UPDATE: Check out our review of the 2018/2019 Salomon Gypsy here
- Price: £340
- Sizes: 142, 146, 149, 153
- Flex: 5
- Profile: Hybrid Camber
- Shape: True Twin
- SALOMON.COM
The Salomon Gypsy needs very little introduction – for the past few years it’s been one of our top picks, delivering epic freestyle performance at a price that’s almost too good to be true. It’s business as usual for the 2016/17 Salomon Gypsy, so if you liked last year’s version then this will go down just as well.
Last winter Salomon added carbon stringers to the core, which channel all the energy from your ollies into the nose and tail of the board. This takes the good pop that comes from the combination of mostly-camber profile and a core of varying thickness, and makes it great.
“Thrash the metal in the streets one day, then hit the pipe the next”
Looking more closely at that profile, it’s flat between the feet, only becoming a true camber bend once you get to the inserts. This gives you all plenty of edge hold, but with a little more stability than normal. This profile also requires less effort to get a good ollie, which you will with help from that carbon.
When you get your edge engaged nicely, it’s a combination of straight lines and curves that makes it so effective. Not that’ll spend all day carving on the Salomon Gypsy, but it’s good to know that your run-in to the kicker will always be smooth and controlled. Thanks to the rapid-as-hell sintered base, this is definitely packing enough speed to get past the knuckle, even on Olympic-sized booters.
On rails, too, this board can handle itself. The profile is less risky than full camber, but not as loose as reverse camber. The rocker sections will help you dial in your 5-0s, and the core is strong enough to take impacts whilst still being nice and light. The edges are pre-bevelled, so it’s ready for action right out of the wrapper.
The Salomon Gypsy is definitely one for freestyle junkies who don’t shy away from any part of that side of snowboarding. Thrash the metal in the streets one day, then hit the pipe the next. This true twin weapon can’t fail to deepen your trick bag.
