$349 Intermediate to Expert Mostly Mountain to Freeride Camber Tapered Directional Shape The Salomon Lark is a fun relatively easy turning freeride specialist. It has a tapered shape, decent edge hold and is good in powder. It has many of the characteristics as the Salomon Burner on the men's side but is softer and doesn't have the ultra super lightning fast base. It actually has a Extruded base and that is very dissapointing for a board of this caliber. Aside from this complaint we still feel this is a good board. Also there aren't many women's tapered snowboards out there so If you are committing to the mostly mountain side of the snowboarding world then this is a great board to start out with. This is a direct competitor to the Burton Feather but has a 4 hole binding set up and isn't continuous rocker. If you throw in an aggressive pair of bindings with the Lark you will have a really fun easy to turn all mountain to freeride board that won't be too tough on you. For 2012 Salomon added their mostly camber hybrid camber profile to make this board float better in powder which makes 2012 the call. Check out the detailed review below.
Salomon use to make the Lark so stiff a you would have to be in shape to flex it. Salomon chose in 2010 to soften up the lark and all their boards so it will be a little more friendly for advanced users as well as experts. The design also looks allot better in person than the pics show. The Lark is a good low cost mostly mountain to freeride board
Groomers- Normally as the day progresses the conditions get chopped up and many older Salomon boards would get angry. We call this reverse chatter and it's hard on your body. The new Salomon Lark handled chopped up crappy runs like a dream. It was un-beleiveable how much they improved this category after 08-09. The new tech makes a huge difference in the all conditions battle. This can handle 1st chair on Saturday morning to last chair and still be kind on your body.
Powder- The Salomon Lark also performs very well in powder. It has a big setback and a decent enough taper to float very well even though it's cambered. You are not going to feel the speed that you will on groomers but you feel the board keep its momentum. We also noticed that this had a similar wide and long nose as a powder board. The lark was easy to manipulate through patches of trees and in tight situations. We like the 2012 addition of a hybrid camber profile to give it a little more float in powder.
Turn Initiation- When it comes to turn initiation the new tech is far better. We don’t quite understand it but it makes the Lark incredibly softer and easier to turn at low speeds. The Lark is also very easy to turn in tight situations like trees or steep chutes. This is good because the board gets going soo fast you need to turn. There was one turn the editor made where he dropped his hand to touch the ground on a high speed carve and the snow took off the silicone on the fingers!
Lightweight- This board is right up there in the top of the light boards. The 166 feels like a 160.
Edge Hold- Like all tapered boards they don't have the best edge hold when it comes to hard pack conditions but out of all of the similar boards we tried it did very well.
Stiffness- The newer Lark from 2009-2010 on really softened up. We would say it used to be a 4 out of 5 but now it's closer to a 3 or maybe even less. What is weird about this change is the Lark didn't loose any speed or dampening.
Jumps- Not very good in the park but great for a method off a natural hit.
The rest of these categories are not really applicable for the Salomon Lark. This is a mostly mountain to freeride type of board and if you take this on a rail we'll come to your house and take it away from you.
The Good Ride Take on Salomon
Boards Salomon is small compared to some companies but they have the complete line up and a very strong following. You will either love or hate a Salomon board. Salomon makes a very fast and damp all mountain to freeride board that seems to feel best at high speeds. It is really scary how fast it is. They have also made a solid effort to make some pretty good park boards as well and won some Good Wood Award's in the park and pipe. If you are looking for something a bit off the beaten path Salomon might work for you. Boots It is almost undisputed amongst most knowledgeable riders that Salomon has some of the best boots out there. They have spent a lot of time making a boot that fits well and that won’t pack out much. Even though there is a semi-traditional lacing system it still has a speed lace tightening system and it can lock at each rung on the upper part of the boot. Some complain that the Salomon boot runs a bit narrow so if you have wide feet think twice. Also others complain that it can take longer than some boots to make them comfortable for your feet. Bindings Salomon’s bindings are not as popular as their boards and boots but still do a good job competing with the other big name brands. They are reliable and well made and have a more traditional old school feel compared to the leading companies. That being said the turn initiation and general feeling is good so these could work for you.
The Lark sings a sweet song through all snow conditions with the versatility of the ALL new Cross profile. Float in pow and power through carves with camber between the feet and a raised tip and tail. Like to charge through the trees, slash pow and sail smooth over groomers? The Lark is calling your name.
Slightly more forgiving than the Ivy, the Lark blends mellow turns with high speed stability, a perfect shape for pow and a fun graphic for stylish all mountain riding.
Rally through the woods and catch air into pow! The Lark is your all access pass to everything the mountain has to offer. EQ sidecut helps distribute pressure evenly for confident edge hold and control. The tapered shape sinks your tail in pow and keeps that nose afloat in the steep and deep.
