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Slash Happy Place 2020-2021 Snowboard Review

  • Price: €399
  • Category: Park/Jib, All-Mountain
  • Ability Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced
  • Size: 146, 149, 152, 154, 155w, 156, 158, 159w
  • Flex: 4/10
  • Shape: True Twin
  • Profile: CamRock
  • Base: Sintered

Why we chose the Slash Happy Place Snowboard: It’s cheap as chips and twice as nice.

The term ‘bang for your buck’ gets thrown around a lot but when you encounter a snowboard like the Slash Happy Place, nothing else quite hits the mark. You’re getting seasoned vet performance and top shelf tech with a baffling entry-level price tag; do yourself a favour and pick one up before Gigi hikes the price. This playful all-mountain cruiser is primed and ready to take flight.

Ladies take note- while it may not be a women’s specific snowboard, the Happy Place is available as small as 146cm. The softer flex and rocketship base make it an ideal all-mountain option for smaller frames.

“You’re getting seasoned vet performance and top shelf tech with a baffling entry level price tag”

At first sight, the shape alone marks it out as one of Gigi’s fleet, the notched tip and tail both reducing swing weight in those crucial zones and giving you a little something to grab hold of when you’re really boning out that tail grab.

Tough as old boots, the Happy Place is built to take a beating day after day, all season long. The edges are beefed up with 35% more steel than average and rubber strips sit between those and the sidewall to take some of the impact when you’re dinging it about.

The full wood core uses durable poplar combined with stiffer beech stringers to boost power transfer out from the bindings. The beech stringers are more resistant to compression, giving a more explosive reaction when put under pressure.

Dipping your toes into the world of freestyle can be an intimidating process, especially when there’s 12-year olds jumping over your head and throwing down more spins that they have armpit hairs. The Happy Place’s forgiving profile and mellow flex make it the ideal companion when you’re trying to get your first rail manoeuvres and acrobatics on lock. The super soft rockered tips are where it’s at with the Happy Place, locking into presses and butters and jibbing your way round anything and everything are where it really starts to shine.

“All the benefits of a dynamic and poppy camber midbody, with the playful and floaty rockered tips to ease up the ride”

For a snowboard that’s built for the park, the Happy Place still manages to deliver outside the confines of it. The versatile camrock profile brings your all-terrain versatility by the bag load. All the benefits of a dynamic and poppy camber midbody, with the playful and floaty rockered tips to ease up the ride. It’s not going to win awards for freeriding, but it’ll certainly get the job done should you find a little pow stash hidden away.

Despite the more mellow overall flex, the Happy Place still has the chops to dig the edges and respond when you want to open up the throttle. Carbon stringers cross brace underfoot to drive power from the inserts to the contact points, with the camber section providing your edge hold and liveliness.

More aggressive riders looking for some balls to the wall style charging would be better suited to the OG Slash deck- the ATV, but if you’re a playful rider with uncompromising ideals then the Happy Place could just be your nirvana.

Novice riders and more experienced ballers on a budget alike would do well to grab a Happy Place. You’ll save yourself some serious beans and you can use the extra cash to help fund your next adventure. You can thank Gigi later.

Tester Verdict 2020/21

Joy Dutch – Wordsmith, Whitelines

“I was lucky enough to sneak a day at the dome on the new Slash Happy Place and it certainly lived up to its name. I’m really into the ‘Unisex’ snowboards that are gaining in popularity, think it’s a really cool concept and I thought of the Happy Place as a playful all-mountain option for women.

“Really enjoyed this one – can’t wait to get it out on a bigger hill”

Obviously in the dome you only have a limited amount of room to play with, but it was just super fun and really jibby. Just the right amount of looseness in the nose and tail, you can really get it up into little presses and butters with ease. It’s got good rebound to it, feels very dynamic and lively, everything I loaded up it threw back at me.

Snowdome snow is notorious for getting gloopy and sticky, but the Happy Place seemed not to get bogged down in it, maybe the snow was just a bit better that day or maybe it was the base, couldn’t say for sure. Nice and responsive between the feet, enough beef that you can peddle turn and really jam your edge if you want to. Really enjoyed this one- can’t wait to get it out on a bigger hill.”

Tester’s Verdict 2019/20

Rob McCreathWhitelines

“I had my last run of the season on the Happy Place and no amount of tired legs or fuzzy head could take away from how insanely fun this snowboard is. It’s got such an easy, mellow, flex that just about anyone could get along well with it.

“It’s incredibly well priced and caters to a huge size range for men and women that I’d go as far as to say this is one of the most accessible snowboards on the market”

I found myself buttering the whole way down the home run and just switching off altogether without a single worry. I even managed to squeeze in a couple of final sidecountry slashes and that rocker in the nose must be doing something in the powder because even for a 156 (I usually ride 159) it stayed afloat.

It’s incredibly well priced and caters to a huge size range for men and women that I’d go as far as to say this is one of the most accessible snowboards on the market. Someone making their first turns ever will find the profile and softer core really easy to manipulate and catch-free, and intermediate to advanced riders will love getting back on something that doesn’t chew them up and spit them out the moment they try something new in the park.”

Trade Secrets

Harry Mitchel Thompson – Marketing Manager, Slash Snowboards

“The Happy Place thrives in the park thanks to its CamRock profile decreasing edge catch and simplifying flexed presses and butters, but we’ve loaded the board with best-in-class features including a sintered base and Sweet Spot carbon fibre reinforcements to ensure that all who ride her will feel at home across the mountain. Interstellar graphic artwork from Ruff Mercy who’s made music videos for the likes of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, DJ Shadow, Paul Weller and many more.”

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