Salomon Man’s Board - 2012

Snowboard Review:

Two things drew me to Salomon’s newest addition to their men’s snowboard range the Man’s Board.  Firstly the Man’s Board is Salomon’s replacement for the Answer a board that lots of people and particularly SB-RV regular Steve had ridden and rated very highly praising Salomon’s early rise camber as an alternative to the many hybrids on the market. My second reason was that the Man’s board fuses a whole heap of new materials and construction techniques that have only really been around for a year or two. The core of the Man’s Board is a combination of Bamboo for a lively and natural pop and cork which is included for its dampening properties; these are profiled into the Popster profile which thickens at the bindings and at the waist of the board. Cork and Bamboo are also used in the sidewalls which looks awesome, but does raise a few questions about durability. Under the topsheet of the MB you’ll find triaxial fibreglass and Basalt Stringers… basically the Man’s Board is a shopping list of all of the latest environmentally considerate and high performance materials on the market right now so I had to give it a ride.

Picking up the Man’s Board it does look awesome, particularly the beer detail on the base. I’m sure there will be a lot of Man’s Boards propped outside Austria’s many après ski bars this coming season. The Man’s Board definitely isn’t light; it feels solid and a little heavier than average, but nothing out of the ordinary. Once I’d strapped in I fairly quickly got an idea of the flex… I would call it firm; on a scale of 1 to 10 the longitudinal flex is between 7 and 8 and the torsional stiffness is about the same, they feel well matched, but it definitely gives the Man’s Board more of a freeride feel than freestyle. You really notice the flex when carving, the Man’s Board naturally delivers medium and long carves, it’s only when you work the board through the camber pretty hard that it starts feeling lively and responsive. I can’t say I noticed the MB’s Cross profile early rise tips behave any differently on an edge, the board felt like a cambered board; although in the softer slush snow I did notice that the contact points at the start of the effective edge weren’t trying to bury themselves and put me flat on my face. I’m still a little sceptical of the Bamboo and Cork sidewalls, but I’ve got to say the construction does a good job of dampening out chatter.

Apart from blasting down the groomers my favourite place to ride the Man’s Board was in the pipe. It held a very nice edge up the walls and felt stable and solid along the flat bottom. Like anybody who hasn’t ridden a lot of pipe I have a tendency to scrub off a little speed along the flat bottom, but the MB was so planted I found it difficult to slide my edge out and it started to give me confidence aim straight and pump the walls… riding this board might have been a turning point in my pipe riding! On jumps there’s no denying that this board grips up the transition and pops nicely, providing you have the muscles and weight to work the flex. However, this isn’t a board for small jumps or for jibs, forgiving landings and skidded take-offs this snowboard will not do.

To sum up the Man’s Board, I’d say it’s an all-mountain snowboard with a flex and sidecut that make it most enjoyable when hammering freeride terrain or hitting big transitions like pipe. The MB’s construction is full of lots of technology and lively materials but unless you are a heavy or very aggressive rider you’ll probably only feel the stiffness of this board as you won’t be able to flex the board into the sidecut’s sweetspot . I’d recommend the Salomon Man’s Board to experienced all-mountain riders who want a stable and powerful board to ride backcountry steeps and blast groomers, but leaving the option there to occasionally nip into the park. Lightweight riders and park fans should stay well clear, this board will break rails not slide them!

Highlights:
Great edge hold in long carves and traverses
Damp chatter free ride
Versatile Cross Profile camber
Gives you the balls you need to ride pipe
Inspired graphics
Fast base

Let-downs:
Needs a heavy or aggressive rider to get the most from it
Questionable durability of cork and bamboo sidewalls
A little on the heavy side

Posted by Rich Ewbank in • Salomon