UPDATE: Check out our review of the 2017/2018 Salomon Ultimate Ride here

• Price: £450
• Sizes: 150, 153, 155, 158, 161
• Flex: 7
• Profile: Hybrid Camber
• Shape: True Twin
• SALOMON.COM

The bods at Salomon seemingly let Bode Merrill loose in their design department this year. As well as coming up with the Hi-Fi boot, he’s also had a hand in bringing this to life: the Salomon Ultimate Ride. In previous seasons he gave us the Man’s Board, but this has enough brand-spanking new features to stand alone as its own animal.

Has any board ever had a name as difficult to live up to as the Salomon Ultimate Ride? It takes a lot of confidence to go down that path, but having got our hands on this we’re thinking that it may have been justified. It’s certainly ‘Ultimate’ in the sense that it’s seriously hi-tech, built to push limits wherever they’re found.

“Carbon beams at the nose and tail improve the pop in both directions, and the super-fast ‘Area 51’ base carries you along like a rocket”

Unique to the Ultimate Ride are the ‘Gunslinger’ sidewalls, which feature carbon right along each edge. Not only do they make the deck more resistant to impact, they also improve response. That’ll come in handy when you’re using the sidecut – a blend of different curves that offers insane levels of grip – to carve up the pistes.

At first glance it boasts a traditional camber, but look closer and you’ll see that the bend is more pronounced either side of the bindings than between the feet. There are also short rocker sections at the contact points, and together they deliver a ride with plenty of pop and carveability, but with the twitchiness dialled back and the pow performance ramped up. It’s still a true twin (not counting the extremities, which don’t make a difference to the ride anyway), but it’ll work better in deep snow than a twin with traditional camber might.

Carbon beams at the nose and tail improve the pop in both directions, and the super-fast ‘Area 51’ base carries you along like a rocket thanks to a formula that’s as top-secret as a shady American military base.

The Salomon Ultimate Ride is built to scrape the sky at every opportunity, whether in the park or out the back. Gung-ho freestyle mentalists will no doubt love Bode’s creation, so expect to see a few of them flying above your head this season. And if one ends up under you feet, then well done you.