Gear Review: 2011 Rome Lo-Fi

If you like to hit jumps at high speeds and ride powder, attention should be paid. The Rome Lo-Fi is MFR’s Pro Model that has been specifically designed to meet her likes and dislikes, and if you’ve ever seen her ride before, it’s easy to see that she knows what she is talking about.

Rome’s description of the Lo-Fi in the picture above says, “When MFR filmed her three groundbreaking video parts over the last few years, she did it with a Lo-Fi under her feet. Whether she’s popping off a backcountry jump, spinning off a park kicker, ollieing a gap or riding a powder line, she prefers the poppy, smooth, mid-level flex profile of the twin-tip Lo-Fi. For 2011, we’ve upgraded the Ollie and nollie power with PressurePop technology.”

I rode the positive camber Lo-Fi (it’s also available in Rocker) on a perfect blue bird day on groomers that were not too hard and not too soft. I was really excited to give this Rome board a whirl since it has the MFR stamp of approval, and she is a hero of mine. The board had really good stability. It is definitely one you can take off of jumps or down steeper hills at higher speeds and have total confidence in your board. The Lo-Fi is a little bit stiffer board, which tells me it would hold up in powder and would be a great board for all mountain riding. Since we are a little slim on the amazing deep pow here in Minnesota I wasn’t able to actually ride the Lo-Fi in its element, but I could tell by the way the board felt, it would be great in the fluff.

I do have to admit that I have ridden poppier boards than the Lo-Fi, but it still was really good at getting me some air. The Rome Lo-Fi has PressurePop Technoloy: Basalt Reverse-V, which is a new eco-friendly tech configured for ollie and nollie power that doesn’t add any stiffness to the torsional flex. It also features Rome’s SuperPop Core Matrix which is a wood orientation designed to give extra pop off the nose and tail. Even though they use a lightweight wood for the SuperPop Core I still did think the board was a little heavy.

The Lo-Fi also has a SinterTrue Base, which means the base is going to be more porous so it will absorb more wax, making it faster, and sintered bases are always going to be more durable and resistant to abrasions. It has Rome’s StraightBiax Laminate, which is a laminate tuned for butters, presses and catch-free landings.

The Lo-Fi was a great carving board and held an edge really well. I personally love the graphics of this board. It’s as pleasing to the eye as it is to the ride. I would say, if your style of riding consists mainly of jumps, powder, or just all mountain carving the Rome Lo-Fi is a board you should check out.