Board: Salomon Super 8

Size: 154

Camber Option: Backseat camber. Camber under the rear foot and flat through the front insert pack to the nose.

Bindings: Rome Black Labels

Stance: 21.5 Wide 15 Negative 12 Goofy

Boots: K2 Thraxis Size 10

My Weight: 200lbs

Resort: Arapahoe Basin

Conditions: Mid day hot pow with light pow in spots, chunder, mashed potato lumpy snow, packed down wet heavy groomers, a little ice and crust, warm temps, and a mix of overcast skies and pockets of blue.

Flex: The overall flex of this board is around a middle of the road directional freeride. You get softer nose progressively stiffening up till it hits the camber section under the back foot then it gets stiffer through the tail. There’s a fair amount of torsional flex but it’s not overwhelming in regards to the overall flex of the board.

Stability: This has that directional stability you would expect from a board with this camber profile and shape. That means you get chatter in the nose on that flat section of the camber and you feel it underfoot but by the time it hits the camber section it’s gone. In rutted out terrain this board can get knocked around and you find yourself back foot compensating for it.

Ollies/Pop: All the snap comes from the back foot and that’s to be expected. You have to load that portion of the camber section to get it to pop. Now what’s nice is that it’s not an aggressive load so you don’t have to be too calculated with how you get it to engage and where you need to be to get it to pop.

Butterability: The nose has so much flex due to the core profiling and camber shape that it gives you an ideal platform to lock a butter in. You can just pop a 180 land on it and feel it lock in and then the camber section starts to give a little fight but not too much. When you get on the tail you can go sideways but wheelies are more its strong suit.

Carving: This is where this board stands out. It’s a board designed for rolling from edge to edge while giving power off the back foot to push you through a turn with more speed. If you ride tight trees or banked slalom runs this is where it stands out as you don’t lose that extra push off the tail you need to get through a turn. On edge it feels locked in and you can transition smoothly from toe to heel with minimal effort. What’s nice is that you can really ankle steer with the front foot to change the carves direction while powering the tail with that rear foot. Overall whether doing tight quick carves or laying it over and leaving a trench this board has you covered.

Rider in Mind: Banked slalom freeride guy.

Personal Thoughts: Nothing’s really changed with this board since the last time I rode it, but it’s always nice to get a refresher on it. Having some fresh snow that was heavy to play in really set me up to see how it zips in and out of turns as the pow had started to form pack tracks for this. I always forget how good this board is at turning and ripping a banked slalom style course.

Comparable Boards: Korua Otto, Rome Ravine, Rossignol Sashimi

Recommended Bindings: Salomon Hologram, K2 Line Up, Rome Vice