Slash ATV 2020 Review

The Slash ATV is a pretty full on, classic camber freestyle board that you can get loads out of, if you ride it hard.

Features of the Slash ATV

Camber
Traditional camber profile, that gives a stable feel, pop and strong edge hold.
Stiff Flex
Slash rate it as having a flex rating of 8/10
Directional Twin
It has the same length nose and tail, though there is a 13mm setback stance, and a progressive sidecut.
Buried Treasure
A mix of carbon, kevlar and basalt fibers are added to the board, which add strength and let them slim the thickness of the core down, without losing out on strength.
Tri-Ax Fiberglass
Three directions of fibers, that adds to the boards pop, as well as the boards torsional strength (twisting).
Forever Woodcore
A mix of four different woods – paulownia, spruce, beech and poplar, that is designed to be a lightweight, durable, poppy core.
Sintered HD Base 7200
A hard and fast sintered material, that holds wax well, and keeps the board moving fast.
Diamond Stone Finish
A stone ground structure, that helps the board to glide more smoothly.
Progressive Sidecut
A mix of different sidecut radii, that means you get a smooth entry to turns, strong edge hold and a fast exit to turns.
Ultimate Traction
A little bump that is added in the middle of the sidecut (between your feet) that gives some extra edge hold without changing the feel of the
Factory Waxed
Just the factory wax, so you can ride it straight from the shop if you want.

Sizes available:

151cm
154cm
155cm Wide
156cm
158cm
159cm Wide
161cm
163cm Wide

How it Rides

Board size: 158cm

Boots: Salomon Launch Boa 27.5

This review is based on me riding the 2020 Slash ATV, in super hardpacked and icy conditions. I was expecting quite a bit from this board, as it has all the classic ingredients of a solid freestyle board – traditional camber, stiff flex, small setback and a progressive sidecut.

Conditions were pretty rough for BC, there hadn’t been new snow in a while, and the temperatures had warmed up and melted everything, then dropped again freezing everything. Although it is less fun to ride on hardpacked icy runs (at least for me) it does give you a very good test for the board.

Camber Profile

The plain old traditional camber is exactly what I like, and it kept the board feeling very stable at high speed, and surprisingly I didn’t notice any catchy feeling at all, especially seeing that the edges nice and sharp, in very good condition.

Flex and Pop

The flex of the ATV is really stiff, one of the stiffest boards that I have ridden in quite a while. I noticed it quite a lot at low speeds, there isn’t much forgiveness. Once you get going quickly, you can really relax your legs and let the board do all the work, especially on rough terrain, it wants to just smash through everything without bucking you around at all.

Edge Hold

For the conditions that I was riding it in, the edge hold was the stand out feature. I didn’t know about the Ultimate Traction feature, I like to just ride a board and see how it feels rather than getting too caught up in the little details. I am sure that it helped add to the edge hold, but I think that it would be 90% thanks to the stiff flex and traditional camber.

At speeds and on terrain that would have scared me on my regular detuned boards, I was able to very confidently charge through and carve hard on almost shiny windblown ice, and the ATV easily held its edge.

Speed

It has a sintered base, and I didn’t notice any lack of speed at all, but in the conditions I was riding in, any board would have felt quite fast.

Pros:

Stable
Camber
Very solid edge hold and pop

Cons

Really stiff, get ready for it

Overall

The Slash ATV is quite an aggressive board, I think that you would want to be a fairly advanced rider (or at least wanting to push your riding quickly) to get the most from it.

I like it because it reminds me of the boards I rode when I was just starting out riding – before rocker boards were around – and it feels like there is no limit to how far you could push the ATV. If you like to ride fast, carve hard and need a board that won’t give up with it is pushed to the limit, I think this would be it. Don’t expect any forgiveness though, the stiffness and camber make sure that the edges are always gripping hard.

I can see how it would be a great jump board, although I didn’t spin on it in the park, from just fast straight airs there wasn’t any of the unpredictable feeling as you were landing, it quickly turned into something you could rely on.

Similar boards that would be a good option:

Slash ATV 2020 Technical Specs

Length (cm)	Running Length (mm)	Setback (mm)	Waist Width (mm)	Sidecut (m)
151	1100	13	249	9.8
154	1120	13	251	9.9
155 Wide	1140	13	257	10.1
156	1120	13	253	10.0
158	1160	13	254	10.0
159 Wide	1180	13	260	10.2
161	1200	13	255	10.0
163 Wide	1220	13	263	10.35