[MerroStep]

Hey all, looking to pick up a new board after running a beginner board for a season. Looking for a playful all-mountain freestyle board that will be used 85-90% outside of the park. Primarily using this on blue cruisers.

Prioritizing these factors in my next board:
1. Playful, springy board that can perform bouncy turns with ease.
2. A butter king.
3. Great for riding switch.
4. Super fun to take sidehits with. Stalls, small jumps, switch, etc.
5. Great for progressing into getting airtime for spins WITHOUT ramps, "flat jumps" if you will.

Might do more park this season, but likely 20% at most. I see myself prioritizing jibs and butters at the park, and less so ramps.

Really looking for a board to take this out on long blue cruisers with friends and just play around with it, bouncing to my music and really getting into a fun rhythm.

Design wise I love the look of the Salomon Huck Knife, but not sure what the drawbacks for achieving my specific goals.

My current board is a Rossignol Gala (154cm) which fit my weight and experience at the time. I'm a 167lb male at 5'10", comfortably in the intermediate level.

 

[ChrisZed]

Nitro T1 or a team
Rome party mode
Yes the greats
Bataleon fun kink
K2 ray gun pop
Ride zero
Gnu riders choice
Jones mountain twin
Arbor westmark camber or rocker

 

[NT.Thunder]

Salomon Dancehaul sounds like it could work

 

[Nivek]

Rome Party Mod, K2 Bottle Rocket, Arbor Westmark, or a Bataleon Disaster +

 

[Yeahti87]

Salomon Assassin

 

[thecadgod]

Anything that is a true Twin Tip, with a Medium Flex. Tradition camber has more "pop" then rocker, but rocker a bit easier to butter with, therefore Id lean flat, or mild camber.

 

[RallySoob]

Nitro Team Pro... Shawiiing

 

[LoveyourbodyLarry]

Nitro T1 or a team
Rome party mode
Yes the greats
Bataleon fun kink
K2 ray gun pop
Ride zero
Gnu riders choice
Jones mountain twin
Arbor westmark camber or rocker

I second the riders choice. That was my only board for like 9 years up until last season, and I absolutely love it. Super damp and stable at speed, the overall rocker kept it pretty nimble at slow speed and in the trees, solid in powder, I’m not really a park guy but it handled the odd jump line here and there just fine for me.

I still have mine as an early season rock board, or a loaner.

 

[Elevation212]

Rocking the yes greats uninc for this use, love it and the fact that it’s still stiff enough to rip a carve

 

[MerroStep]

Rocking the yes greats uninc for this use, love it and the fact that it’s still stiff enough to rip a carve

Both the Huck Knife and the Greats Uninc were the two that caught my eyes in my own research, but I'm just a little concerned that the board might be too stiff for what I wanted to do. Was pretty close to picking it up, but then considered whether the stiffness would be an issue for me. Did you find the stiffness to be an issue with trying to use it playfully or getting into butters?

 

[Cambered234]

Salomon Assassin

I also suggest the Salomon Assassin. Assuming decent conditions, the Assassin (not as much the Assassin Pro) fits the needs you’ve specified. This board paired with Union Strada’s is a fun experience.
Perhaps just about any all-mountain freestyle board with a medium’ish flex will work for you. What conditions are you going to be riding in (PNW, East coast ice, etc.)? If you are on East coast ice, something with edge-tech would be worth looking at.

 

[Elevation212]

Both the Huck Knife and the Greats Uninc were the two that caught my eyes in my own research, but I'm just a little concerned that the board might be too stiff for what I wanted to do. Was pretty close to picking it up, but then considered whether the stiffness would be an issue for me. Did you find the stiffness to be an issue with trying to use it playfully or getting into butters?

I find it very playful but to be fair I’m clocking in at 250lbs on a 159. That said if you are looking for something that is effortless butters it’s not that. Personally if easy press n pop is what your after I’d look at the Rome party mod, I’ve also got a k2 party platter that presses very easily but still has enough camber/substance to carve

 

[Mike256]

How heavy and tall are you? A few of these I wouldn’t consider for what you’re asking it to do. Like what elevation hinted at, a board that’s playful at 250lb might not be so playful if you’re 150lb. If I were looking for what you’re asking for at my weight I’d be more looking at the type of boards nivek suggested.

 

[eleveneightnate]

The new Indoor Survival all day.

 

[SEWiShred]

I feel like Huck Knife is a bit softer and more playful than most of the boards recommended here. Huck Knife and Assassin are very close in Salomon's line up, Huck being a little more park oriented and Assassin being more all mountain oriented. Never been on an Assassin but I do own a Huck Knife, and it's plenty good to hold up at 30mph, yet it's a lot of playfulness. I really like mine, I use it as all mountain because it's basically a park board that's good enough for free ride.

For reference, I went from a Flow Quantum and Lib Tech Hot Knife and the Huck still let me ride just fine but it opened up a lot of possibilities of getting better at switch, side hits, etc. No one bothered to look at see your Gala is a woman's board before recommending you a bunch of boards for guys. I don't think it matters too much but I still lean towards the Huck Knife after seeing what the Gala is.

 

[MrDavey2Shoes]

Party Mod will work, so would a Party Platter if you want to go volume shift. I have too many boards with "party" in the name.

My name is Rod and I like to party.

 

[Elevation212]

Party Mod will work, so would a Party Platter if you want to go volume shift. I have too many boards with "party" in the name.

My name is Rod and I like to party.

Anyway, like I was sayin’, party boards is the fruit of mountain. You can carve it, jump it, press it, bake it, jib it. There’s party-mods, party platters, party wave. Short, long, flat. There’s party wave plus's, tony hawk parties, limited party platters, that’s about it

 

[MerroStep]

I find it very playful but to be fair I’m clocking in at 250lbs on a 159. That said if you are looking for something that is effortless butters it’s not that. Personally if easy press n pop is what your after I’d look at the Rome party mod, I’ve also got a k2 party platter that presses very easily but still has enough camber/substance to carve

I was combing through as many Yes the Greats reviews as I could before landing on it as the board of choice. Was doing research on sizing and landed on a 151. A majority of individuals mentioned that it was a fun board to butter on (while obviously being outclasses by butter-focused boards). I'm a little concerned as I'm also a size 7 boot, although I hear the narrow midsection kind of mitigates that. I'm going to be 90% groomers, so hopefully this was a good choice.

 

[MerroStep]

No one bothered to look at see your Gala is a woman's board before recommending you a bunch of boards for guys. I don't think it matters too much but I still lean towards the Huck Knife after seeing what the Gala is.

Yeah I'm a dude, but I was recommended the Gala for being a good beginner board that fit my specs at the time. I was also a big fan of the board design as well. I really love designs that have a "neutral canvas" but then a "splash of vibrant colors." My current snowboard attire is fairly neutral with a multicolored goggle strap and ski mask. The Huck Knife design wise fit that bill pretty well too.

 

[Mitrele]

If your buying 2023 Huck knife keep in mind that the flex is changed. This year Salomon updated the flex with last years huck knife pro so its a little bit stiffer.