About this Review: This review is my honest opinion of the snowboard, which I purchased with my own money in May of 2019.

My take

The Salomon Huck Knife Snowboard is a killer. It’s a super fun board that is mainly built for freestyle riding but can be taken all over. It was a great board to take from the soft, fluffy Utah snow to the crusty, frozen groomers in the resort to the fun, park-style riding at Woodward. I like how it pops off all the side hits on the sides of groomers. This board is a solid intermediate all-mountain freestyle board. There are some subtle differences between my 2018 model and the 2022 model. The 2022 has a Biazial Medium Density Fiberglass layer on its laminate to provide a little bit lighter board. It also includes a medium stone finish to its base to provide more glide in all snow conditions. The 2018 model doesn’t include these.

About the snowboard I own

• Model: 2018 Salomon Huck Knife
• Size: 154cm

About Me

• Height: 5’9”
• Weight: 170 lbs
• Experience: 18 years of snowboarding

Test conditions

• When I bought this: May 2019
• Days tested: About 60
• Mount position: 15 degrees front and back
• Boots: 2016 Vans Implant
• Boot Size: 9
• Bindings: 2016 Nitro Zero
• Where I’ve used it: Utah Resorts: Brighton, Snowbasin, Powder Mountain, Beaver, Snowbird, Sundance, Solitude; Montana Resorts: Big Sky, Bridger Bowl; California Resorts: Palisades; Idaho Resorts: Sun Valley; Colorado Resorts: Aspen Snowmass, Aspen Buttermilk, Aspen Highlands
• Terrain: From the X Games Park in Colorado, to the Utah fluff, to the nicely groomed trails of Montana

How it performs

What I was looking for

I was on the hunt for a new board that could handle the mountain but still be fun in the park. I wanted a board that could lock onto rails but keep me sending big off of the rocky cliffs.

Why I chose this gear

I decided to get this board because Salomon is doing some solid things in the snowboard world. The Huck Knife had me intrigued with a rocker/camber/rocker shape. I wanted a freestyle board because I had never had one before. I was considering other boards, but the Huck Knife jumped out to me because I got a great deal on it but also because it performed the best for what I was looking for. I was considering the Nitro Cinema board because I liked the V-rocker shape, but wanted to try a camber board instead so I could charge harder on groomers.

What I love about it

• Speed: The camber shape of the board makes it great to keep speed without catching edges.
• Edge hold: The edge can keep hold after a couple of tunes. I need to tune it at least every year to make sure it keeps up.
• Turns: The medium flex really helps to turn the board. I am able to flex enough to keep it tight and not lose an edge.
• Groomers: The camber really keeps it up off the edge to make it easier to charge hard.
• Park: The camber shape makes it great to pop and snap off of kickers and really lock onto rails and boxes. The medium flex is great for jibbing as well.
• Durability: The durability of this board is outstanding. I have ridden it in all terrain since 2019 and just barely got a new board. I just need a fresh wax and edge sharpening every year.
• Weight: With it being a light to medium weight it provides an easier way to maneuver the board on the mountain, allowing me to take it into tighter tree areas around the mountain.
• Switch riding: Its true twin shape makes riding switch easy to handle.
• Stability: The pop and snap is unreal on this board. There is no chatter but enough snap to handle any kicker or jib.
• Versatility: I love the Huck Knife for the versatility that it provides. This board is mainly built for a freestyle park aspect, but little did I know that it can take on any terrain. Not only is it a great freestyle board, I can take it anywhere on the mountain and keep up, whether it is charging through cruddy, chunky snow on the groomers, or off groomers in the fresh powder. It is a ripper. I can lean in and charge hard any time I wanted to carve hard or slash through the crud

Issues I’ve encountered

• Powder: With it being a twin shape and camber profile, it can sink a little bit if I’m not careful. I definitely need to lean back and keep my nose afloat to not sink. It still floats for sure, but it isn’t a powder board.
• Trees: This board is easy to maneuver around trees and tight spaces, but a softer flex would be a little easier. That way I can apply more pressure and twist the board to make it turn.
• Backcountry: It isn’t shaped to be a backcountry board. It can handle any resort backcountry, but it isn’t built to handle steep backcountry terrain. It is a traditional twin with a camber profile built for resort riding.

Favorite moment with this gear

This board has brought so many great memories for me. One that comes to mind is when I was riding up in Big Sky, Montana, on a warm February day. The sun was shining and I was ripping with some of my favorite people to ride with. We decided to hit a jump line in a train of about nine people. I wanted to go last because I had a trick up my sleeve that I had never tried before but thought it might be rad to do at the end of the train. One by one we have skiers and snowboarders riding down hitting the jump line throwing spread eagles and methods left and right. I’m headed down after the guy in front of me and I get to the lip and snap off the kicker, leaning back and tucking my head. Backflip laid out to perfection. My first ever flip off of a kicker and what better of a way than to do it at the end of a train line and on the Salomon Huck Knife? Landed and my friends went wild. One of the best feelings I’ve ever had on a snowboard.

Value for the money vs. other options

The Burton Custom X is a great board to compare this to. That is also a freestyle board meant for the intermediate-advanced type of rider. It has a similar shape with a rocker on the tips and camber in the middle. The Burton Custom X, however, is almost double the price. Both are great boards and are very similar, but one is paying extra for the “Burton” name.

Final verdict

The Huck Knife is the board for those who want a freestyle, all-mountain ripper. One to keep them locked in at the park and on the groomers.