As read in Snowboarder Mag's latest publication
BOARD 4: SALOMON THE ULTIMATE RIDE
With nine boards to the test in the 2017 edition of The Blackboard Experiment, we tapped Aussie pipe phenom, Scotty James, to put the collection of blank snowboards through the paces. Just as Sage Kotsenburg before him, Scotty doesn't have a board sponsor, so he can ride anything he wants. The two-time Olympian has medaled at X Games and the US Open, and possesses an innate edge control honed from years riding transition and lapping his home parks of Perisher.
Once again partnering with Mammoth Mountain we had Scotty test out all nine anonymous park boards, rating them in four categories over five days. The scores were tallied at the end in jibbing, jumping, transition, and carving to determine which deck stood out in each category, as well as the overall park destroyer. Check back in the coming days as we announce the different winners as well as the ratings for each deck tested!
BOARD 4: SALOMON THE ULTIMATE RIDE
- Model Length Tested: 161cm
- Additional Lengths: 150cm, 153cm, 155cm, 158cm
- Shape: TwinCamber: HybridCore: Ghost Green
- CoreBase: Sintered EG, Area51
- MSRP: $599.95
- URL: Salomon.com/us/sport/snowboard
BRAND STATEMENT:
One-of-a-kind freestyle shape designed by Bode Merrill, making The Ultimate Ride a high end performance true twin with a directional look. The Ultimate Ride features the best of Salomon’s innovative technologies: Popster to maximize the natural snap and pop of the wood with a shaped core profile providing the rider with power under foot, Quadralizer sidecuts enable locked in arching carves to fast aggressive turns, and Gunslinger Sidewalls implement carbon inlays that run the full length of the board to meet reaction and shock absorption needs for all riders. The Ultimate Ride is built for all snowboarding environments, from Alaska lines to the park.
– Greg Covello, Global Communications Manager, Salomon Snowboards
SCOTTY'S FIRST IMPRESSION:
I’m a fan of it. It’s got a cool shape. It’s got a really good, long effective edge; you don’t slip or chatter out of turns. It's a really fun and playful board and it’s really responsive.
JIB SCORE: 7
Just a really good board. Holds its line really well into rails. It’s easy to manage and does what you want it to. Feels pretty solid on the rails. It’s stiff, so pressing is a little harder. You kind of have to put a lot more body weight onto it. Good for any small adjustments heading into the rail.
JUMP SCORE: 8
I like it. It holds a really good line into the jumps and has really good pop off the lip. Landing is good. All around, this is a really solid board.
TRANNY SCORE: 9
In the minipipe it was good. Same in the big pipe. Predictable and holds an edge really well. It’s just really solid. Chunder doesn’t mess with it; it glides over the top pretty well. It’s really smooth from edge-to-edge if you need to make adjustments with it. I think I could ride it in a pipe comp, for sure.
CARVE SCORE: 9
It is a really fun board to carve. It’s really poppy out of turns and it’s really responsive. It holds an edge really well. Heelside-to-toeside, it rolls really easy from edge-to-edge. This board does more work for you than you have to work for sure when initiating turns.
OVERALL SCORE: 33
Words by Snowboarder MagFull review on Snowboarder Mag here: http://www.snowboarder.com/videos/2018-salomon-ultimate-ride-snowboard-review-blackboard-experiment-with-scotty-james/
