Salomon released this board with a fresh topsheet this year (pictured above), but all else remains the same as the version we tested.
November 2019The Pillow Talk is better than the Swoon Rocker when it comes to powder, but the Mind Expander does just about as well as the Pillow Talk in the deep stuff and doesn't have the same deficiencies. However, the Pillow Talk is quite a bit less expensive than both of the other boards.
To find out which all-mountain snowboard can truly claim the title of Best of the Best, we did extensive research and compared all the top boards that can be bought today. We then purchased all the most compelling and promising models to test out in real-world conditions, side-by-side. We divvied up our assessments into five different weighted categories, with the Pillow Talk's performance outlined below.
As we said before, we found the Pillow Talk's edge hold to be a bit disappointing. We rode this board on a wide spectrum of snow conditions on steep terrain and varying speeds, noting at what point we started to lose an edge and have the board wash out from under us in a turn for this metric, which constitutes one-fourth of the Salomon's total score. It earned one of the lowest scores, receiving a 6 out of 10 for its less than grippy edges.
The Salomon Quadralizer sidecut is supposed to give it more grip in harder conditions on steeper groomed runs, but we definitely didn't think this was true based on its performance in our tests. If you mainly are a resort rider who rides steep groomers, then we would recommend against getting this board. We didn't dig it on steep icy runs, as were almost constantly worried that we would lose an edge and the board would wash out from underneath us.
We took this board out after the biggest snowfalls, seeing how well it handled and turn and if it provided enough flotation, which is responsible for 20% of the total score for the Pillow Talk. This metric is where this board truly shined, earning a 9 out of 10.
This board is built wide with a tapered shape, making it truly at home after the deepest snow falls. The fishtail gives it extra float — similar to a surfboard — and it's an absolute blast to make fast turns in deep snow.
The Salomon couldn't carry its excellent powder performance into the remainder of our metrics. For our stability metric, also worth 20% of the total score, we took the Pillow Talk on steep groomed trails with hardpack snow and really opened up the throttle. Unfortunately, we quickly discovered that this wasn't the best idea, earning the Salomon a 7 out of 10.
While this board is quite stable when you are screaming through powder, it feels far from great on groomers or icy terrain. It has a super surfy ride, which translates to instability and chatter when going fast on hardpack and we never really wanted to ride this board unless it was a powder day.
The Salomon also didn't particularly distinguish itself in our playfulness metric, which is also accountable for 20% of its final score, earning another 7 out of 10. We based this on how nimble and agile the board is, how it flexed and maneuvered, and how much fun it is to ride in the park, on natural terrain features, and in the trees.
This medium flex board is pretty fun and maneuvers quite well. We definitely wouldn't pick this board for man-made features and would steer clear of rails, but the Pillow Talk is quite fun on backcountry features. It's great for natural hits in the backcountry and is an absolute blast to float down big powder pillows — true to its name.
The Pillow Talk finished out with an alright performance in our pop metric, which constitutes the residual 15% of the overall points tally. This board ollies and launches off jumps and natural features with a decent amount of spring — especially in powder — earning it a 7 out of 10.
While this board doesn't have a ton of spring in the tail, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves ollieing off natural features in the trees on a powder day. However, it's lack of spring does mean that you won't get the same amount of air ollieing on flat ground as you would with a board with more pop.
The Pillow Talk practically screams powder board when you look at it. It performs well in the deep snow, but is rather mediocre in anything but the fluffy stuff.
While the Pillow Talk is relatively inexpensive for these products, it is more of a single function board than many of the other options. It's a good value if you are shopping for a powder board to add to your quiver, but you can get much more bang for your buck with other all-mountain boards.
