Capita Mercury

Much like its planetary namesake, the Mercury is out-of-this-world. Testers voted this as one of the best all-mountain boards of 2018 due to a caliber of versatility we crave yet rarely find. Active Junky’s not alone in this assessment, as major shred publications like Transworld and Snowboard Magazine have awarded the Mercury top marks as well.

The directional board possesses a hybrid camber profile that puts traditional camber between a rockered tip and tail, delivering a shape that doesn’t shy away from variable snow and excels in proper powdery conditions.  Whether you’re ripping the park, leaving snaking signatures across fresh groomers, or taking on steep in-bounds technical terrain, the Mercury is a smart purchase for shredders on the hunt for a single-board quiver.

Pros:

This directional shape jumps like a twin, landing switch with ease thanks to a minimally setback stance and an equally-wide nose and tail. The pop—supplied by a combo of arcing carbon strips starting at the outer inserts and sweeping toward the contact points along with eight bamboo rods—is ample enough to blast off any lip, side hit, or jump in sight. And while it’s not designed as a pure park board, the deck definitely locks in to front boards when the time comes.

However, the switch abilities, the pop, the jump and rail proficiency—all of that pales in comparison to this all-mountain board’s carving prowess. A directional sidecut with an additional “Death Grip” point of contact between the feet makes the ride intuitively responsive, and out of the box the Mercury turns, edges, and carves exactly how you want it to. In an all-mountain board, this intuitive turning is priority numero uno, as a board that listens to your every whim allows you to charge confidently, no matter the terrain, no matter the snow conditions.

The new sintered, high molecular weight UltraDrive base is faster than fast, leading one tester to compare it to “a greased watermelon sending a bobsled run.” For a soul-surfing rider who loves to carve and seriously doesn't take snowboarding too seriously, this board is our top choice.

Cons:

Um… It’s not free? We don’t have anything negative to say about this board.

Tester Quote: “I’d trust the Mercury with a high-speed toe turn in the crux as much as I’d trust it with a nollie butter 3 at the beach on bikini day. The Mercury provides agility, comfort, and stability in a style-inducing, confidence-inspiring all-mountain freestyle package.”

Why We’re Stoked: This board crushes everything in sight. Our go-to do-it-all deck.

Key Attribute: Versatility