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2015/2016 Salomon Man's Board

2K views 12 replies 3 participants last post by  griffin1324 
#1 ·
I've been thinking of getting either a 2015/2016 156 or 159 Salomon Man's Board... anyone ride one?

Pretty much everything I've seen online says that the board is stiff, can anyone provide some more insight into riding the board? How is it on ice? Moguls? Trees?

I live on the east coast and usually go to Colorado for 1-3 weeks a year.

This isn't necessarily a need, just a want. I bought a new board for the first time in 6 years and then just kept buying more. I currently have a 09/10 Burton Joystick 161, 15/16 Gnu Rider's Choice Aspen (3 days on it) 161.5, Interior Plain Project Honalee 158 (0 days), 15/16 Never Summer Snow Trooper 157X (0 days).

I'd love to hear your input on the board.

Thanks!
 
#3 ·
This might be heresy on these forums, but it doesn't sound like you need more boards! ;)

I've been riding 26 years and I've tried all kinds of boards.

Stiff pros:
- Good for hauling ass in wide open terrain
- Extremely good fore/aft stability
- Huge straight airs on large natural or park features
- Charges right through small chunder
Stiff cons
- A real handful on technical terrain and don't tend to handle well at anything but high speed
- Extremely unforgiving for spins
- Tend to buck you around on larger chunder and moguls because they don't conform to the terrain like a more flexible board
- Scary in tight trees

I strongly favor a good camber dominant medium flexing board. You get much of the good stuff from the stiff board but way more versatility and not to mention you can blast some 360's without feeling like you might die!

The man board would fill a missing slot in your quiver, but it doesn't sound like a great match for the terrain you ride (trees and bumps). Also that Honalee will give you most of what you'd get from the Man Board. If you are looking for something that will charge pretty well and handle powder fairly well, a Flight Attendant or Assassin might fit the bill.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the quick response, mr. poop.

I haven't had a stiff board in a while and sort of miss having one. I'd primarily use the Man's Board when I ride on the east with my ski friends.

I'd most likely avoid the moguls and trees with this, just curious if anyone took it through and how it handled.

How much different would the Man's Board be than the Honalee, other than the Man's Board being stiffer? Or is that primarily the only difference.
 
#5 ·
If you don't mind the terrain limitations of a stiff board and sometimes want the strengths, it could be a good board for you. I've never personally ridden the man's board or the honalee, but the former is RCR and the latter is true camber as I understand it. The man's board will most likely float powder better. I'd imagine the rocker in the tips will also make it more forgiving that a very stiff true cambered board.

Having had some stiff freeride boards before, I found they only really ever felt at home in wide open groomers or wide open powder bowls. For that type of terrain, nothing else compares (stay out of tight terrain though). It could be a good board for CO or icy east coast groomer zoomers.

As for feel, it will probably feel like the honalee, but more much stable and also more locked (as in hard to change directions and be agile). The rocker in the tips probably tames it somewhat.
 
#6 ·
Thanks again for the response.

After thinking a lot about last season, I think there would have been plenty of days when I would have enjoyed a nice stiff board. I used to have one in the late 90s early 2000's and it turned me off from moguls completely. I used to sort of like them before that.

This wouldn't be an every day board, I'd make sure the conditions were ripe or would at least have another board waiting for me. I just think it would be fun to have something stiff to rip around on.

What size do you think would be better, 156 or 159? I'm 5'10 165-175lbs. Boot is 10.5 or 11, depending on which set of boots I wear.
 
#7 ·
I don't have a ton of experience with the board but I've taken a few runs on the 2015 model so I'll throw in my 2 cents since no one else has any specific info for you....On edge it fucking rails, carves like you would expect a stiff cambered deck to ride. The interesting thing is I didn't find it overly stiff tip to tail. I'm only like 175lbs and I was able to press the 162 without killing myself. Not saying it was super easy, but more playful than I expected for a board that can carve like that. I'd venture to guess that at my weight the 159 would actually be a capable daily driver for someone looking for more of an all mt ride favoring speed over playfulness. That's about all I can say, I just took a couple laps on my buddies board without adjusting his bindings so I wasn't able to get a good feel for nuances of the board.
 
#8 ·
Thanks! Just the type of experience it was looking for. Surprised that it was more playful than you were expecting- good to hear! What were the conditions like when you tried it?

I'm most likely going to pick it up in the next few days.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk
 
#9 ·
Firm midwest groomers. Edge hold should never be an issue with that board, felt super locked in. Like I said I was riding my buddies bindings without adjusting them to my boot so I couldn't get a good feel for edge to edge quickness, but being a stiffer mostly camber midwide board it's probably not going to be your to go deck for moguls or trees. More of a bomb around, lay some trenches, hit the big line kind of ride.
 
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