Rossignol Sawblade Review: A Forgiving All-Mountain Board for Progressing Riders

Introduction

The Rossignol Sawblade is built around one clear idea: make snowboarding easier without giving up all of your precision. It uses Rossignol’s Amptech AutoTurn rocker, a construction that puts a small camber zone, roughly eight inches wide, directly between your feet, with rocker everywhere else. The result is a board that turns with very little effort and offers extra float, while still feeling like a camber board underfoot. We rode it at Copper Mountain, starting on a warm sunny morning over firm, even slightly icy snow, before the weather turned overcast and windy in the afternoon. Here is how it performed.

How It Rides: Flex and Stability

The Sawblade is definitely softer than the middle of the road, and it gets even softer as you move out toward the nose and tail. Torsionally, you can flex it without even thinking, which means you can accidentally set an edge you were not planning on. In practice, this translates to a soft, lively board: you will want to avoid push piles and chopped-up terrain because you will feel everything underneath your feet. It does cut down on some micro vibrations, but chatter still transmits through the deck.

Jumping and Pop

This is not a board with great pop, largely because of how long the rocker sections are. It can feel a little washy off jumps, and on the medium line the takeoff and landing especially felt unstable unless you actively popped off the lip. Keeping to the smaller line is the sensible choice. If you plan to spin off something on a medium line, make sure your rotations are dialed in, because over-rotating on this board will keep you spinning like a helicopter.

Buttering and Jibbing

This is where the Sawblade genuinely excels. Slightly lean back and the nose pops up; lean forward and the tail pops right up, with a long rocker zone creating a big, forgiving sweet spot. On rails it feels almost like a cheat code for tail and nose presses, sliding sideways nearly the same as on flat ground. One tip: aim to land in the camber zone between your feet. It holds nicely there, while landings toward the nose or tail tend to slide out and drop off the rail sooner.

Carving and Speed Limit

The biggest surprise was edge hold. The Sawblade grips extremely well on short, tight turns, to the point of feeling slightly hooky: when you decamber the board, the whole contact point engages and it wants to keep turning. On medium and larger carves it felt pretty good. There is a real speed limit because of the rocker, and you will feel the nose and tail flopping at higher speeds. On smooth groomers, though, it carves well and you can even Euro carve as long as you keep your weight centered and mind your heels and toes to avoid catching an edge.

Who Should Ride the Sawblade

Rossignol designed this board for the advanced beginner or mellow intermediate who wants to progress without something too aggressive. It holds an edge well enough to work on fundamentals, yet stays playful and feature-curious for riders ready to try small jibs and push their skills. As an only board, it comes in 145, 150, 155, 155 wide, and 160, so there is a size for most riders.

Comparable Boards and Setup

If you are cross-shopping, comparable boards include the Capita Ultrafear, the K2 World Peace, and the Gnu Money. The test setup paired the Sawblade with Ride Fuse boots and Jones Mercury bindings. If it suits your level, sizing up the right length from those five options is the main decision you need to make.

Conclusion

The Rossignol Sawblade turned out better than expected. It held an edge far beyond what its soft flex suggested it would, it was genuinely fun to mess around on, and it would ride happily in slush all day. For an intermediate or beginner rider who wants to progress, it is a solid option: excellent at buttering and jibbing, with enough edge hold to keep you honest everywhere else.