A Written Breakdown Of How The Salomon HPS Takaharu Nakai Rides Review by The Good Ride

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An Un-Paid, Un-Biased Breakdown Of How the Salomon HPS Takaharu Nakai Rides And Who It Is For

How The Salomon HPS Takaharu Nakai It Was Tested:

I borrowed the Salomon HPS Takaharu Nakai a few days and sent it back.

Ethics Statement:  I was not paid to do this review, and this comes from an honest, objective perspective with no brand oversight.

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Size: 158
Days: 2 with this model but many in the past with the same shape and camber profile.
Conditions: Good Groomers, 1-2 inches of thick pow, and uneven snow. In the past, I had good groomers, uneven snow, and super deep pow thanks to my Drift Boards.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10”, 185-190lbs). I’ve tested and compared 800+ boards.
Davey (Size 12, 240lbs, 6’4”)
Boots: Ride Torren
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Atlas
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Jones Mtn Surf Anorak, Skyline Fuse Jacket
Pant: Jones Mountain Surf Pant, Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant
Helmet: Smith Method, Smith Scout
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove, Drop Tahoma Mitt,

James’s Set Up: 21.5” Wide. Stance Angles +18/-3, +24/+6, Close to Reference on groomers and Set all the way back in powder.

Similar Boards We Like (but not the same):

Amplid Souly Grail, K2 Alchemist, YES PYL Uninc, Weston Backwoods, United Shapes Cadet, Burton Gril Master, Jones Flagship Pro,

Approximate Weight

The Salomon HPS Takaharu Nakai is pretty normal bordering on light. I don’t think anyone would be bothered by this weight on the chair. Expecially for it being pretty wide for this length. (We don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores, there is no consistency in a board’s weight)

Sizing

The Salomon HPS Takaharu Nakai feels much narrower than you would think based on the specs, and I wish I had addressed this more in the video review. It felt like it was almost 1cm narrower (massive for snowboard measurements), and I think this is best for feet more my size, like 8-9’s. For weight I felt on the heavy side but it was manageable. The Taka 158 was so easy to ride that I’m now very 161 curious.

Sizing is all about balancing what fits your boot size and your weight for how you like to ride. If your boot is too wide, you can’t turn it; if it’s too narrow, you get the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag. Your weight is a close second to boot size because it determines how the board will feel under your foot.  Height comes in a distant 3^rd. Some prefer control, so matching the boot size is the priority. Others prefer dampness over control and like to size up.

Here are some ideal US boot sizes for the Taka’s.
155: 8-10
158: 9-11
161: 10-12

I would stay well under Salomon’s recommended weight ranges as I think they are pretty generous on the high end. If it comes down to boot size or weight, I would ensure it fits your boot first and then your weight a close second.

Shape

The Salomon HPS Takaharu Nakai has 12mm of taper and you do feel some of that. It is pretty set back on board, but it doesn’t feel like you are riding pretty close to the tail like you do with the Wolle Nyvelt Fish.

Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level

There is a decent amount of early rise in the tail and more in the nose unweighted, and when your weight is on the Taka, it rockers up a little more than many similar boards. It makes for a very stable camber-like board that tracks super well but is pretty forgiving. It’s pretty easy to skid turns when you get off your game.

Edge Hold

The multi-radius sidecut was good but not ideal as a hard bordering on icy specialist. It didn’t let go that easy when you hit a hard patch or two.

Flex Personality

Salomon calls this flex medium, but it’s more on the Medium-Soft Side. There is a softer flex in the middle vs. most freeride boards. The tail is a little stiffer and the nose to a lesser extent, but overall, it’s a very mellow flex. I thought I wouldn’t like it, but I enjoyed how it felt on snow.

It was very easy to nose and tail butter and it was nice to have this freestyle feel in a tapered directional shape.

The pop was easy and lively. I really appreciated how easy it was to ollie the Salomon HPS Takaharu Nakai as well as the pop out of each turn.

Uneven Snow

So here is what turned the tide for my opinion of this board and many Salomon rides for 2025. They don’t seem to say anything about it online on the site, but the Salomon rep told me that they added recycled ABS to the sidewalls, and I’m not seeing the usual cork/bamboo sidewall. It also seems like ABS to me, and I really feel the ABS on snow. Not only is the ride much more chatter-resistant, but it’s also much more reliable without two types of wood on the outside.

Don’t get me wrong, the Taka’s poppy soft flex can still buck, but it’s a much smoother buck that doesn’t jar. It was pretty easy to get used to where before, I felt like every bump was chipping away at what cartilage I had in my joints.

Speed

You don’t have a straight liner with the Salomon HPS Takaharu Nakai. It’s fine for a short, straight line for a traverse, but it’s no bomber.

Base Glide

Salomon has always made great bases, and the Salomon HPS Takaharu Nakai is no exception. Even when the excellent wax job Alfredo did wore off it still had really special upper tier glide.

Turning Experience/Carving

The Taka’s softer flex makes it really easy to initiate a turn, even though it’s wider than I usually prefer. I found this medium fast in all conditions, which is uncommon for me with a board this width and length.

When I got the edge engaged, the softer flex in the middle allowed me to torque my turns and drive hard off the back foot easily and equally well if I was in a more front-footed mood. I found this great to carve and turn with. Especially across the groomer carves, and it lives on the turny side of the balanced but is not a full-on circle carver either.

Powder

The older model I tried seems to have almost the exact same shape and camber profile, so the float is the same. It’s a very good floater. I like the Wolle Nyvelt Fish better, but this is very good for a more traditional freeride shape. The last time I tried this board, it snowed 48″ in 48 hours, and it was pretty light for the PNW. This 158 got stuck when I got into some flats, but most of its peers would also. I needed to be on the 169 Taka EP that day instead.

The Salomon Taka has a unique stance set up with 5×2 on the front foot and 7×2 on the back, but it’s still 22″ set all the way back. You also get -4.875″ back from the center of the board vs. whatever their setback on the sidecut (unpublished) is. That gives you a very good setback on board with a reasonable stance width. Then you have a much bigger nose vs. tail with early rise, so it all works together to give you above-average float for a Freeride board.

Switch/Jumps/Pipe/Jibs

Switch was very doable for this shape, but you would prefer something like the Sick Stick if you want something directional/tapered but still doable switch. Strangely, this soft flex (especially in the middle) will jib well enough for what this is, if you feel the need to. Pipe and jumps are no problem with this.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I’m super impressed with this poppy, soft-flexing, dynamic, and very fun-turning Salomon HPS Takaharu Nakai. The addition of recycled ABS to the sidewalls really changed the game across Salomon’s 2025 line.