The team behind Olive Skateboards, Snowboards and Splitboards means business. First of all they’re Canadians. Secondly the guys that build and design the boards for Olive get after it in the backcountry. When it comes to making a splitboard or snowboard designed for smashing through powder, rest assured these shapes have been tried and tested before coming to market which brings us to the Olive Numbchuck Splitboard, a directional split with a killer design.

Olive Numbchuck Splitboard Review

With manufacturing up in Alberta, Canada, Olive has access to great locally sourced handpicked wood that offers a lively ride. The Numbchuck utilizes a clear poplar core that runs the entire length of the split along with a healthy dose of carbon fiber stringers and ash thrown in for added stiffness.

The Numbchuck’s tips are pretty much bomb proof with reinforced Aluminum throwing star inserts. (shown above). Along with the tips, the tail of this split is also burly thanks to the added Aluminum. The entire board is encapsulated with a special blend of urethane from tip to tail It’s sort of surprising that all splitboards built to be ridden off-piste are not being made to be as durable as the Numbchuck.

The Numbchuck comes with a bunch of camber underfoot that offers reliable edge hold when you need it combined with a big ole nose that offers insane float in the deep stuff. The camber allowed me to ride fast and hard in big mountain terrain.

One of the highlights of this splitboard is how it tours. You won’t be fighting reverse camber on the skin track. Instead, you can enjoy the bite of camber on the ascent. After testing a bunch of splitboards we’re finding profiles that are camber under foot or flat underfoot seem to tour more reliably than aggressive rockered profiles. In the past you had to make a decision, are you more focused on the up or down?

The only down side from having a splitboard constructed so strongly comes in the form of weight. Olive didn’t mess around with the durability on this board, and with that comes a little extra weight, which to be honest was only really noticable when hiking with the splitboard on my back. For the most part, it will be on your feet which is fine.

Due to the thicker sidewalls, real wood, and carbon the Olive Numbchuck won’t be the lightest splitboard on the market, however, it’s guaranteed to outlast any other board out there. The board comes with the tried and tested tip clip and K-clip board clips.

After a solid 20+ days on this splitboard it looks brand new from the base to the top sheets, sidewalls, and everything in between, out of the plastic – brand new. If you’re the sort of rider that ends up with core shots, and blown sidewalls, perhaps you should avoid hitting rocks, but all kidding aside the Olive Numbchuck Splitboard can take a beating and will be with you for years and years to come.

Overall Impression

Olive is a smaller manufacturer of snowboards, splitboards, skateboards and snowskates hand made up in Alberta, Canada. They don’t have shareholders, and never mass-produce their boards, The Olive Numbchuck Splitboard ($985) is currently (Available on backorder) in two sizes, 157 and 162 and can be purchased by hitting up Geoff and the team at Olive Snowboards.

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Olive Numbchuck Splitboard