Salomon Highpath Written Review Review by The Good Ride

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Salomon Highpath 2023 Snowoboard Review- How it rides and who it is for

How This Review Happened:

Borrowed this for an extended demo and sent it back.
Size: 159
Days: 4
Conditions: Varied Spring Conditions, wet spring pow and Mid winter like pow in spring.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-190lbs)
Boots: Burton Kendo
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Atlas
Jacket: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Tusk Jacket, Volcom Guide Jacket, Burton Gore-Tex 3L Treeline Jacket, Jones Peak Bagger Jacket.
Pant: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant, Burton AK Gore-Tex 2L Swash Pant, Burton Gore-Tex Ballast Pant
Helmet: Smith Maze
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Clutch Glove, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove, Drop Tahoma Mitt

Similar Boards (but not the same): Burton Instigator, Never Summer Hammer, Korua Otto, Tahoe Labs Directional Twin, Yes Basic Uninc, Cardiff Lynx,

James’s Set Up: 21.5” Wide. Sance Angles +18/-3, +18/-9. Close to Reference and Set all the way back.

How It Was Tested

I rode this against the YES Standard Uninc, Nidecker Escape, Escape Plus and Thruster. All with the Burton Kendo’s and Union Atlas but I did sometimes use other boots and bindings.

Approximate Weight

The Salomon High Path is on the lighter side of normal but it isn’t an ultralight. (We don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores there is no consistency in a boards weight)

Sizing

The 159 Salomon Highpath felt ok for my 185lb but a little wide for my boot size. I would like to try the 156 as it seems like a better fit for my boots. My only concerns with the 156 are my weight. I hope it won’t make the board more bucky and bouncy at this weight but I would say this seems to appeal to lighter riders than myself.

Here are some ideal US boot sizes for the Salomon Highpath. You can of course go bigger or smaller but these work best for not turning the board slower than it should be and not having the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag
146: 6-7
150: 7-8
153: 8.5-9
156: 9-9.5
159: 9.5-10.5
162: 10-10.5
159w: 10.5-11.5
162w: 11-12
165w: 12-13

For weight I would stay close to the Brands recommended weight ranges. If it comes down to boot size or weight, I would make sure it fits your boot first and then your weight a close second.

Shape/Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

The Salomon Highpath has a 3mm of taper which isn’t much. So you don’t really feel the taper and you don’t need much or any back foot weight to keep the board from washing on a turn. I found I could turn front foot weighted, center weighted or back foot weighted and it was fine.

The camber that extends well past the inserts isn’t a traditional bow. Instead, you have a modest amount of early rise before the nose, to abrupt camber, to flat (off the ground), back to an abrupt camber, and then a little bit of early rise before the tail. It makes for a stable to semi-locked in personality that is ok for strong intermediates but best for advanced to expert riders. It is ok skidding a turn but I’ve ridden many hybrid profiles that are much easier.

Flex Personality

The Salomon Highpath has a pretty mellow flex for a board like this. I would say the demo I had was medium bordering on medium-soft. The unique camber profile described above seems to allow a mellower flex in the middle where most boards like this actually bend more before the tip/tail. What ever they are doing here tech wise, the result is good easy accessible pop and a board you can easily butter.

Uneven Terrain

My one complaint about the Salomon Highpath is in uneven terrain like uneven wet spring powder or messy spring snow it bucked and bounced me around a little more than many of it’s peers. I don’t want to loose the pop or butterability it has though so don’t know what would fix it. The good thing is it still isn’t a deal breaker. Even better is the Salomon Highpath doesn’t get cranky in harder micro bumpy snow and pass up all that chatter into your joints like many Salomon boards I’ve ridden in the past do. It is often the boards with cork or some type of wood in the sidewall instead of ABS or Urethane etc. There could be more to the construction but that is what I noticed.

Speed

The base glide is good and I like the structure it comes with. It isn’t too aggressive and also isn’t too mellow.

When it comes to pointing it the Salomon Highpath does alright on clean groomers but you don’t get this for going fast.

Edge Hold

I was really impressed with the grip on the Salomon Highpath. It felt like many disrupted sidecuts in the way it held in hard snow. Even better, it doesn’t grab in soft snow. I have always liked Salomon’s quadradic sidecuts like this in the past and this is no exception.

Turning Experience/Carving

So I really liked how the Salomon Highpath turns and if you lay into it you get some good spring out of the turn. It isn’t a carving specialist because it’s a little to soft for that. However I really enjoyed turning it. Overall, there is a pretty balanced turning experience. It won’t get weird on you with any kind of turning radius but also not exceptional at any one thing like a good one board quiver should be.

Powder

At a 22” stance width set all the way back you can get -3” back on board which is really good. I thought the Salomon Highpath would have more of a directional floaty feel but it was a little less than expected for this kind of set back on board and more in line with most good all mountain boards in powder.

Switch/Pipe/Jumps

The Salomon Highpath rides switch very well for having a -20mm set back on sidecut and -3mm of taper. I found myself flipping it around switch more than I thought I would and it felt good. I didn’t hit a lot of kickers in the park but you could feel it would be competent there. Same in pipe. The softer flex and flat in the middle would do well on Jibs if you want to go there.

Conclusion

So overall, I really enjoyed my time on the Salomon Highpath. It’s not super damp but it is has a very versatile set up. It shines as a one board quiver for those that like to butter and pop off hits throughout the mountain but still want to have something that can turn well and ride pretty well in powder.

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