Salomon’s Huck Knife and Assassin snowboards are two of the brand’s most acclaimed all-mountain freestyle snowboards.
The Huck Knife is an intermediate freestyle board for those looking to improve their skills in the park and the carving department. The Assassin is a more technical board for hard-riding snowboarders hoping to mix some park, powder, trees, and groomer carves in a single day.
Both boards have a medium flex and a hybrid camber profile. Let’s take a look at what sets these boards apart:
| Key features | Huck Knife | Assassin |
| Style | True twin. All-mountain. Freestyle park board | Directional twin. All-mountain. Freestyle park board |
| Price | $450 | $500 |
| Stiffness | Medium flex | Medium flex |
| Profile | Hybrid camber | Hybrid camber |
| Rider level | Intermediate-advanced | Intermediate-advanced |
| Size | 148, 152, 155, 158, 162, 155W, 158W | 150, 153, 156, 159, 162, 165, 158W, 163W |
Check out the Huck Knife on Evo or on Amazon
See the Assassin on Evo or here on Amazon
Salomon Huck Knife vs Assassin: who are they for?
The Huck Knife is designed for the all-mountain freestyle rider who spends a decent amount of time in the park. It’s got a medium flex which gives it a lot of pop and flex for jibbing, hopping, buttering, and jumping off kickers.
The board can lay into low carves quite well too and is ideal for combining carver groomer days with park sessions.
Designed with Salomon’s Quad Camber technology, the Huck Knife has a strong camber underfoot and between the bindings, followed by a rockered flick towards the tips. It’s a true twin board with a centered stance as well as a symmetrical shape and flex.
Salomon describes its Assassin as a mix between their most progressive powder and freestyle boards.
It’s a great option for an all-rounder snowboarder who spends equal time popping off kickers in the park, buttering on groomers, and carving low down corduroy groomers.
The Assassin is designed with Salomon’s Rock Out Camber. It’s a hybrid camber that is predominantly flat between the bindings, followed by a short camber under the feet and a rocker and flick towards the tips.
Its flexibility makes it both responsive and friendly, ideal for technical freestyle riders.
Both the Huck Knife and Assassin are designed for intermediate and above riders. They are generally a bit too technical for beginner snowboarders.
Huck Knife vs Assassin: powder riding
With a centered stance and a true twin shape, there isn’t much surface area to help the Huck Knife float through powder.
The board will manage shallow snow and powder pockets with ease, but struggles to float and maintain speed in deep powder.
The only thing going for this board in powder is the rocker towards the tips, which helps to slightly lift the front of the board over the snow.
While the Assassin is by no means a dedicated powder board, its directional shape with a slightly longer nose than tail helps to float the nose of the board above the powder.
With a marginal 2″ setback, the Assassin is best suited to those wanting to ride centered or switch in powder rather than those looking to lean back into deep powder carves.
Neither of the boards will suffice in deep powder, but both are adequate for shallow snow and powder pockets. Of the two, the Assassin is the better powder option because of its directional shape.
Salomon Huck Knife vs Assassin: carving
The Huck Knife features Salomon’s Freestyle Edge Bevel technology. This means the tip and tail of the board have been detuned to give the edges of the board a combination of impressive edge hold and a forgiving feel when riding on the rails.
The sidewalls of the board are inlaid with carbon fiber, giving the board a lot of energetic pop and flex for carving rail to rail. Carving on the Huck Knife feels best on softer snow and slush.
The Salomon Assassin is designed with an Equalizer Sidecut mechanism, which also makes for superior edge hold as well as a stable ride in hardpack and icy snow.
It’s a great board for those who like to get low and horizontal when carving down unpredictable hard terrain in icy conditions.
The board manages to hold itself well in these hard conditions, yet doesn’t feel too technical and aggressive in soft snow.
All in all, the Huck Knife is a better carver on softer, more forgiving snow, while the Assassin has the edge hold and precision to carve confidently through icy terrain.
Check out the Huck Knife on Evo or on Amazon
See the Assassin on Evo or here on Amazon
Huck Knife vs Assassin: turning
The Huck Knife is relatively quick from edge to edge for a freestyle board. Its soft flex and torsional flexibility make it agile yet stable and predictable.
This board is a great option for those looking to do tight radius turns – common for fixing up technique and alignment when approaching and landing kickers.
Similarly, the Assassin has fast turn initiation and a medium flex, offering a lot of dynamism and acceleration from one turn into another. The board feels quick from rail to rail and is also a great option for tight radius turns.
The Assassin has a lively and forgiving feel when turning, suitable for progressive intermediate riders.
Both boards are equally quick from rail to rail and are strong tight radius turners. The Assassin is more stable in icy and hard snow conditions.
Huck Knife vs Assassin: trees and slow sections
The Huck Knife’s agility and response in tight turning makes the board ideal to take into the trees. It feels easy and stable to maneuver through tight tree lines and will give an upper intermediate rider plenty of time to adjust their lines to avoid last-minute collisions.
The Assassin is also a strong turner when it comes to tight radius turns, and its agility is also great for weaving through small spaces and tree lines.
Because of their strength with tight and short turns, both boards are equally adequate when it comes to the trees.
Huck Knife vs Assassin: fast riding
Because of the board’s medium flex, the Huck Knife isn’t the fastest sled on the rack. Nevertheless, its sintered base helps you pick up and maintain moderate speed without hassle.
As long as you keep the base waxed and the edges tuned, the board will get you through flat cat tracks and ski lift lines with ease.
The Assassin is capable of picking up good speed on hardpack snow and will easily maintain speed through flat sections. It doesn’t feel too chattery if you push the board to its limits, and feels more stable than expected for its flex when riding fast.
The sidecut mechanism will hold the board in place in a range of conditions, making it possible to carve at speed without losing control and catching an edge.
Overall, the Assassin is a faster board and will cruise through any conditions with speed and precision. Its longer nose and damp base give it more power and speed in powder than the Huck Knife.
Huck Knife vs Assassin: rough terrain
With a medium flex rating and symmetrical flex across the base of the board, the Huck Knife is an average board for riding over rugged terrain.
The board is agile and fast enough to weave around choppy snow. However, riding over bumps is a different story, and the thin and flexible base makes for a lot of vibrational chatter.
The Assassin isn’t a very damp snowboard either, but isn’t overly chattery in uneven terrain. Like the Huck Knife, it’s nimble enough to avoid and navigate bumpy snow but isn’t as comfortable when riding straight through the chop.
The board will handle micro-bumps and chatter with composure, yet bigger chunks might send bone-chattering reverberations through the board.
Both boards are easily able to maneuver between chatter. For riding over rugged terrain, the Assassin is lighter on your knees in micro chatter. When it comes to moguls, however, there are better options out there than both these boards.
Check out the Huck Knife on Evo or on Amazon
See the Assassin on Evo or here on Amazon
Salomon Huck Knife vs Assassin: jumps and tricks
The Huck Knife shines brightest in the park. The board’s abundant camber beneath and between the bindings give the base of the board a lot of pop and flex.
This makes it ideal for popping off kickers, rollers, rails, and boxes. The flexibility of the board makes it super agile and gives you the opportunity to correct mistakes with tight turns.
The board will fly over small, medium and large jumps. The medium flex and camber profile offers a stable and forgiving landing.
The Assassin has the right flex and camber profile to be able to pop off big kickers, and its directional shape and larger nose make for stable landing gear.
The board’s medium flex gives it a lot of pop and opportunity for rails, boxes, and even street action. That said, the directional shape of the board makes it less ideal for jibbing.
With its ultra-strong edge hold, the Assassin is a solid pipe board. The camber profile makes it easy to swing the tail of the board around and maneuver the board from wall to wall.
While both boards are great freestyle park options, the Huck Knife is better for riding rails, boxes, and doing butters. The Assassin outshines the Huck Knife in the pipe and is also best for large kickers.
Huck Knife vs Assassin: switch riding
The true twin shape and centered stance make the Huck Knife perfect for jibbing, riding switch, and buttering straight or switch.
The board feels equally stable and symmetrical whichever way you ride it and is a great option for intermediate riders hoping to improve their switch riding technique.
Even with a larger nose and additional volume at the front of the board, the Assassin rides switch relatively well and feels like a true twin when riding backwards.
Both boards are excellent in the switch department, however, the twin shape of the Huck Knife makes it a better board for riding fakie.
Final words
The Huck Knife and Assassin are both solid all-mountain boards with an extra touch of freestyle spice.
The Huck Knife is better-suited to intermediate park riders who are still learning the ropes of freestyle snowboarding. It’s a confidence-boosting board that offers stability and forgiveness in the park, groomers, tree runs, and backcountry.
The Assassin is ideal for the upper intermediate all-mountain snowboarder who enjoys spending time in the park. It’s a slightly more aggressive and technical option and will work great everywhere the Huck Knife does, as well as in powder.
Check out the Huck Knife on Evo or on Amazon
See the Assassin on Evo or here on Amazon
Philon
Friday 19th of February 2021
I own both 2020 version of these boards. The HK is 155W and the Assassin is a 158W. I wear 9.5 boots but still prefer wider boards. At 195lbs (6'2''), it's my own version of going volume shifted. I use them both with Salomon Hologram bindings, which have now become my favorite bindings after trying a long list of different bindings and technologies.
I ride on the east-coast (up north Quebec province). Never have any powder on our small hill except in tight tree runs, but lots of groomers and a nice park. I've been riding for 31 years and I still ride the park a lot.
Both boards are great for that type of terrain. I could easily take any of the any day and be completely happy.
The Assassin is a bit stiffer (slightly), which is basically the only real difference I can feel between the two boards. This makes charging a bit more stable when it comes to edge-hold. The directional twin shape makes it just as good on jibs, jumps, rails, etc. You don't feel that extra inch in the nose for spins or anything else. Could be felt in deep pow (which is the intent behind it) but I can't tell, as I said: no powder here.
However, the HK is just as much of a killer board when it comes to the park and all-mountain freestyle. The ever so slightly softer flex makes it amazing for presses and rails and doesn't compromise much of anything when it comes to landing on bigger jumps. The sidecut is different but it grips just as much as the Assassin, the softer flex makes it just a tiny bit more unstable at very high-speeds but it's not a problem.
All in all, both these boards are great for what I use them for. It's a good thing I don't have to get rid of one, I really wouldn't know which to pick.
Big Kahuna
Saturday 20th of February 2021
Hey Philon, thanks for sharing this is awesome!