Salomon Huck Knife Snowboard Review

* the 162 is a new size for 2021

Who is the Huck Knife Most Suited To?

The Huck Knife is suited to anyone who wants to ride freestyle and spends a fair bit of time in the park. 

The Huck Knife can lay down a decent carve too – so if you like to carve between popping off lips, ollying over rollers and buttering your way down the hill, then this might be your kind of board.

It’s an intermediate and up board so not really for beginners. You’d want to have a decent amount of mountain hours under your belt before riding this thing.

Bindings angles: +18/-9

Powder

Not heaps of the deep stuff the day I rode, but anything that I could get a floaty feel over top of felt ok on the Huck Knife. It’s never going to be a powder hound but it can survive in it.

There’s a bit of rocker in the tip and tail of this board and that definitely helps – though it is predominantly camber. It’s centered and a true twin shape which isn’t ideal for powder.

Carving and Turning

You can definitely lay down a good carve on this thing. I rode the Huck Knife mostly in the afternoon when it was a bit softer but parts of the hill that were still hard/icy it held its edge ok in a carve. And in the slushier parts it was even better. Definitely better in medium snow than icy snow.

In terms of standard turns it’s reasonably quick from edge to edge and quite maneuverable – it’s got a stable feel underfoot. It’s not a loose board by any means.  It likes tight quick turns too.

Speed

It’s not a speed demon but it’s reasonably quick.

Provided you keep the sintered base waxed this thing will definitely be fine on any flat spots.

It also has a medium flex so that makes it quicker than if it had a soft flex. It doesn’t have a directional shape but overall it’s an averagely fast board – probably about right for how you’d typically want to ride it.

Let’s Break up this text with a Video

Uneven Terrain

Like a lot of things with this board, it’s decent on uneven terrain. This board doesn’t really have any major weaknesses, nor any outstanding strengths – it’s got great all round properties.

Jumps

This board has plenty of camber underfoot and that really helps to give it some good pop. So popping off jumps, rollers, lips etc is really fun on this board. The camber between the feet is subtle but the camber directly under the feet is more exaggerated and that’s what really helps with the pop on this board.

Small to large jumps in the park are great too – it’s stable on landings and that’s helped by its camber profile and that medium flex – it’s forgiving enough – but also doesn’t curl up too much on landing the medium to large jumps as a slightly softer board might.

Switch

It felt pretty much as good as you would want a board to riding the other way.

It’s got a true twin shape and a centered stance so it wasn’t surprising that switch was easy – it’s also not an overly aggressive board – despite all that camber (the camber between the feet is quite subtle – directly under the feet more pronounced) so for those that aren’t that good at riding switch yet it’s relatively forgiving – but it’s not that un-aggressive either, so it’s not the best board for riding switch but it’s still pretty good.

Jibbing

The Huck Knife isn’t a jib specialist – but it’s certainly good for the part time jibber.

Pipe

I didn’t take it into a pipe but I think it would be decent based on feel and specs.

It’s got a stiff enough flex for the pipe and it’s got a centered stance on a true twin shape – a bit more edge-hold would make it better in the pipe.

Changes from the 2020 Model

The 2021 model is the same as the 2020 model as far as I can tell, bar the graphic. The 162 is a new size though. 

Changes from the 2019 Model

The 2020 model is the same as the 2019 model, bar the graphic. This board hasn't really changed since it first came out with the 2017 model.

Changes from the 2018 Model

The 2017, 2018 & 2019 models of this board are all very similar.

Changes from the 2016 Model

The Huck Knife is brand new. The 2017 model is the first incarnation of this board. Though it is essentially replacing the Sabotage which is not in the Salomon line-up this year. The Huck Knife is slightly different to the Sabotage though – it’s not just a name change.

Overall, the Huck Knife is a solid freestyle deck that can handle the whole mountain pretty well - but really excels in the park. You can ride freestyle anywhere, and also lay down a good carve when you want to.

You can take it pretty much anywhere on the mountain too - though not really a powder floater.