Korua Shapes’ Transition Finder Is an Affordable All-Mountain Surfer

Korua Shapes cult-classic, medium-stiff Transition Finder hasn’t been updated since the German board-builder shaved down the taper to boost all-mountain freestyle and switch-riding capabilities in 2022. Thank heavens. Our test team sends its sincerest gratitude: we’re card-carrying members of the cult. I personally spent six weeks in Hokkaido testing the current version of the Transition Finder over the last two winters, and I can attest that it’s the perfect all-mountain board as is.

See how the Korua Shapes Transition Finder stacks up against the other top snowboards of the year.

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Korua Shapes Transition Finder

Sizing: 150, 154, 157, 160 cm
Genre: All-Mountain/Backcountry Freestyle
Profile: Float Camber (rockered nose, camber underfoot)
Shape: Directional
Flex: Medium
Waist Width: 26 cm (154 cm)
Sidecut: 8.1m (154 cm)

Pros and Cons
⊕ Cruisy
⊕ Great for freestyle
⊕ Versatile
⊕ Affordable
⊗ Doesn’t excel in switch
⊗ 157 not great for shorter-radius turns
⊗ More sizes still needed

$549 at Korua

The first time I brought the Transition Finder to Japan, I brought a swallowtail, too, thinking I might want another deck for deeper days. I barely used it. While that swallowtail languished in my board bag, the wide, early-rise nose of the Transition Finder provided unbelievable buoyancy on hip-deep tree runs, mini-truck-sized pillow poppers, and sidecountry sojourns. Needless to say, when I returned to Hokkaido for a month this past winter, the Transition Finder was the only solid board in my bag.

I typically ride a 158- or 159-centimeter length, but I tested the shorter, wider, volume-shifted Transition Finder in a 154, as its wide frame is designed to be sized down. I’ve ridden some of the deepest runs of my life on this thing, and it was never undergunned.

It’s deceptively agile too, which I discovered after ripping through Hokkaido’s iconic deciduous forests. In tight corridors, you can shift your weight to the diamond tail, pivoting and piloting the Transition Finder through gaps in the glades you have no business bombing through. While the nose is pliable and surfy, the short tail is stout enough for substantial drops as well. A beefier, longer tail might be welcome if you’re sending 25-plus footers at speed, but for me, dropping anything up to 15 feet felt ideal.

The majority of testers who hopped on the Transition Finder at our test week in Diamond Peak felt similar sparks fly. “It pops reliably like a movie theater popcorn machine and excels at everything from long, fast carves to tight wiggles and banked slalom slashes. Favorite board of the test—flexy, fast, fun!” commented an intermediate Sierra surfer, loving the versatility provided by the middle-of-the-park sidecut and the dampness of Korua’s cruisy, cost-effective construction (tried-and-true biaxial fiberglass over an unpretentious poplar core).

Utah tester Jackson Weber agreed, calling the build “stiff enough for charging carves, flexy enough for butters and tricks.” His recommendation? “If you enjoy smiling all day and hitting any obstacle with steeze and ease, rock this slashing ripper.”

That said, the Transition Finder isn’t for everyone. A heavier, aggressive freestyler found the nose flex on the floppy side for his style of all-mountain charging, and also craved better performance while riding switch.

At the end of the day, this is an affordable, damp, cruisy-yet-capable all-mountain surfer that slashes the nexus of freestyle and freeride. If you’re hoping for pow but planning to shred regardless of the conditions, this is a solid travel board, daily driver, or addition to your quiver.

Drew Zieff is a Tahoe-based freelance writer and a lifelong snowboarder. In addition to directing Outside’s snowboard and splitboard gear tests—a role he’s handled since 2016—he directs Backcountry Magazine’s splitboard test and nerds out on snowboard gear and travel for REI, Gear Junkie, Gear Patrol, and Popular Mechanics, among others. He spends his winters testing snowboard and splitboard gear in his backyard backcountry zones or up at Palisades Tahoe, as well as chasing stories and storms to snowboard meccas like Japan and Norway. His summers? They’re mainly spent at his desk, sifting through review forms and spec sheets, compiling our snowboard reviews—although he occasionally disappears in his custom-built 2006 Chevy Express for a few days when there’s swell on the coast.