Curated Snowboard Expert Spencer Storck tested the 2023 Salomon Assassin this spring at Powder Mountain in Utah. Check out how it performed in the carving, freestyle, and freeride categories, but consider the fact that each and every snowboarder is different. If you have any questions about the Assassin or need recommendations on which board would be best for you, reach out to a Snowboard Expert here on Curated.

One final point before we dive in: It's worth noting that Curated Experts are not sponsored by any brands. All of these reviews are completely unbiased.

Brand Claims

What does Salomon claim about this board? So the brand claims this is a great all-mountain, freestyle, directional twin. It is great for everything. They changed this board five years ago with the directional twin design. I mean, it does a little bit better in powder now because of the change. I guess that is what I could say.

Overall Impressions

What is your overall impression of this board? It's great, honestly. It holds an edge really well, carves nice, plays around, and has pop. It really can just kind of do it all.

Carving

How is the edge hold? Edge-to-edge is pretty quick with that camber to rocker design in the tip and tail. It definitely turns really fast and holds a good edge.

How does it perform at speed? At speed, this board did pretty well. However, if it was good terrain or a little variable, you're going to have a tiny bit of chatter with that rocker nose on the board.

Freestyle

How playful is this board? I thought this board was pretty playful for having a rocker tip and tail and a mid-kind of flex. So it was definitely pretty fun buttering around.

How is it on jumps? I would definitely take this board off of any jump or into any park on the rails. In those kinds of scenarios, it's going to slay it.

Freeride

How would it be in powder? So they've been doing this board with a more directional twin design, just to give you a little bit bigger nose, to help with floating, powder, and that rocker. It definitely will float in powder, but if you're strictly looking for a powder board I would look somewhere else.

What terrain does it perform well on? Is there any terrain to avoid? I would ride this board on any terrain: groomers, park, trees, and you can do a little bit of powder on it. Really, it can do just about anything. The one thing I maybe wouldn't want to do is super steep chutes just because it would be a little unstable charging down those with this board.

Recommendations

Who would you recommend this board to? I'd recommend this board to any intermediate or expert all-mountain, freestyle rider, if you're looking for any board to do it all. You could get a more beginner rider, who is jumping into that intermediate level on this board, too, because it does have that rocker tip and tail. It's going to help you initiate those turns a little bit easier.

Who should avoid this board? The only person I'd say who should avoid this board is a total beginner because of that more camber design, which makes it a little bit edgier. But if you are in that in-between phase, this will be a great board to get you to progress to the next level.

Snowboards work differently for different types of riders. If you want help finding the best board for your needs, reach out to Spencer or any other Snowboard Expert here on Curated for free, personalized recommendations. They’ll help you find the right setup for you. Note that the 2024 version of the Salomon Assassin is linked below - same tech, just different graphic: