Salomon Salvatore Sanchez
Editors’ Choice
Park and Pipe
Never want to leave the park? Salomon’s completely revamped twin-tip Sanchez will keep you lapping all day long. With serious reverse camber (both the tip and tail are upturned), this board is ideal for play: Butters and presses are a cinch. A lightweight, snappy aspen core translates to big air and fast spins, and strips of birch armor it against years of box and rail abuse. That soft flex works against you, though, on firmer snow (think bone-rattling chatter), so pick another board if you ride a lot of groomers. 148, 151, 153, 154, 157; $350;
Snowboard Review: Ride Slackcountry
Big Mountain
Bring on the big gun. If you spend most of your time in soft snow (lucky you), this is your board. An unusually accentuated lift in the tip, as well as a healthy one in the tail, make it an absolute screamer on thigh-burning powder runs, while a lightly serrated sidecut with multiple contact points holds an edge when dust turns to crust. Plus carbon stringers running outward from the binding area help deliver power right to those edges on hardpack, and shock-absorbing urethane sidewalls damped some of the chatter. Even so, this board prefers the fresher stuff. 161, 164, 168; $700;
Snowboard Review: Burton Guru
All Mountain
Big jumps, trees, groomers, sidecountry stashes—nothing on the mountain made the Guru squirm. Its versatility starts with the core. Burton’s designers thinned out the wood between the bindings, giving this tapered board a ton of responsive flex, so it performs admirably in tight spots like moguls and trees. But they also placed perpendicular strips of wood under the toes and heels to boost edge hold on harder snow. Overall, the board felt a little heavy in deep powder, but when it comes to solid, all-around performance, Guru is master. 156, 159, 162; $450;