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Salomon Snowboards | 2021-22 Gear Preview

As part of our new Envision Series, we take a first look at Salomon Snowboard's new season product line

Welcome to our new Envision Series where we’ll be bringing you the latest gear previews from some of the most exciting new snowboard, boot, binding, outerwear and goggle products to drop for winter 2021-22. In this Envision episode, we’re taking a look at next year’s lineup from Salomon Snowboards.

Normally at this time of year we’d be wandering round conference halls scoping the latest innovation and getting our hands on next seasons products to test out on the snow, but alas no such joy this year as much of Europe remains locked down. Whitelines’ new Envision Series cuts out the middleman, we’ve been chatting to our favourite brands and delving into their product range for next season to bring the news and previews straight to you.

“Producing snowboards since the 90’s, Salomon have always brought a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ to the table”

Producing snowboards since the 90’s, Salomon have always brought a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ to the table. Over the years they’ve developed a strong product line with something to suit every budget and every rider, from the groomer charging speed freaks to the urban destroyers on a filming mission in the streets. Salomon have been working closely with Louif Paradis to collaborate on his new HPS snowboard and the latest boot in their Fit To Ride collection, both catering to his powerful and explosive riding style.

Check out our product preview on the new Salomon snowboard gear for 2021/22 below, as well as our interview with Mike Nauman, Salomon’s Sports & Digital Marketing whiz.

Salomon HPS Louif 2021-2022

What are your hero stories going forward into the 2021/22 season?
1.) HPS Louif – The latest addition to the Hillside Prototype Series designed by Wolle Nyvelt in collaboration with Louif Paradis.
2.) Dialogue Lace Str8Jkt – Latest addition to our Fit To Ride boot collection designed with help from Louif Paradis.
3.) The Sleepwalker, it’s just been added to our Freestyle Flagship collection.

“The Hillside Proto Collection encompasses our vision of powder riding; a continuous pursuit in developing authentic powder shapes”

Tell us a little about each one…
1.) HPS Louif – The latest addition to the Hillside Prototype Series designed by Wolle Nyvlet, in collaboration with Louif Paradis. The Hillside Proto collection encompasses our vision of powder riding; a continuous pursuit in developing authentic powder shapes designed to reflect diversity in terrain, snow, and riding style.

Wolle Nyvelt spearheads the design process with a new rider each year, in efforts to reflect their style or preferred terrain. The HPS Louif is an exciting shape because it aims to meet the needs of Louif Paradis’ hybrid riding style—from powder in Japan to crazy manmade structures and everything in between, making it a pretty solid Swiss army knife type of board that excels in deep snow.

Salomon Dialogue Lace Str8Jkt 2021-2022.

2.) Dialogue Lace Str8Jkt – The latest addition to our expanding Fit To Ride boot collection. This boot is also catered to Louif in a big way and features our new FTR boot design with all new materials allowing for a boot that’s 10% lighter and 10% more compact with an emphasis on comfort (day 1 and day 50), without sacrificing our reputation for durability.

3.) Sleepwalker – Arguably the best bang-for-your-buck in our line and synonymous with park/jib/street snowboarding, the Sleepwalker gets moved into our ‘Freestyle Flagship’ collection. No changes on the board, more so just acknowledging what this board is capable of. Just reference Tommy Gesme if you have any questions.

“The Super 8 is a go-to for me and might always be my favourite”

Graphically, we’re going in more of a positive/bright direction with this too; something I’m pretty hyped on after a year of collective blues around the world.

What products are you personally most stoked on? 
Fk there’s so many, honestly. The Super 8 is a go-to for me and might always be my favourite, but, the HPS Louif is making its way into the seat of my daily driver. Highlander is my preferred binding, but I’ll ride anything Shadowfit. Honorable board mentions: The Villain, Dancehaul, and Sick Stick. Dialogue Lace for boots.

Salomon Sleepwalker 2021-2022

What new tech and materials can we look forward to seeing for 2021/22?
If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Just kidding…But really. There’s not a whole lot in terms of new ‘tech’ for 21/22. There are new shapes and new products that have adopted existing proprietary technologies, but COVID’s impact has put some developments on hold. I think given the limitations; our product and design team absolutely killed it.

Have you made any specific changes or leaps within your women’s range?
Nothing crazy with 21/22 due to the limitations mentioned above. There will no longer be a Gypsy and a Gypsy by Des, just one Gypsy designed by Des. Last year we introduced two women’s FTR boots and the first women’s HPS model, all of which remain in the line.

“On the collab side of things we’re teaming up with the sneaker team at Salomon to offer a really sick shoe/boot collab”

Where are we seeing innovation within your existing line?
Art / Design / Inspiration

Any cool artist collabs in the pipeline?
Always! The Super 8 and Bellevue feature a collaboration with photographer Tom Hegen. His work highlights the relationship between humans and nature, focusing on landscapes that have been dramatically transformed by human intervention. Desiree did the artwork for Gypsy, which looks insane.

Tom Hegen x Salomon

Also, on the collab side of things we’re teaming up with the sneaker team at Salomon to offer a really sick shoe/boot collab. The sneaker division is very streetwear/fashion driven, like a lot of us, so we’re honored to team up with them to bring something cool and unique for in the boot range for 21/22.

Is there an overall theme / inspiration driving your 21/22 line?
Be kind, recycle, drink water, go boardin’.

Have any team riders been involved in the R&D process? Where have you been putting these new/improved models to the test?
Team riders are always involved in the R&D process. We try to get a constant feedback loop going so we can continue to improve in areas we may not have even noticed before.

“Be kind, recycle, drink water, go boardin’”

Of course, Louif was heavily involved with Wolle in designing the HPS Louif, as well as the Dialogue lace. Before the pandemic, Lou had a chance to go to Japan to film, and simultaneously do extensive R&D with a handful of prototypes. Since then, most of the R&D with riders has been done in their hometowns. I’ve personally been testing the HPS Louif at Mt. Hood.

Covid has shaken up everything this year. Are there any big changes taking place with you guys ahead of next season?
Certainly. There are handful of carry-over items in boots and bindings—specifically products in black that don’t have any tech updates.
This seems like a model to move forward with regardless of COVID, saving on waste, design cost, and time so we can allocate those things to more important topics.

Tommy Gesme’s Board of Choice, The Salomon Sleepwalker

Do you have any new sustainability stories for next season? Has any of your production moved to become more sustainable?

We’re using more and more bio-sourced materials in board construction to reduce petroleum based raw materials, we’ve removed single use plastic from boot packaging, and our bindings offer a lifetime warranty on baseplates with 100% repairable components, emphasising re-usage over consumption.

“We’re using more and more bio-sourced materials in board construction to reduce petroleum based raw materials”

Last year we reduced board bags by 40K, thanks to cooperation from retailers recognising the uselessness of this waste. We’ve got a lot of lines in the water, from using sustainability as a catalyst for innovation in products to simply reducing unnecessary waste, we’re moving in the right direction and we’ll never get ahead of it, but we aim to close the gap.

HPS Gettin’ Pitted
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