Snowboard Review: 10-11 Salomon Answer

Location: Mammoth, CA

Snow Conditions: Mixture of hardpacked groomers to icy death.

Setup: I rode the Salomon Answer with my Union bastardized bindings and Vans Veil Boots size 8.

Size: 156cm.

First Impression: This board has some snap, crackle and pop to it giving you a lighter all mountain lively board.

Weight: lighter than average.

Flex: One of the first noticeable things about the answer was that the nose/tail was stiffer but between the binding was rather softer giving it much softer torsional flex.  Overall longitudinally it felt stiffer but still was easier to initiate turns with because of the softer torsional flex.  Overall it surprised me because it didn’t feel like the flex of 3 on the mountain. It was a light board with decent dampness but definitely you could feel between the bindings what kind of terrain you are on.  The Answer was changed to flat profile in last year’s model and kept the flat profile for the 2011 model.

Turning: It was a very easy board to get turns initiated and onto edge from toeside to heelside down the mountain.  The softer torsional flex helped allow turns come easier and it felt really good on shorter radius turns.  Longer ones were decent but definitely this board was quick and lively on the mountain.  One of the noticeable parts about the Answer was it wasn’t a catchy board when it could have been.  The wingtips raised up the contact points so it made turning easier and didn’t have a catchy feel to it.  I did encounter one moment where I wiped out with the board through the chagged icy crap that at the speed it just didn’t hold the edge through it.

Stable: The answer got one of the harder days on the mountain with no new snow and really hardpacked icy conditions which is tough on any board.  However for speed, it could charge and really go the distance without getting wobbles.  Through some chop, it felt fine but if it was fast through chop, it had some unstable feeling where you just wanted to slow down a bit.  Overall it was a blast on the groomers and conditions, held an edge in some tough spots and felt comfortable from the beginning to end.

Pop: Definitely a light poppy board with the bamboo placement.  It felt the best on the jump line and even though it’s the small jump line, I never worried about not having enough pop to air over the jump.  The pressability was a bit to be admired, it was capable but the stiffer nose/tail made it harder to butter up the mountain with.

Switch: The answer is a directional twin but I found it easy to manuever into switch riding with the wingtips so the contact points didn’t grab and it had some adjustment but nothing major in how it handled.

Overall Impression: The answer is a light poppy bamboo board with a flat profile that gives you the whole mountain of riding and making it easy.  I found it great on groomers and in the jump line, it held on edge on the icy spots and through the crud held up okay.  I thought the best part was just how lively it was on the slopes.

Shay’s Honesty Box: Normally I don’t look at the graphics of a board but when Draplin has his hands on a board, you just notice how clean cut its designs are.  The answer delivered up a all around ride from the park to the groomers to some really cruddy icy spots on the mountain and handled.  It was all around a fun ride.

Ready to buy? Head over to evo for the Salomon Answer or shop their full line of Salomon Snowboards

On Snow Photo

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Salomon Answer description (click on it to pull it up)

Review Disclosure: I borrowed this board from the local Salomon Rep.  Thanks Harley!