❄ The Endeavor Archetype 162 Review.
❄ Brand: Endeavor,
❄ Model: Archetype,
❄ YOM: 2019,
❄ Size: @162 (319/263/289),
❄ Shape: All Mountain/Freeride/Powder,
❄ Taper: 30mm,
❄ Core: Poplar + Paulownia with Birch channel reinforcement,
❄ Base: Dura Surf 4001 Sintered,
❄ Fiberglass Structure: Triaxial fiberglass with Carbon Tail Beams ,
❄ Sidecut Radius (m): 8.8,
❄ Profile: "Hover Camber" (set back) 7mm,
❄ Flex: 7/10 (moderately stiff),
❄ Effective Edge: 1200mm,
❄ Running Length: 995,
❄ Stance Location: 0,
❄ Price: $Au999.99 RRP ($US639.95) @2023,
❄ Weight Range @162: 150-200 lbs.+ / 68-90kg+,
❄ Riding Level: Intermediate/Advanced/Expert,
❄ Bindings: Genesis X/Genesis EST™ (large),
❄ Wax: Hertal FC739,
❄ Rider: 192cm/96kg (kitted up),
❄ Rider Outerwear: Giro Range MIPS helmet/OT Chips 2.0, Quiksilver TR Hubble goggles, Quiksilver Black Alder 2L GORE-TEX Jacket / TR Premium 2L GORE-TEX pants, [ak] Powergrid base layer, [ak] Guide gloves, [ak] Endurance socks, Burton SLX boots, Quiksilver TR Platinum 24L riders backpack,
❄ Rider: 192cm/95kg (kitted up),
❄ Location: Thredbo, N.S.W.
❄ Camera: GoPro Hero 7 Black / Smatree S2C carbon pole / Samsung Galaxy S8,
(I just put this review of the Endeavor Archetype 162 together in the Snowboard Review Section from a mixture of my posts in other threads).
So, I was looking for a truly powder focused board to add to my quiver as a good option for handling soft deep Japan. I've read a ton of reviews and the Endeavor Archetype gets a lot of wraps from riders who have experienced its unique performance. I ended up grabbing a 2019 Endeavor Archetype 162 few months ago and I thought I'd share with you a closer look at what it brings to the party.
![Image]()
Now just looking at the Archetype it's definitely a board that instantly draws your attention. It's unique deep swallow tailed directional shape with 30mm of taper sort of has take me to the powder written all over it.
![Image]()
Endeavor has installed in the Archetype what their call their "Hover Camber" which is basically just set back camber. There is not a lot of aggressive camber under foot at only 7mm between the bindings which then flattens and rises to rocker forward of the front binding channel. There is also not a lot of nose forward of the front effective edge at just 230mm which gives the Archetype a bit of a stubby nosed appearance. With the tail, it's another story with an aggressive tapering in from 195mm behind the rear effective edge. This gives the Archetype a lot of tail that is really doing nothing other than adding float and stability in powder. The Binding length in the Endeavor Archetype are a lot longer than mostly all Burton channel boards which will give you the ability of a greater stance width option. However the rear extremity of the front channel does sit pretty forward towards the nose for a powder orientated board.
![Image]()
I Just returned from a few days from Thredbo, NSW in the Australian Alpine where I rode a number of days each on my new '19 Custom 166W and '19 Endeavor Archetype 162. So this is a 1st impression ride from a solid day of riding with the Archetype.
It's been 6 months since I've been riding after coming out of the heavenly powder filled Hokkaido Alpine so jumping back on the slopes of Australia is a bit of a downgrade but I'll take this any day just to get back on the mountain. Well I had the Endeavor Archetype 162 waxed up with Hertal FC739 and boy oh boy she's a quick little beast. Conditions on the day left me on groomed to later slightly mucked up slushy +2C overcast conditions to ride on. On a big plus no real crowd problems.
![Image]()
So, this is my 1st time in riding a swallow tail and the Archetype is a pretty extreme example of this. The Archetype 162 looks a little out there but boy it absolutely rips. It feels like a very competent carver....., turns edge to edge with so much ease.
This is the shortest board I've ridden for quite a while (being in the 95kg kitted up range) and you can feel this slight size difference with the Archetype in hand. I had the bindings dialed back to -10mm behind reference front and rear. I'm tending to always set up like this lately as I'm now more into directional freeriding in my older age.
![Image]()
This felt okay but underfoot I was feeling an unusual tiny bit wider in stance than on my 2019 Custom 166W. I later ripped out the tape measure finding the Archetype was 38mm wider than the Customs 560mm with both their indicated reference points. So I'll definitely be taking this into consideration the next time I set up.
![Image]()
I tried to lay down a few high speed euro's and could slightly feel the nose wanting to bite in a couple of times. Maybe need to try this out earlier in the day before it gets slightly chewed up. I normally have no problems with this on the longer Custom/Custom X but this could be me just taking on too much for a 1st day ride. The effective edges might be playing into this a little bit here at 1200mm for the Archetype @162 to 1295mm Custom @166W. Just need to be a little less aggressive with this smaller ride.
![Image]()
So from a 1st day ride on the Archetype it feels fairly solid. It's definitely a good board. Going back down for a week in 3 weeks time and I'll be taking the Custom X, Custom and Archetype. Hoping for a bit of powder to break the Archetype out on. This is where I feel the Archetype will really come to life.
![Image]()
So returned for a further few days on the '19 Archetype and another 2 days on '19 Custom 166W. Conditions were the usually groomed to mucked up Australian Alpine piste. Plenty of snow just not that much fresh stuff. Both boards absolutely ripped.
![Image]()
Had the Archetype fitted with Genesis X EST and dialed fully back to the rear on front (-10mm) and around -20 on the rear. Found a couple of untouched fresh patches and slashed around on the Archetype. I could feel the Archetype coming into its own here and really lapping these areas up. This ride also carves very hard for a semi S rocker type (hover camber) set up with it never losing an edge when I was laying it over and cranking the Archetype hard.
I notice the nose just had the slightest bit of chatter when riding through rougher areas of terrain. The Archetype has 2 carbon strips running in a V pattern from each swallow tail to around half way up the board for stiffness but to me this board feels a tiny less stiffer than say a Custom.
![Image]()
So I'm hanging to get this board over to Hokkaido to give it a real workout. Will see how I go with luggage weight but are planing with taking my Dump Truck 163, Archetype 162 and maybe if I can squeeze it in, the Custom 166W for those bluebird days.
So all in all from my short few days of riding....., the Archetype feels a pretty sweet board.
February, 2019 Hokkaido, Japan.
In Furano presently, last day before heading to Niseko for a week. Been an epic amount of snow, 10 to 15cm a day. I brought 3 boards over with me, Dump Truck 163, Archetype 162 and Fish 161. Yesterday I had a full day on the Archetype in the powder. It was super cold at windchill -35C and managed a little frostbite on nose as I was hammering it home. Well this board went pretty good. Very surfy when you're in the powder. So easy to slash the tail around and change direction on the float. My only one gripe about the Archetype is I wish it was slightly longer for me being around 96kg/192cm kitted up. I have Genesis EST™ fully to the rear on front foot which is only about -10 and -20 on the rear foot. You notice when driving through untracked the nose sitting a bit too low in front even though I'm leaning back slightly. I think I've been a little spoiled with how central you can ride the Fish and superbly it performs in powder. Back out off the powder onto the piste the Archetype feels soooo good here as a solid carver.
1st bluebird day outside today at -23C. I wonder what board I will take out today??? Just looked out window again heavy cloud coming over......., shit more snow again.
Last day in Niseko today so I thought I'd end the holiday with a big day on the Archetype. Had around 10 to 15cm in the last 24 hours so plenty of fresh powder available. Been riding my 161 Fish most of the time here and god I really love this board.
Did a number of decent drops into some uncharted zones. The Archetype worked well here so I ventured down for a few runs under the chairs where the untracked powder lay.
So look, I'll put this right out there..., the Archetype is truly deceptive with its looks. To me, it feels way more comfortable as an All Mountain to Freeride board than what Endeavor markets it as, a true Powder slayer. This kind of left me a little disappointed as I was expecting far more from the Endeavor Archetype in the soft stuff. It can do powder areas pretty comfortably but just doesn't fill me with what I've experienced with the Fish. In my mind the Endeavor Archetype is very similar to my Dump Truck 163. I'd say the Archetype probably carves slightly a bit better where as the DT enjoys the powder a bit more. However, they're both really pretty close to each other. I find I get the most joy from the Archetype out on the groomers.
In my mind the Archetype's main flaw is that the front channel is positioned way too far forward and with EST™. You just can not get enough set back on the front bindings and the "Hover Camber" just doesn't give the Archetype enough lift for it to excel in powder. You stand it next to any of my other Boards I own and you can clearly see how far the front channel sits up on the board. A Re-flex/standard binding setup may/would probably slightly address this issue.
The Endeavor Archetype 162 is a really solid board and performs brilliantly more so as an All Mountain to Freeride snowboard. The Archetype carves pretty damn solid on the piste and can really hold it's head up high when bouncing into the powder pockets.
To be honest though, I was probably expecting the Endeavor Archetype to perform a bit better in the powder than what it did for me. I suppose being a bigger rider at 95kg may have stretched it a bit too far?...., and in Hokkaido laying it up against my Burton Fish 161 is really not that fair of a fight at all.
A Truly Fine Endeavor. ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
❄ Brand: Endeavor,
❄ Model: Archetype,
❄ YOM: 2019,
❄ Size: @162 (319/263/289),
❄ Shape: All Mountain/Freeride/Powder,
❄ Taper: 30mm,
❄ Core: Poplar + Paulownia with Birch channel reinforcement,
❄ Base: Dura Surf 4001 Sintered,
❄ Fiberglass Structure: Triaxial fiberglass with Carbon Tail Beams ,
❄ Sidecut Radius (m): 8.8,
❄ Profile: "Hover Camber" (set back) 7mm,
❄ Flex: 7/10 (moderately stiff),
❄ Effective Edge: 1200mm,
❄ Running Length: 995,
❄ Stance Location: 0,
❄ Price: $Au999.99 RRP ($US639.95) @2023,
❄ Weight Range @162: 150-200 lbs.+ / 68-90kg+,
❄ Riding Level: Intermediate/Advanced/Expert,
❄ Bindings: Genesis X/Genesis EST™ (large),
❄ Wax: Hertal FC739,
❄ Rider: 192cm/96kg (kitted up),
❄ Rider Outerwear: Giro Range MIPS helmet/OT Chips 2.0, Quiksilver TR Hubble goggles, Quiksilver Black Alder 2L GORE-TEX Jacket / TR Premium 2L GORE-TEX pants, [ak] Powergrid base layer, [ak] Guide gloves, [ak] Endurance socks, Burton SLX boots, Quiksilver TR Platinum 24L riders backpack,
❄ Rider: 192cm/95kg (kitted up),
❄ Location: Thredbo, N.S.W.
❄ Camera: GoPro Hero 7 Black / Smatree S2C carbon pole / Samsung Galaxy S8,
(I just put this review of the Endeavor Archetype 162 together in the Snowboard Review Section from a mixture of my posts in other threads).
So, I was looking for a truly powder focused board to add to my quiver as a good option for handling soft deep Japan. I've read a ton of reviews and the Endeavor Archetype gets a lot of wraps from riders who have experienced its unique performance. I ended up grabbing a 2019 Endeavor Archetype 162 few months ago and I thought I'd share with you a closer look at what it brings to the party.
Now just looking at the Archetype it's definitely a board that instantly draws your attention. It's unique deep swallow tailed directional shape with 30mm of taper sort of has take me to the powder written all over it.
Endeavor has installed in the Archetype what their call their "Hover Camber" which is basically just set back camber. There is not a lot of aggressive camber under foot at only 7mm between the bindings which then flattens and rises to rocker forward of the front binding channel. There is also not a lot of nose forward of the front effective edge at just 230mm which gives the Archetype a bit of a stubby nosed appearance. With the tail, it's another story with an aggressive tapering in from 195mm behind the rear effective edge. This gives the Archetype a lot of tail that is really doing nothing other than adding float and stability in powder. The Binding length in the Endeavor Archetype are a lot longer than mostly all Burton channel boards which will give you the ability of a greater stance width option. However the rear extremity of the front channel does sit pretty forward towards the nose for a powder orientated board.
I Just returned from a few days from Thredbo, NSW in the Australian Alpine where I rode a number of days each on my new '19 Custom 166W and '19 Endeavor Archetype 162. So this is a 1st impression ride from a solid day of riding with the Archetype.
It's been 6 months since I've been riding after coming out of the heavenly powder filled Hokkaido Alpine so jumping back on the slopes of Australia is a bit of a downgrade but I'll take this any day just to get back on the mountain. Well I had the Endeavor Archetype 162 waxed up with Hertal FC739 and boy oh boy she's a quick little beast. Conditions on the day left me on groomed to later slightly mucked up slushy +2C overcast conditions to ride on. On a big plus no real crowd problems.
So, this is my 1st time in riding a swallow tail and the Archetype is a pretty extreme example of this. The Archetype 162 looks a little out there but boy it absolutely rips. It feels like a very competent carver....., turns edge to edge with so much ease.
This is the shortest board I've ridden for quite a while (being in the 95kg kitted up range) and you can feel this slight size difference with the Archetype in hand. I had the bindings dialed back to -10mm behind reference front and rear. I'm tending to always set up like this lately as I'm now more into directional freeriding in my older age.
This felt okay but underfoot I was feeling an unusual tiny bit wider in stance than on my 2019 Custom 166W. I later ripped out the tape measure finding the Archetype was 38mm wider than the Customs 560mm with both their indicated reference points. So I'll definitely be taking this into consideration the next time I set up.
I tried to lay down a few high speed euro's and could slightly feel the nose wanting to bite in a couple of times. Maybe need to try this out earlier in the day before it gets slightly chewed up. I normally have no problems with this on the longer Custom/Custom X but this could be me just taking on too much for a 1st day ride. The effective edges might be playing into this a little bit here at 1200mm for the Archetype @162 to 1295mm Custom @166W. Just need to be a little less aggressive with this smaller ride.
So from a 1st day ride on the Archetype it feels fairly solid. It's definitely a good board. Going back down for a week in 3 weeks time and I'll be taking the Custom X, Custom and Archetype. Hoping for a bit of powder to break the Archetype out on. This is where I feel the Archetype will really come to life.
So returned for a further few days on the '19 Archetype and another 2 days on '19 Custom 166W. Conditions were the usually groomed to mucked up Australian Alpine piste. Plenty of snow just not that much fresh stuff. Both boards absolutely ripped.
Had the Archetype fitted with Genesis X EST and dialed fully back to the rear on front (-10mm) and around -20 on the rear. Found a couple of untouched fresh patches and slashed around on the Archetype. I could feel the Archetype coming into its own here and really lapping these areas up. This ride also carves very hard for a semi S rocker type (hover camber) set up with it never losing an edge when I was laying it over and cranking the Archetype hard.
I notice the nose just had the slightest bit of chatter when riding through rougher areas of terrain. The Archetype has 2 carbon strips running in a V pattern from each swallow tail to around half way up the board for stiffness but to me this board feels a tiny less stiffer than say a Custom.
So I'm hanging to get this board over to Hokkaido to give it a real workout. Will see how I go with luggage weight but are planing with taking my Dump Truck 163, Archetype 162 and maybe if I can squeeze it in, the Custom 166W for those bluebird days.
So all in all from my short few days of riding....., the Archetype feels a pretty sweet board.
February, 2019 Hokkaido, Japan.
In Furano presently, last day before heading to Niseko for a week. Been an epic amount of snow, 10 to 15cm a day. I brought 3 boards over with me, Dump Truck 163, Archetype 162 and Fish 161. Yesterday I had a full day on the Archetype in the powder. It was super cold at windchill -35C and managed a little frostbite on nose as I was hammering it home. Well this board went pretty good. Very surfy when you're in the powder. So easy to slash the tail around and change direction on the float. My only one gripe about the Archetype is I wish it was slightly longer for me being around 96kg/192cm kitted up. I have Genesis EST™ fully to the rear on front foot which is only about -10 and -20 on the rear foot. You notice when driving through untracked the nose sitting a bit too low in front even though I'm leaning back slightly. I think I've been a little spoiled with how central you can ride the Fish and superbly it performs in powder. Back out off the powder onto the piste the Archetype feels soooo good here as a solid carver.
1st bluebird day outside today at -23C. I wonder what board I will take out today??? Just looked out window again heavy cloud coming over......., shit more snow again.
Last day in Niseko today so I thought I'd end the holiday with a big day on the Archetype. Had around 10 to 15cm in the last 24 hours so plenty of fresh powder available. Been riding my 161 Fish most of the time here and god I really love this board.
Did a number of decent drops into some uncharted zones. The Archetype worked well here so I ventured down for a few runs under the chairs where the untracked powder lay.
So look, I'll put this right out there..., the Archetype is truly deceptive with its looks. To me, it feels way more comfortable as an All Mountain to Freeride board than what Endeavor markets it as, a true Powder slayer. This kind of left me a little disappointed as I was expecting far more from the Endeavor Archetype in the soft stuff. It can do powder areas pretty comfortably but just doesn't fill me with what I've experienced with the Fish. In my mind the Endeavor Archetype is very similar to my Dump Truck 163. I'd say the Archetype probably carves slightly a bit better where as the DT enjoys the powder a bit more. However, they're both really pretty close to each other. I find I get the most joy from the Archetype out on the groomers.
In my mind the Archetype's main flaw is that the front channel is positioned way too far forward and with EST™. You just can not get enough set back on the front bindings and the "Hover Camber" just doesn't give the Archetype enough lift for it to excel in powder. You stand it next to any of my other Boards I own and you can clearly see how far the front channel sits up on the board. A Re-flex/standard binding setup may/would probably slightly address this issue.
The Endeavor Archetype 162 is a really solid board and performs brilliantly more so as an All Mountain to Freeride snowboard. The Archetype carves pretty damn solid on the piste and can really hold it's head up high when bouncing into the powder pockets.
To be honest though, I was probably expecting the Endeavor Archetype to perform a bit better in the powder than what it did for me. I suppose being a bigger rider at 95kg may have stretched it a bit too far?...., and in Hokkaido laying it up against my Burton Fish 161 is really not that fair of a fight at all.
A Truly Fine Endeavor. ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨
