Salomon Villain

Salomon Villain Review

The Salomon Villain is a medium flexing, twin shaped park board that rides just as well all over the mountain.

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Features of the Salomon Villain

• True Twin
  Just like you would expect from a park board, it has a true twin shape, so there isn’t any difference whether you are riding it regular, or switch. The tip and tail have the same length, and the core is symmetrical.
• Rock Out Camber
  The flat section of the board between your bindings is made to keep the board stable, while the camber section under your feet give keep the board responsive, and add to the edge hold, while the rocker on the nose and tail make it easier to press, and give it a bit more forgiveness.
  
• EQ Rad Sidecut
  This is a combination sidecut which is made up of a straight section (in the middle of the board) which then blends into a radial shape, which is designed to get a good mix between “fun and agility”, which means it is going to turn easily, but still be quick and solid when you are turning quickly, swapping edges.
• Medium Flex
  Right in the middle of the flex ratings, enough that the board can be pressed and buttered without any problems, but still has enough strength to hand;e some bigger jumps without wanting to wash out.
• Triax Glass
• Sintered EG Base
  The sintered base material is hard and fast, which soaks up wax well, and keeps you moving fast.
• Popster Booster
  The popster has a shaped core profile, with thin and thick sections. The Popster Booster version of this has carbon stringers taht extend out from under the bindings out to the tip and tail to help get the most pop.
  
• Aspen Select
• Slingshot
  There is a carbon inlay that sits under your feet and helps with extra pop.
• Freestyle Edge Bevel
  The tip and tail of the board are already detuned, and there is a 2 degree base edge through the board, which changes into a 3 degree angle between your feet. The idea is that the board will still give you good edge hold on ice and hardpacked snow, while the 3 degree section between your feet will still let you ride rails without having to give it a big detune to stop it catching on rails.

Sizes Available:

• 147cm
• 150cm
• 153cm
• 155cm
• 155cm Wide
• 158cm
• 158cm Wide

This video shows me riding my Salomon Villain around Big White.

How the Salomon Villain rides

I rode (and own) the Salomon Villain 155cm. I have ridden it with ThirtyTwo Tm-Two boots and Burton Cobrashark bindings.

I rode it in a couple of different stance widths, 22.5 inches and 21.5, with 15/15 angles and 12/9.

I have been able to ride it in a variety of different conditions, deep light snow (45cm), soft groomers and very hard packed/icy snow.

Flex & Camber Profile

The Salomon Villain has a fairly soft flex rating, that Salmon rate as a 4/10. It has the Rock Out Camber profile, which means that there is an overall camber profile, with a flat section between your feet and small rocker sections on the nose and tail.

The flex is actually really nice, it doesn’t need much effort at all to hold presses, but it isn’t so soft that the board wants to wash out when land nose or tail heavy.

The camber profile is a very good mix of flat, regular and rocker, which I think gets the balance just right.

The camber/flat sections keep the board very stable, even at high speeds. Edge hold is very good for a fairly soft flexing board, even on hardpacked/icy snow.

To be honest I don’t really even notice the rocker sections on the nose and tail, either they are quite small and subtle, or just do their job very well. Though it is nice and easy to hold a press or butter, so they are probably helping things along.

Shape

The Salomon Villain is a True Twin, so it is symmetrical and has a centered stance. Riding it switch is just like regular, no differences.

Speed

It has a sintered base, which makes it easy to keep your speed up. Waxing is easy, it seems to soak it up well and doesn’t dry out quickly at all. There is no problem keeping speed on flat sections and cat tracks.

The Rock Out Camber profile keeps things steady at high speed, there isn’t a loose or unpredictable feeling.

Pop

For a soft board, the pop is quite decent. It is easy to load up, and is pushed back nicely. It handles speed nicely, and still has a nice solid pop on bigger jumps than I would have expected.

Overall

Overall the Salomon Villain is a really good park board that is just as good riding all around the mountain. I liked it from the first run that I got to demo it, and ended up buying it.

I generally buy twin shaped park boards, and then ride them everywhere, and this is perfect for the job. Not too stiff that you can’t much around and butter on it, and not so soft that it can’t handle speed or bigger features.

The edge hold is good, and even with a solid detune between the bindings (don’t want any chances of catching on rails) it still holds very well.

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SIZE	147	150	153	155	155/W	158	158/W
EFFECTIVE EDGE (MM)	1140	1170	1190	1205	1205	1230	1230
CONTACT LENGTH (MM)	1050	1070	1080	1095	1095	1120	1120
NOSE WIDTH (MM)	287	292	295	297	304	299	307
WAIST WIDTH (MM)	242	247	250	252	259	254	262
TAIL WIDTH (MM)	287	292	295	297	304	299	307
RIDER WEIGHT (KG)	45 – 65	50 – 70	55 – 75	55 – 85	65 – 95	65 – 90	70 – 105
RECOM STANCE	530 (20.88)	540 (21.28)	550 (21.67)	560 (22.06)	560 (22.06)	570 (22.46)	570 (22.46)
SIDE CUT RADIUS (M)	7.4	7.6	7.8	8	8	8.2	8.2
DELTA	90	100	110	110	110	110	110
RIDER WEIGHT (LBS)	99. – 143.	110. – 154.	121. – 165.	121. – 187.	143. – 209.	143. – 198.	154. – 231.
NOSE LENGTH (MM)	210	220	225	225	225	230	230
TAIL LENGTH (MM)	210	220	225	225	225	230	230
MAXI STANCE	586 (23.1)	596 (23.5)	606 (23.9)	616 (24.3)	616 (24.3)	626 (24.7)	626 (24.7)
RECOM BIND SIZE	S/M	S/M	S/M	M/L	M/L	M/L	M/L
RECOM BOOT SIZE	235 / 265	245 / 275	255 / 285	255 / 295	265 / 295	255 / 295	275 / 305

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Louif Paradis riding the Villain

Brage Richenberg riding the Villain (from a few seasons ago)

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