Easy on the legs and smooth through slush, the Salomon Highpath gave up its composure as soon as Shaun and James pushed it hard. It scores 86 out of 100 and ranks #8 in our best freeride snowboards guide as our best eco-friendly freeride snowboard.
What is the best eco-friendly freeride snowboard?
The best eco-friendly freeride snowboard is the Salomon Highpath, a partly recycled build that scored 86 and carved cleanly and predictably with little strain on the legs.
Salomon Highpath
- Length tested: 159 cm
- Weight: 2,890 g
- Profile: Rock Out camber
- Shape: Tapered directional
Bottom Line : Smooth, easy carving on a damp, partly recycled build. It rides soft, the nose flutters when pushed and the tail gives way under heavy riders.
Pros
- Edge Bite 9.0: the quadratic sidecut locked onto firm morning snow easily
- Deep Carving 8.5: smooth, predictable and low on effort
- Chop 8.5: it soaked up slush chatter
- A partly recycled base and sidewall, with a bio-based resin
Cons
- Rides soft, around 6.5 to 7 out of 10 by the testers' feel
- The rockered nose fluttered when pushed hard on the training lanes
- The tail softened and washed out for heavier riders in laid-over carve exits
On the Mountain
On firm morning snow the quadratic sidecut locked on easily, with smooth, predictable carves (Edge Bite 9.0). It asked for less effort than the stiff boards here.
Turn initiation felt natural. The testers describe the Rock Out camber as flat between the bindings, with camber underfoot and rocker at the tips, and it gave intuitive entry with minimal physical strain (Deep Carving 8.5).
The basalt booster and fiberglass damper absorbed slush chatter smoothly (Stability 8.5, Chop 8.5).
Over a long session it stayed easy on the legs, and the base and sidewall use recycled material, per the maker.
Where It Asks Something of You
The flex is softer than the build suggests: the testers put it at about 6.5 to 7 out of 10, and that's what limits the board.
It shows when you push. On the salted training lanes at full commitment the rockered nose fluttered, while the carbon boards here, the Nitro Pantera and K2 Alchemist among them, stayed calm.
Heavier riders, 200 lb and up, found the tail softened and washed out slightly in high-load, laid-over carve exits. If you carve hard and weigh that much, buy a stiffer board.
Spec Sheet vs Our Test
Tapered directional shape, "superior flotation". Flotation is the maker's promise for the tapered directional shape ("superior flotation"). We rode a summer glacier with no fresh snow, so it's untested.
Quadratic sidecut, "effortless direction change". The maker says the quadratic sidecut makes direction changes effortless. That was fair: it locked onto firm morning snow easily and carved smoothly with little strain.
Rock Out camber. The maker lists Rock Out camber. The testers describe it as flat between the bindings, with camber underfoot and rocker at the tips, and the result was natural, intuitive turn initiation.
Basalt booster and fiberglass damper. The maker lists both without explaining them. Our testers found they absorbed slush chatter smoothly, and the board was easy on the legs across a long session.
Partly recycled base and sidewall, bio-based resin. The maker lists a recycled base and sidewall, a partly bio-based resin and recycled edges, with a share of recycled content in each. Those are build claims we can't test on snow. The ride didn't suffer for them, but the soft flex comes with the package.
Should You Buy the Salomon Highpath?
It's worth a look if comfort and a partly recycled build matter to you. At 86 in the upper-mid price tier it's ten points under the budget-tier Ride Deep Fake, so this is a choice about feel and materials, not value.
Charging hard, or heavy? The Jones Flagship and the Nitro Pantera are the boards for that. On firm snow for an easy day, the Highpath does the job.
Compare With
- Nitro Pantera: our best overall freeride snowboard.
- Ride Deep Fake: our best budget freeride snowboard.
- K2 Alchemist: our best freeride snowboard for carving.
- CAPiTA Black Snowboard of Death: our best freeride snowboard for hardpack.
- Jones Flagship: our best big mountain freeride snowboard.
- Jones Stratos: our best agile freeride snowboard.
- Arbor Bryan Iguchi Pro: our best camber freeride snowboard.
- Lib Tech Dynamiss: our best women's freeride snowboard.
- Lib Tech Cold Brew: our best freeride snowboard for intermediate riders.
See all ten, and how we tested them, in our best freeride snowboards of 2026 guide.
Ranked in our Best Freeride Snowboards guide. All our tested picks, guides and reviews are in our Best Snowboards hub.
Editor's Note, 12 November 2026: New review. In June and July 2026 Shaun and James rode the Salomon Highpath (159 cm) off the T-bar on Horstman Glacier at Whistler Blackcomb, weighed it, and scored it on stability, edge bite on ice, deep carving and chop plow-through.
Our Testers
This review was edited by Sean Williams and tested at Whistler Blackcomb by Shaun and James.
- Sean Williams, Editor-in-Chief. A former commercial outdoor copywriter and gear journalist who now runs Top-Notch Outdoor as an independent publisher. He takes no brand-funded trips and runs no supplied ad copy.
- Shaun Taylor, Freeride Snowboard Tester. Raced banked slalom and halfpipe in the late 1980s and 1990s before turning to backcountry freeriding. A finish carpenter by trade. Shaun led the testing of the Salomon Highpath.
- James Ward, Alpine Ski & Fat Bike Tester. On skis since he was 3 and a former regional alpine racer. Now a ski tuner and dryland fitness coach. James co-tested the Salomon Highpath.
