ProView – Kemper Apex Review
For those seeking powder in the backcountry, the Kemper Apex should be a top pick. It is a perfect quiver splitboard. It will not do it all, but it will do one thing super well, and that’s ride powder. The Kemper Apex is a Floaty McBoaty! It is an especially good option for a dense maritime snowback since it keeps you on top.
Kemper Apex
Product Name: Kemper Apex
Product Description: The Kemper Apex Powder Splitboard is a short wide powder board and that allows men and women snowboarders to lay it down and glide.
Offer price: MSRP: $800.00
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Quality
(5)
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Features
(4)
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Fit
(5)
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Durability
(5)
Summary
Kemper is “making splitboarding fun again” and that rings true with the Apex! This splitboard is ready for all manner of powder seeking. I had a great time on some knee deep backcountry days but what surprised me was how fun it was on shallow powder! While it might not be the best all round splitboard, the Apex is a standout for powder and the rider with a quiver should make room for this one.
Overall
4.8Pros
- The shape and camber are amazing in soft snow
- Phantom hardware is simple and functional
- Bright colors!
- The climbing skins have great traction.
Cons
- Difficult to skin uphill on narrow skin tracks and on firm snow.
For 15 years I’ve lived and worked at Crystal Mountain Ski Area in Washington with one of those cushy evening jobs that allows me to ski or snowboard half the day. While it makes for long days at times, the reward is pretty amazing. I learned to snowboard in 2009 and bought my first splitboard in 2010. Living in the PNW means I get to snowboard year-round on the fat Cascade snowpack and vast glaciers. I am an ambassador for Karakoram bindings and co-founder of Cascadia Splitfest, a celebration of all things backcountry snowboarding. I am also working on my AMGA Splitboard Guide certification, to help educate the next generation of splitboarders.
Fit/Setup — Length/Binding System
I generally ride boards in the 160 to 170cm range. The Kemper Apex tops out at 160 so that’s what I went with. However, it is about 1 cm wider than most boards that length in order to keep you floating even with a shorter length. It’s a powder shape though and through. I’ve used the board with 2 different binding setups, a hard boot and a soft boot. For the hard boot setup I used Phantom Alpha bindings with a modified Atomic Backland Carbon boot. For the soft boot setup I used Karakoram Prime X binding with Nitro Incline boots. I put both at a centered stance 23 inches apart. This board would be a great option for a large-footed rider, but you don’t have to be (I’m not). Any foot size could ride this. The Apex came with Phantom Spinner clips and Hercules Hooks, which I should mention are in inserts so the hardware doesn’t go through the board, keeping the base smooth!
Look/Style/Features
This board is ready to party in the pow with 13mm of taper, flat camber, setback stance and short pintail to enhance those surfy turns. Kemper stays on brand with wild patterns and bright colors. This one’s no exception, sporting neon green and zebra stripes that totally have a 90s vibe. Even the box and protective sleeve matched the theme. I do love this for another reason: having something bright in a backcountry rescue situation could be life-saving in the event of having to flag down searchers! The touring bracket mount is perfectly balanced which is nice for making kick turns.
Downhill Performance
This board is great in soft snow – the taper and flat camber make the board feel surfy, with a fun ride factor. In deep snow the large nose and cutoff tail make you feel unsinkable. I didn’t feel like I needed to move the stance back to ride powder, but when I did the surfy feeling was enhanced. The Apex is one of the of the best splitboards I’ve ever ridden in powder. It really lets the rider charge without requiring much effort. The early rise keeps the tip out of the snow even when landing in deep snow a little too far forward. On hardpack, the flat camber and width make it harder to control. Getting it to go edge to edge felt like it took a long time, particularly on icy steeps. Granted, not many splitboards perform well in that condition. Moving through the resort to a backcountry gate, I noticed that this board doesn’t want to carve, but it will go the direction you want. While on softer groomers which emulate corn snow it does still want to make longer “slarve” turns.
Uphill Performance
Skinning was pretty standard for a wide splitboard. It constantly felt like I was breaking trail on established skier skin tracks. Side-hilling on established tracks felt like a lot of work, with soft boots especially. In the hard boot setup I had less trouble side-hilling. On the plus side, the extra width felt like it gave more traction. When breaking trail I definitely felt like I was on top and had zero trouble!
Kemper’s Klimblite skins are made by Montana Climbing Skins. While they’re finicky to set up, they’re known to be lightweight and with good glide. Getting the skins set up was fairly straightforward, even with the pin tail shape. Just be sure to follow the instructions. There is markedly more skin coverage than I have seen on other setups. The balance of traction to glide is nice!
Weight/Durability/Construction
The Apex’s top sheet resists scratches. The inside edges seem unnecessarily sharp and you could feel them getting hung up on each other when the board is together and riding icy hardpack. I detuned the inside edges and had a much better time. The outside edges are quite sharp also, but I like them that way. The factory wax came partway off after one resort lap, so I took the rest off and rewaxed with a standard all-temp wax.
All Kemper boards come with a 4 year warranty. While based in Park City, Utah, the boards are manufactured overseas at GP87 which makes boards and skis for many top brands.
The Final Word
Kemper is “making splitboarding fun again” and that rings true with the Apex! This splitboard is ready for all manner of powder seeking. I had a great time on some knee deep backcountry days but what surprised me was how fun it was on shallow powder! While it might not be the best all round splitboard, the Apex is a standout for powder and the rider with a quiver should make room for this one.
Acknowledgments: thank you to Cori Bucherl for being my photographer and editor.
If you’d like to read about more Kemper boards, check out another one of Reids reviews: Proview – Kemper Freestyle
About the Gear Tester
