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Salomon Assassin 2020-2021 Snowboard Review

  • Price: £490 / €540 / $500
  • Category: All-Mountain, Park/Jib
  • Ability Level: Intermediate, Advanced
  • Size: 150, 153, 156, 158w, 159, 162, 163w
  • Flex: 7/10
  • Shape: Directional Twin
  • Profile: CamRock
  • Base: Sintered
  • BUY DIRECT FROM SURFDOME

Over the years the Salomon Assassin has become a firm all-mountain freestyle team and fan favourite, if you’re looking for one board that does it all then this cutthroat kamikaze could be the one for you. This Assassin might not be bumping off political figures, but it definitely kills it on the mountain.

It remains mostly unchanged for 2021, but then again, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it and all that jazz, right? The Assassin is specc’d down from the pro version, with a softer, more forgiving flex and slightly different ingredients internally, these reflect in the friendlier price tag and make it a good option for intermediate riders looking to up their game.

“This Assassin might not be bumping off political figures, but it definitely kills it on the mountain”

Like the Pro, the profile is flat between the feet, delivering stability and predictability as you’re hooning around. Transitioning into camber directly underfoot for power and response, and early rise rocker in the nose and tail for those flatland combo tricks.

The Aspen SLCT Core is a slightly heavier construction than in the Pro, but the Assassin uses Salomon’s Popster Eco Booster to deliver power outside the bindings, with bamboo rods transferring that energy directly into the nose and tail. This’ll give you a little extra pep in your step when you’re throwing it down in the park and thanks to its directional twin shape you’ll have no issues switching up those take-offs and landings.

“The Assassin uses Salomon’s Popster Eco Booster to deliver power outside the bindings, with bamboo rods transferring that energy directly into the nose and tail”

Salomon have replaced their rubber sidewalls with Royal Cork Rails in this model to protect your edges and dampen vibrations so you don’t have to worry about your nose and tail flapping around when you start picking up speed.

It’s nice to see Salomon thinking about mother nature in the construction of their snowboards this season, with the Annecy-based brand using bamboo veneers on the Assassin’s topsheet to reduce fibreglass and resin content – another reason not to feel guilty about picking up this stone cold killer.

Ridden by backcountry booter badass Victor Daviet if you’re looking for something that feels just as comfortable in the pow as it does in the park then the Assassin is the one for the job.

Tester’s Verdict 2019/20

Ed LeighPresenter/Commentator

“There are very, very few boards out there that can genuinely claim to do it all, but the Assassin is one of them. Somehow Salomon have cracked the flex|profile|sidecut code and produced a board that will drive through a turn, float in powder, and get stuck into rails without feeling like it’s compromising.

“There are very, very few boards out there that can genuinely claim to do it all, but the Assassin is one of them”

The pro is light and stiff, which is great if you know how to use it. If you’re an intermediate though, you’ll have more fun on the softer more forgiving standard Assassin core.

Whether you get a week or two a year on snow or you’re doing a whole season, if you’re planning on going to the mountains with only one board then this might be just the thing you’re after.”

Tester’s Verdict 2018/19

Mike Brindleywhitelines.com

“After a week spent cooing over some of next season’s finest powder boards (with the snow conditions to match) taking out an all-mountain twin was always going to be a bit of a risky maneuver.

In all honesty, my first impressions here were that I could see why people might want to upgrade to the Pro version – the base wasn’t as speedy as I’d like, and I wasn’t getting as much conviction out of the camber section of the combo profile as I’d expected – but as the day wore on, I began to see where Assassin fans get their ammunition from.

“This is the workhorse that you’ve been promised, even without the bells and whistles of its big-brother Pro edition”

On an open powder field, the humble Assassin truly held its own alongside other members of the crew on their more single-minded directional steeds; but while you’d need Ben Ferguson-style skills to take those kind of boards to the park, this was instantly happy adapting to side hits and jibbing about on a home run, or being thrown haphazardly into piste butters.

This is the workhorse that you’ve been promised, even without the bells and whistles of its big-brother Pro edition, and if you’ve only got room for one board in the bag, it’s as strong a contender as any.”

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