Yes. Hel Yes - Women's Review

This board finished right at the top of the pack, tying with the Gnu Ladies Choice. These boards are both excellent, and we would highly recommend both of them. The Yes. Hel Yes does very well across the board, outperforming the Gnu when it comes to floating in powder, but the Gnu has the edge when it comes to the park and has way more pop.

Performance Comparison

Edge Hold

Edge hold is responsible for 25% of the overall score for each board. We rode each board in a variety of different snow conditions and terrain, taking note if the board ever washed out from under us when turning. We took it down steeper and steeper terrain, increasing our speed to push the Hel Yes to its limit and see at what point the edges lost their bite, and the board began to wash out or slip. However, we were hard-pressed to find this, with this snowboard pretty much refusing to slip — no matter where we rode it or how icy it was. The Hel Yes has some of the best edge hold of the boards we tested.

No matter what snow we were on, the Yes. Hel Yes never once slipped or lost an edge. It bites into ice just like it was freshly laid corduroy — on both the heel and toe side — and gives you confidence that you can send it when carving fast on steep, icy terrain.

The Hel Yes. utilizes Yes' UnderBite edge, which redistributes the rider's weight into the areas you need it most, ensuring that you get as much grip as possible.

Powder Performance

Our second set of tests focused on how well the Hel Yes did in the deepest snowstorms, which accounts for 20% of its final score. We took the Yes. out after the largest storms, seeing how well it floated and handled in the deepest snow. It delivered another top-notch set of results.

The directional camber profile and the big nose give this board tons and tons of float, ensuring that your legs don't get pumped while there are still fresh tracks to be had. It's nimble and responsive, giving a super fun and surfy ride.

Stability

Next, we rated and ranked each board's stability on steep groomers at maximum speed. This set of tests also accounts for 20% of the total score, with the Hel Yes. earning another high score.

This board wants to go fast and is an absolute blast to carve. It wants to fly down groomers, and you had better be prepared to keep up, as you might have a hard time keeping the Hel Yes. from opening up the throttle on a big open run. Its sintered True Base helps make this board stable and solidify its performance at higher speeds, without any sign of a speed wobble or any vibrations.

Even though this board has an overall stiffer ride and is rock solid at carving, its design allows it to have enough flex to be solidly playful, which carries us to our next series of evaluations: playfulness.

Playfulness

The Hel Yes continued its awesome performance. For this metric, which is responsible for 20% of the total score, we looked at how much fun it is to ride the board on natural features or all-mountain freestyle. In particular, we looked at how enjoyable the overall ride is and how well the board flexed and maneuvered.

The poplar and paulownia core make the Hel Yes. lightweight, but also gives it tons of playfulness and the perfect amount of flex. It's nimble and responsive through trees and is an absolute blast on boardercross style features. However, the sintered base can be more difficult to repair, so you might want to consider different boards if you plan on spending a ton of time on rails.

Pop and Jumping

For the last 15% of the final score, we rated and scored how much pop the Hel. Yes had. It finished with another excellent showing, earning yet another high score.

This board has a medium flex but has tons of pop, letting you effortlessly ollie and jump to new heights. It's pretty good in the park, but we found we preferred to play around on backcountry features with this board.

Value

This board isn't the best value for someone on a tight budget, but it does retail at a relatively average price, even though it is one of the best you can get.

Conclusion

The Yes. Hel Yes. is a fantastic all-mountain board and is one of the best you can get. It's got a great edge hold and is an absolute blast to ride. It has plenty of float for powder days and is stable enough to bomb groomers without hesitation, all while having plenty of pop. It's flexy enough to be quite fun and playful, although its performance doesn't necessarily scream park board, so you might be better served by a true freestyle board if you spend lots of time in the terrain park. However, don't be dissuaded from taking the occasional park run — the Hel Yes still performs well in the park, but its sintered base is more of a pain to repair than other boards, so you might want to be frugal with the number of rails you do. If you are looking for a versatile, all-around snowboard that is one of the best you can get, look no further than the Hel Yes.