GNU Banked County

Read the full review at oldguysriptoo.com
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Long time Mervin pro, Temple Cummins and his son, Cannon designed the Banked Country to ride like they like to ride. They designed this board to be a banked slalom destroyer and an all-mountain ripper. The Cummins’ loaded this board up with Mervin tech and put a few new wrinkles in the mix. This review references the 2022 model, but the 2023 model has the same specs, and the 2024 has a rounded tail but the board make up and profile are the same.
The Banked Country took me a bit to figure out. It’s definitely not a beginner friendly board. I would recommend it for intermediate to advanced riders. It uses Progressive Pro Magnetraction, which offers less contact points at the front of the board and more in the tail. At first it felt very catchy and unforgiving but as I rode it more, I was able to unlock the power of this board. It really wants to be ridden aggressively and heavy on the back foot. I found that as I initiated turns with weight in the front foot and shifted to the back foot, I could engage the Magnetraction in the rear of the board. It really grips and holds an edge and feels more stable at high speeds compared to low speeds. The board is also very damp and you hardly feel any chatter at all. This board just wants to go fast!
The Banked Country is on the heavier side, but this helps it blast through chop and powder. I was able to get out in some powder and the Banked Country floats well. For really deep days you can set the bindings back a bit and just float through the deep stuff with ease.The board uses Mervin’s C3 camber profile: camber underfoot and very mild rocker between the feet. Being camber dominant, the Banked Country really snaps in and out of turns. It really holds an edge well when doing laydown carves to drawn out turns.
Being a tapered directional board, riding switch is doable but you really have to be on your game. The 2024 model has a rounded tail to make switch riding a bit easier.
Buttering the Banked Country takes a little effort because it’s on the stiffer side. The nose is softer than the tail and that makes it doable, but definitely not the easiest. This is not really what it’s designed for and what it lacks in buttering, it makes up for in edge hold.
The board has plenty of pop but felt a bit heavy when jumping. The extra weight in the board took a bit more effort to get air, but the board is solid on the landings. It’s still a fun board to power down the mountain on, taking smaller jumps along the way.
Overall impressions
Energetic and poppy out of turns the Banked County is a hard charging tapered directional board. It feels more stable at high speeds and blast through uneven snow with ease. With its Progressive Pro Magnetraction it's not for the faint of heart. This board likes to be ridden fast and aggressively.

[@NullWorldOrder]

i picked this up 2023 model. didnt get it out last year. just picked up some bindings for it. cant wait to try it this coming season.

[@oldguysriptoo]

Let us know what you think.

[@evsportsman5478]

I have this board and I would agree with everything you’ve said. It is a blast but you better bring your A game. The float in pow is what surprised me the most about this board.

[@oldguysriptoo]

It’s really a great board.