Based the width, length, shape, and other specs, plus being super happy with the board I’m currently riding, an Academy Team Series 160X, I ordered a Graduate 163W to be an even better, more perfect match for my weight, experience, riding style.

This is exactly what I’ve been looking for, and this Graduate will be my personal, ultimate do-it-all board: powder, corduroy, free ride, all conditions, all mountain.

At 51 years old and remembering the early days when snowboarding was strictly prohibited at numerous ski areas, and i had to hike uphill just to sneak in a run when no one was looking, it’s nice to know a great local company that knows the local mountains and beyond.

I’m just a midweek season pass guy at Sugar Bowl and will be riding this Graduate 163W down the peaks of Mt. Judah, Mt. Lincoln, Mt. Disney, Crow’s Nest Peak plus various backcountry spots around Historic Donner Summit.

Will also bring this along if I go ride elsewhere in the USA or Japan.

If I’m lucky enough to do some “bucket list” helicopter-assisted first tracks on the powdery peaks of NZ before i die, I’ll definitely bring this Academy Graduate 163W as my #1.

Shipping was fast, everything arrived in perfect condition, and I can’t wait to get the new bindings I ordered, the Kazu Kokubo Union Atlas Pros, on this board, then take it up to Mt. Judah and Mt. Lincoln whenever Sugar Bowl opens.

Thanks to everyone at Academy for the friendly and professional service.

Stoked for this upcoming winter!

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow! 🌨️🏂

I ordered the Propaganda, Propacamba, Hybrid 2.0, and Master Series, and I couldn’t be happier.

From start to finish, everything was seamless. Ordering online was completely smooth and straightforward—no hiccups, no confusion, just a clean, easy process.

What really stood out was how easy Academy was to work with when I had questions.

They were responsive, helpful, and genuinely made the whole experience feel personal and stress-free.

It’s rare to find a company that combines top-tier boards with such solid customer service.

These boards are pure quality, and I’m stoked to have them on the mountain under my feet.

If you’re looking for great snowboards and a company that actually cares about the customer experience, Academy is the real deal.

Been riding them for years and love them. Highly, highly recommend! 🏂🔥

The graduate is a real snowboard for real snowboarders. It puts the power down and let's your riding do all the talking. It's hard to find a board like that these days. I don't have to think about my board just my riding.

I bought at end of the year so didn’t have a chance to ride it yet. It looks to be a very solid build quality. I’ve ridden enough boards to anticipate it being a ripper. The academy guys I spoke with were amazing and very helpful. I definitely don’t have any complaints and really appreciate the small brand customer service. Thanks guys!!!

Love seeing a good thing still making a great product. Academy is still the company it started out to be, just damn good snowboard. Love the master series, thanks JB!

It's light and easy to ride. To be honest, I have no complaints. I wish they would increase the number of distributors in Japan.

So sik. Boards are so good. Light,fast and rider owned

Just got this bad Larry today and took er for a rip in the steeps, off-piste, groomers, trees, cliffs, bumps, leftover pow and the park. This thing does it all and does it great! It's heavy and damp, but that feels really nice pushing through crud and charging with fewer vibrations. I hit a few early season rocks and the dings were minimal, this thing is built like a tank! Makes sense since it comes from the Never Summer factory. I got it in a 160w and it's soft enough along the length to press and butter for a large and somewhat heavy human, but stiff enough to not feel floppy while charging. It's a bit torsionally stiff, but I have a feeling that it will soften up over time. Love the camber profile; stable between the feet, playful at the tip and tail. The vario sidecut is cool! Never had a board with that before but I feel like it helps lock in some nice feeling carves. 10/10 would recommend for anyone like me that prefers to have one board to rule them all.

Stoked to get my 159W Academy Masters deck so soon after ordering online! The board's finish is top tier and I can't wait to get it on snow!!! Hyped for the season!

Haven’t been able to ride it yet, but the propaganda is the perfect amount of playful and snappy I’ve been looking for. I appreciate all the stickers too! The matte black is sleek

The search is over, I finally found the board for me! I'm 5'7 150lbs size 7 boot, intermediate, and the 152 is perfect. I love that it comes in a 244mm waist width, so much easier to ride for my boot size. The base is fast, board is damp without feeling heavy, it's such a smooth riding board. Thank you Academy!

I have propaganda and graduate.
And I became a huge fan of academy snowboard.
I have been wanted to buy Master, and finally got a chance. I actually didn’t try this yet, but I will bring this back to Japan and cannot wait to have a fun ride with this board.
Order process and delivery were great.

First I would like to say that Jeff Baughn is an awesome human! He met me early morning on the way up to my local mountain (Sugar Bowl) to let me demo this board. Amazing customer service! Now on to the board. This board is a resort ripper !! it holds an edge really well and makes carving so much fun. I consider myself an intermediate rider that mainly sticks to groomers and this board out the gate gave me hella confidence to bomb down hill and still feel in control. I also took this through some trees a day after a huge storm passed and the quick edge to edge transition made it so much more fun in some pow. I have it paired with burton step ons and photon burton boots. This is now my daily driver from here on out. Thank you again Academy snowboards and a huge thank you again to JB for what you do! Yeeeee

This is a great “do it all” board. I had the pleasure of riding this board in Japan in super pow conditions and it floated that pow effortlessly as it’s a directional twin but being that it’s camber it has amazing edge control and pop. When I got back stateside I took this board up to my local mountain where it’s all man made hard pack groomers and this board felt so smooth and in control at very high speeds. On a rocker board I would’ve felt squirly as It was extremely fast!! I had been riding the hybrid rocker boards from other brands over the years and now being back on camber there’s no looking back. Plus this board being made by NS only means it’s the best built board with the highest quality materials on the planet. There’s a difference between NS quality and everyone else, trust me. Been riding for over 35 years now so I have a good amount of experience with boards and quality. I couldn’t be happier with this board. I will be sticking with Academy from here on out.

This board I got is a little longer than my old one not as wide but almost there. It’s a great board! Good for jibs and jumps it feels amazing. Carving and mainly pop could use a little work but for a flat board this rides amazing overall even in powder for a park board. Thanks academy they sent hella stickers too and wrote a thank you note. Thank you academy for the great board.