Frank Jobin is one of the best snowboarders we know, and we know a lot of ‘boarders! We know Frank is a great versatile rider, has a great style and is a great human. We know that we’re blessed to have him on our snowboard team, but there are still things we don’t know about him, like the setup he rides to be good like that.
Thirsty for new snowboarding setup secrets, we got in touch with the Rome and Empire team rider to get more insights about his go-to snowboarding setup.
His secret: A Rome National board with some Rome Cleaver bindings
If you don't know him yet, Frank Jobin is one of the most promising snowboarders in Quebec and even in the world. On a snowboard since the age of 7, the young board enthusiast grew up in the Quebec City region, known for its many street handrail spots and its beautiful mountains.
Now a grown man with a powerful style and creative outlook on snowboarding, multiple victories in major competitions under his belt already, a bunch of parts in some of the biggest recent snow videos and a long lineup of sponsors supporting him, Frank is not showing any signs of slowing down. On the board and bindings side, Frank is lucky to get products from one of the best brands in the game right now: Rome Snowboards.
Sup Frank! First off, how long have you been riding for Rome and how did you first got hooked up. I’ve been riding for Rome for 11 years now! It all started at the Rome Prejib event at Station Le Relais in Québec. There was one at every beginning of the season and I’d always attend the event. At some point, some good friends from the local Rome distribution, which was Agence NR at the time, approached me and started to give me boards. I kept riding and entering more contests and they eventually put me on the team. I’ve been on for a few years now and went on a few trips with those guys and they are the best. A great memory that I have with the Rome Team is when our crew got 3rd place at the Mountain Dew team challenge at Breckenridge in 2018. That was cool.
Sick! What is your current Rome Setup? I have 3 boards and two bindings models that I ride, but most of the time, I use the Rome National 156 with the Cleaver bindings. What’s so special about the National? I tried several different types of Rome boards over the years, but I always seem to come back to the good old National. This board has everything I need to do what I want to do on my snowboard. It’s a performance driven board with aggressive response, but can also be just as good for streets, all mountain and even freestyle. I love to be able to go from a slopestyle contest all the way to laps on groomers and even powder without having to switch my setup. With it’s Fusion Camber and snappy flex profile, the National can do it all. 
How would you describe the feeling of riding with this board? I would say it’s the best because as playful as the board is, it can still give you your money’s worth of response and aggressiveness when you need it. This board can really charge all terrains. What you would say to a someone who’s wondering if he/she should buy that board? I would say that the Rome National board could seriously enhance your riding experience. The board is powerful and might not be the best pick for a beginner, but I would say that if you’re trying to ride the park just as much as the rest of the mountain and even pow, this board will never fail to have your back.
Let’s talk about your other boards a little bit. What are they? I have the Artifact board for the backyard or jib days and I have the Ravine for everything powder. I really love the Ravine because it is probably the funnest surfy type board on the market right now. I Also ride the Artifact a lot because it’s soft and good for my backyard setup. With Covid, I might end up riding my backyard a lot, so the Artifact will come in handy. How about the bindings, what do you ride? I ride the Rome Cleaver Aren’t these a brand-new model from Rome? Yes, they are a new model, but were built on the same frame than another binding I use to ride all the time. Basically, the Cleaver came to replace the Targa, which was my go to binding back then. The Cleaver is similar, but better!
What’s better on the Cleaver? First off, this new version of the Targa is Rome’s most powerful binding. It has a light and sturdy carbon infused nylon highback and baseplate and got updated with a new Wrap platform and Sub Base pad for maximum impact absorption. The new binding is also designed to let you easily adjust its high back depending on the terrain you ride and has an ankle grip technology that gives an incredible locked-in feeling when you ride. What do you like about this binding? I like the fact that Rome took a binding that was already amazing and added more technology in it, put more efforts into its look and functionality. I like the fact that this binding will provide the power you need to have fun on your board. I wouldn’t recommend it to someone who only wants to ride rails or someone that’s just beginning to ride, but to everyone else, this binding is the bomb. I also like the fact that they are super stiff and offer a level of response that’s hard to find in other bindings. That being said, Rome are known to offer adjustable high backs, so you can still adjust the stiffness as you switch terrains. I would even say the Cleaver is one of the most customizable binding on the market, but is still pretty stiff. At the end of the day, it’s a great all around binding for those who like to charge.
What’s the other binding you ride? Though the Cleaver is for sure my go-to and the most powerful Rome binding I ever rode, I also really enjoy the Katana Binding from time to time. The Katana will give you a lot too, but is mellower than the cleaver and a bit more forgiving. That being said, I rode the Katana with the National board all year last year and I think the combination is pretty epic. To combine a mellower binding with a board that has heavy response really gives you the feeling of riding an all-terrain vehicle.