What Our Gearhead(R) Experts Are Saying:"I grabbed this for my nephew when he was ready to move up from a rental board, and the poplar core gave him just enough pop to start linking small jumps in the park. The extruded base meant less time waxing and more time actually riding, which is exactly what a kid working on switch turns needs."Morning laps hit different when the park features are freshly groomed, and the lift line hasn't formed yet. That's when we send new riders out on the Defy Youth Snowboard, built to turn those quiet windows into a proving ground for a first clean 180 or a smoother run down the mountain. Its twin directional shape makes switch riding feel just as natural as riding forward, so we watch confidence build in both directions without overthinking it. Hybrid camber adds pop for ollies over rollers, and the poplar core keeps flex steady and predictable through run after run, which matters most when a young rider is still learning edge control.