The Winter of 2019-2020 was one for the books. This book may not be the biggest book due to a whole month of Spring riding being missed due to Covid-19. But the time on the slopes we did have was a winner.
Snow conditions in Austria where up and down to say the least with a big dump around Christmas meaning late December and January had some of the best deep snow riding. Then in January we was hit by a big warm front and everyone was riding in T-Shirts. The rest of the season we had a few great days in which if you knew where to go you could find the good stuff and more sunny cruising days.
My setup for this season was completely switched up from previous seasons and I was excited to put the Salomon Assasin and Flux DS bindings through their paces and I wasn't disappointed. Let me break up my setup and give you my low down on why this setup is first in my board bag.
Salomon Assassin
Hands down the my favourite board I have ever ridden and I have ridden a few. There comes a time when a board just gels with your riding style and everything is effortless. Let me break the board down to give as much information as possible.
Shape and Profile - I rode the Salomon Assassin is 153cm (I weigh 65kgs) which is 1cm shorter than my previous All Mountain board and 2cms bigger than my all our park board. What I found about the Salomon is how it seemed to flex just the right places and hold right where you want it. Salomon's Rock Out Camber gives you the best of camber and rocker in one board. The flat section between the feet make the board predictabe and easy to manipulate. Camber near the feet offers responsive turns and pop, while rocker outside the feet frees the board up.
Board Flex - The board isn't the softest board tip to tail that I have ever ridden so it still gives you decent control at higher speeds, but if your like me you like to ride surfy and cruisey rather than really locked in, the Salomon Assassin is my number 1. The deck has a pretty soft flex edge to edge which allows for super quick turns and is the easiest board I have ever ridden. This board didn't seem to ever want to catch an edge, even when blasting through slushy mogals and tight trees.
Sidecut - Salomon's Quadralizer side cut profile again gives you the best of both worlds. Combinded with the flex profile of the Salomon Assassin you get a board that holds at high speeds and can be charged hard if needs be. But stand a little taller and free the edges up you get a very cruisy/surfy board that is easy between edges which is sure to put a smile on your face.
All in all I could not complain about the Salomon Assassin and it will be a board that I will be riding for a long time. If you want a board to handle anything you throw at it the Salomon Assassin is for you. Excels on the Pistes, dick deep powder and freshly corded pistes.
Flux DS Bindings
Before riding the Flux DS bindings I have always ridden bindings that haven't really added to my riding and I was starting to think this is just how bindings are supposed to be. How wrong was I! Binding are doing way more than just attaching you to your board they need to elevate your riding and the Flux DS did just that.
Combined with the soft edge to edge flex of the Salomon Assassin the Flux was the perfect addition. The bindings felt stiff where you want bindings stiff such as around the heel promoting fast turns and increasing responsiveness. But with a mid flex highback the Flux DS bindings where comfortable when charging the pistes as well as sunny park laps. My favourite feature was the rubber bumpers under the heel which gives a small amount of flex of the binding on the board which makes the DS's even more comfortable.
Other feature I loved about the Flux DS is the heel strap which was build with car grade plastic that held my foot in place like no other binding has done. As well as innovations in the heel strap the Flux DS also features a ice free base. Nothing makes you look like more of a Jerry than sitting on the side of the piste trying to get into your bindings for 5 minutes due to a build up of ice underfoot. The DS can save you from all this hassle with their ice free base. Trust me I tested this fully in slushy but cold conditions as well as deep powder hiking and not one moment on the slopes was wasted trying to de-ice my bindings.
The Flux DS binding also know how to have a good time. Never be without a bottle opener at "Pre Apres Apres" with a nifty little bottle opener built into your bindings.
To round off. If you wanna get a set of bindings for riding all of the mountain and like to ride with a cruisey style the Flux DS's are the bindings for you. Get something that is doing more than just attaching you to your board get a set of bindings that is going to push your riding forward.
To finish I hope everyone enjoyed what ever riding that got during the 2019/20 Winter season. Fingers crossed we can get through all this difficulty and get back to doing what we love soon enough.
Nathan
