While the Capita Birds of a Feather may be a true jack-of-all-trades, it holds to the phrase and is a master of none. This versatile snowboard does well across the mountain but fails to hold its own against more niche boards in certain conditions, like exceptionally steep and icy hardpack or the deepest powder days.
Performance Comparison
The Capita Birds of a Feather has decent edge hold but can start to slip if you hit an icy patch on steep terrain.
Photo: David Wise
Edge Hold
The Birds of a Feather got off to an alright start in our first and most important testing metric. Unfortunately, it can't quite compare to the top-tier boards when it comes to edge hold, which is responsible for 25% of the overall score.
This board has a little more flex and lacks the newer serrated edges prevalent on many of the newest boards on the market. It springs in and out of turns decently well, but we found it to be a little shaky and skid a bit if we were going fast on particularly steep and icy snow.
This board floats alright but we would probably leave it behind on the deepest days.
Photo: David Wise
Powder Performance
After edge hold, our next metric focused on how well the Birds of a Feather flew through the deepest snow. This metric accounts for 20% of the final score for each snowboard, with the Birds of a Feather delivering somewhat lackluster results.
This camber twin snowboard can take some practice to get used to in the deeper snow, and we generally found that it couldn't hang with the directional boards with setback stances on the biggest powder days. However, experienced riders who are very familiar with this type of camber can still have fun but we usually would opt for a different board for pow days.
While it isn't the best at speed, we were pleasantly surprised with how this board handled when we gave it some gas.
Photo: David Wise
Stability
After riding both powder and ice, we had a fairly good idea of how stable each of these boards is at speed and how well they did when riding through crud or other choppy snow. While we might not have been incredibly enamored with the Birds of a Feather when it came to powder or edge hold, we were pleasantly surprised with how it handled itself when we opened up the throttle.
This board is a great companion for ladies with a fast and aggressive riding style. The Birds of a Feather is stiff enough that we didn't have too much of an issue with it fluttering or flapping when we gave it the gas, contrary to its name. It doesn't have too much of an issue when the snow gets tracked out, cutting through rougher snow without too much chaos. However, it can get a little turbulent if you go through some really rough patches, failing to punch through like a directional setback board might.
The Birds of a Feather gives a super fun, comfortable ride.
Photo: David Wise
Playfulness
The Birds of Feather continued its upward flight in the scores with a strong performance in our playfulness metric, which also accounts for 20% of its final score. We awarded points based on how fun, nimble, and maneuverable each board is, as well as its overall feel while riding.
We found the Capita has plenty of spring and does alright with short radius turns but we feel the flat section does hinder as you are going edge to edge. It's flexy enough that you can butter without too much effort, but we overall felt that the flat sections of this board put a little more of a damper on our fun than we would have liked. Don't get us wrong, it's still a super fun twin board, just not quite the best.
True to its name, we could tell this board wanted to take flight with zero hesitation.
Photo: David Wise
Pop and Jumping
Our final round of tests looked at how well the Birds of a Feather did at taking flight, which is responsible for the residual 15% of the final score. This board delivered another solid performance, earning one of the better scores of the entire group.
While the flat sections of this board with zero camber were definite hindrances in our mind for most of our other metrics, these sections give this board plenty of pop whenever you go to ollie. It feels great off jumps and in the air — flying just as well as the owl on the top sheet — and is stiff enough that stomping the landing isn't too bad. It wouldn't be our first choice for a park board but can handle the occasional box or rail without too much of an issue.
Value
This board typically retails for a bit less than most of the other boards. It's a fairly attractive option if you are shopping on a budget and are looking for a board that leans a bit more towards the freestyle side of snowboarding (compared to the freeride side of things).
Conclusion
While the
Birds of a Feather might not have been our favorite board when it came to big mountain riding, it is quite fun to ride and feels great once it takes flight. It's a good choice for anyone who wants an aggressive twin board and knows how to handle its camber-heavy profile. It isn't necessarily our quiver killer of choice to recommend if you aren't already very familiar with this style of snowboard.
