Salomon Gypsy 143 - Review

After trying out the K2 Va Va Voom, I went to the Salomon tent to try out the Salomon Gypsy, a girls park board with rocker (Specifically, a backyard/jib board according to Salomon's website). When I was looking at this board, it looked kind of like Signal's Park Rocker... you know, that crazy ass rocker? It's definitely noticeable!

Mountain: Loveland
Weather: Sunny!!
Snow: Not bad, some icy spots and some tracked out snow

Bindings: K2 Virtue

Boots: 32 Lashed size 6.5K2 Virtue

I went back to the K2 tent after grabbing the Gypsy to try out another pair of girls bindings besides the Auto Agogo. They didn't have my size, so the guy gave me a pair of K2 Virtue that were too big, but he got the straps short enough to fit. I wasn't so sure because bigger bindings usually kill my feet, but whatever. I guess it's my fault for asking if he had any bindings other than the Autos... I tried to tell him it's okay, I'll take the Autos anyways since they fit better, but my insisting fell upon deaf ears (other than mine... ha!).

BUTTER IT!
The Gypsy is super butters! Not as soft as my GNU B-Street, but I was able to hold nose presses and tail presses in the snow as I rode down

SWITCH IT UP!
Board rode the same switch as it did regular

POP IT!
This board has Popster, which is supposed to make the board really poppy and you know what? It definitely is poppy!

BOMB IT!
This was when the board got weird... when I hand-flexed this board, it was soft and it felt soft when I was going slow buttering it... but once I started going faster, this board felt like it was really stiff and I felt like I had to REALLY use my muscles in my legs to make it turn. My thighs were burning a bit, but the board held carves fine. It didn't chatter when I was going straight down either.

SPIN TO WIN!
I liked jibbing with this board, it was pressy and spun effortlessly along the disco box. I also had no issues doing little spins off little jumps in the snow. Doesn't feel heavy or anything like that.

ARTSY-FARTSY!
Tye-dye and dreamcatchers? I never thought those two things would go together, but Salomon thinks so. There's also some rhinestones imprinted into the topsheet, it's really cool! They didn't go overboard with the rhinestones, there's just a few and it's not the first thing you notice if you're worried about that.

AND THE BINDINGS?
Uhhhhhhhhhhh god, I was right, these bindings did end up killing my feet because they were too big! That was all I could keep thinking about so I didn't really notice anything positive about these. Well, except for the straps being comfortable.

THE VERDICT?!
I just thought that this board rode kinda weird, maybe it had too much rocker for me? This isn't a board for me after all, but Salomon's website says it's for backyard/jib riding. I guess that's true, since you mostly go slow to medium speeds (well, you're not bombing down hills when you do that stuff) and that's when this board really shines because I can really play around and press it and stuff. I like a board that I can take everywhere with an emphasis in the park, but this board wouldn't work for me.

Disclaimer - Board was demoed and returned