful, and durable. It entails carbon fiber stringers beneath a poplar and paulownia core. The benefit of this trifecta is the poplar provides snap and pop, the paulownia ensures dampness and a lightweight feel, and the carbon fiber stringers tie in the camber retention. This board construction is advantageous for an enjoyable powder ride, so our tester didn't really feel the effects of the soft flex rating and thought this board crushed it in deep snow.

Stability at Speed

The Lynx wants to go fast, so we let it. Ripping this board at top speeds was a blast, as variable terrain was no match for its solid construction and design. It felt stable when topping out at the fastest straight lines we could manage without chatter or insecurity underfoot.

When the coast was clear, we were able to rip the Lynx down some untouched groomers, giving us a fun and trustworthy ride at high speed. This board received our top rating for stability at speed, and this is because it produced nearly no chatter when ripping top speeds, felt solid and trustworthy, and was a heck of a good time.

Playfulness

Playfulness has its own category in our testing procedures because ultimately the reason we all snowboard is because its fun, so we must ensure the boards we are recommending can do just that.

A softer flex typically equates to a playful ride, as you are able to have more wiggle room in mobility and style. The Cardiff Lynx is rated at a softer flex, so we found it easy to pop, ollie, and take this board off of side hits and lips in the park. Though it is fun in the air, we don't recommend ripping this board on metal, as the unique shape and wider footprint isn't ideal as a park board.

Pop and Jumping

Adding a little pop and jump to your maneuvers is a blast on the Cardiff Lynx. Though we don't feel this is an ideal park board, it is, however, an excellent choice for taking off jumps, popping ollies, and catching air off of side hits.

We found the half-camber build and unique shape of the Lynx to provide a playful and responsive ride when cruising around slowly, looking for fun hits.

Should You Buy the Cardiff Lynx?

The Cardiff Lynx is an impressive snowboard that can be ridden in all conditions and types of terrain. If you are looking to advance your carving skills, be able to charge through deep powder, and stomp big lines, this is the board for you.

What Other Snowboard Should You Consider?