The Time Machine is one of those boards when you get on it you instantly know it’s a snowboard and that it’s going to not jerk you around or not do things you want. We rode it, we reviewed it, and now you can read about it.
P: Brent LaFleur
Board: Salomon Time Machine
Size: 159
Camber Option: Cross Profile. Camber between the feet into rocker in the tips. Your standard camrocker.
Bindings: K2 Formula
Stance: 22.5 Wide 18 Negative 15 Goofy
Boots: K2 Thraxis Size 10
My Weight: 175lbs
Resort: Breckenridge
Conditions: A storm had rolled through and dropped between 4 and 6 inches of snow on top of the sun baked crust underneath. The sun was poking through, the temps were warm, and the wind was a little blustery.
Flex: This board has that feel of an all mountain freestyle board that can handle the park just as much as it handles the park. Over all it’s stiffer than a mid flex but not by much and the tips do have a fair amount of play right around the up-kick.
Stability: While not an overly damp board it is still lively and stable at speeds and in chundery terrain. Getting it into washed out ruts full of crusty snow it never once faltered. If you want to charge a groomer there is no fear of this thing chattering.
Ollies: As it has an abundance of regular camber under foot you can snap some serious pop with this on natural terrain or obstacles. The camrocker profile really makes for easy pop initiation as you’re mobbing through varying terrain which adds to the overall playfulness of the board.
Pop On Jumps: Come in hit the lip and snap. That’s it and you’re golden. The camber gives the snap you want while the rocker makes it so you don’t have to pre-load the tail.
P: Brent LaFleur
Butterability: The sweet spot in the tips is just a hair before the up-kick. Hitting this spot on really gives the board a lot of play and you can press hard into it to get the desired effect. Is it a butter machine? No, but it can handle its own.
Jibbing: This is what I call a high speed jib board you want to come in as fast as possible, press or slide, and then get off the feature. Why? Because this board isn’t made to exclusively jib, it’s just there to handle it. The flex does make you work a bit for it.
Carving: The sidecut on this is designed to rail tight hard turns and get real low. If you want to Euro-carve go for it and don’t worry about it. If you want to just do a tight set up turn and be lazy, then it has you covered.
Rider in Mind: The guy that’s going to play around on the whole mountain, rail turns, not afraid to ride pow or even go on the quest to find it, and will do it all.
Personal Thoughts: There might be a slight setback with this board but you won’t notice it. This board is a downgraded Mans Board but don’t let that dissuade you from looking at it, in my opinion this is what 99% of people that think they want the Mans Board actually need. It’s a solid ride and while it doesn’t master everything it does them exceptionally well making it a great choice for an all mountain board.
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Disclaimer: This board was sent to us for product review from the Salomon Snowboards Rockies Rep. This was a pre-production model there could be changes in the production model.
50 Comments
Last year i bought an Arbor Westmark and rode it on powder, groomers and some park. For being a park board i thought it did great around the whole mountain being playful and fun. But Ive been looking at the Time Machine and like the reviews you gave it. Should I look into buying this board? I ride little bit of park but mainly like cruising the whole mountain trying to hit natural terrain and small jumps for freestyle. Im just a freestyle rookie though. I also like to ride open powder.
SHOULD I LOOK MORE INTO BUYING THIS BOARD?
P.S. it would be nice to have a board thats a quiver killer, i hope the Time Machine is the answer.
Hi Angry! I was wondering what your thoughts would be on the 159 with a rider weighing 215. I found a good deal on the 2014 model at 159cm and this board sounds like a great fit for me, but when I look at Salomon’s sizing chart it is recommending I go with 165cm. How do you think the 159 would hold up for a heavier rider?
Love the reviews and keep up the good work!
Ivan it kind of depends on what you’re doing really.
Hey Angry, I’d be using this on groomers and light powder conditions (around a foot to foot to two feet at the very most). I like to snap off natural features like hips and rollers and take some smaller to medium sized jumps. I guess my concern would be the Time Machine’s ability to keep me afloat in that level of pow and whether you think I’d lose a noticeable amount of the snap the board has due to my weight.
If worse comes to worse, I will bite the bullet and size up.
Thanks again!
Sounds like the 59 is going to be better for you.
Would you consider it an All mountain freestyle quiver killer?
It’s definitely in that category.
It may just be the board I’ve been waiting years for.
looks sick just wish i was tall enough to ride it 🙁
Height has nothing to do with choosing a boards length.
Does the 2014 model feel and ride the same as the 2015 model
Exactly the same sir.
between the 2014 and 2015, are there any changes that you noticed or did it ride the same?
Not that I”m aware of.
Great review! Do you have an opinion on the better choice for an all-mountain Quiver-killer, the Time Machine or Salomon Assasin?
Thanks!
In my opinion the Time Machine is more versatile because of how it handles groomers and hard packed compared to the Assassin.
if you ride rails, jumps and pow as igual, what would you choose, a salomon time machine or a salomon assassin??
Time Machine.
and between a salomon time machine and a salomon craft??
They’re two entirely different boards.
and between a salomon time machine and a salomon craft????
and between a salomon time machine and a salomon craft ?
oh, but can i ride rails, jumps and pow??
Hello Angry One,
I have a question. I have a Salomon Special from 2008. I do love that board and it is a rocket down the hill. Pretty stiff ride. It’s been 7 years since I bought this board. I am looking for a little softer all-mountain deck. I’ve been looking at the Time Machine. Would you say that the T.M. would fit that bill? The Time Machine would be softer than my old Special yes?
Definitely softer.
Thanks. So are you saying the T.M. would fit that description or should I look at the Man’s Board? Or will the Man’s Board be more like my Special? I’m a Salomon guy so I gotta stick with Salomon boards. What other big differences will I see between the two? What’s your recommendation?
Stiffness is the biggest difference between the Time Machine and Mans Board.
Do you know if the Man’s board replaced The Special in Salomon’s lineup?
It’s a completely different board.
It was hard to make the decision between either getting this board or the Man’s Board. After some reviewing as well as consulting with folks from Milo here in Utah. I chose this board and I couldn’t be happier.
Going from a rocker profile with a softer flex, at first this board made me feel uneasy, but the more I ride it the more I love it. The first few weeks I feel like I had to really work to get the board to respond. Being well into my 3rd month of riding this board, I know it rather well and the board is rather impressive. There are situations still where this board still surprises me.
I see myself with this board for quite sometime in the future. I highly recommend it for anyone having the style that suits this board.
Hi Angry,
I owned last years Time Machine and found it not great at handling uneven snow or hard pack when riding it in Jackson Hole, it felt to loose for the conditions. I swapped it for an Arbor Coda – really fun – but I struggle with how loose it can feel on steeps with hard pack/ Ice.
What would you recommend that is like the Arbor Coda but more composed on icy steeps? Is this years time machine stiffer?
Maybe you need some traditional camber that’s stiff.
Hey Angry,
I am very close to picking up the Time Machine. I do have a Salomon Grip from a few years back. A guy can never have too many boards right? In your opinion, are these two boards different enough to make the purchase worthwhile? I know the Grip is a true twin and the Time Machine isn’t . What do you think?
The camber profiles change the ride. They vary enough in my opinion to warrant having one of each.
Hey Angry! Looking for a board to take all over mountain, to lock in carves but also take to the park for jumps/freestyle, and sometimes ride in pow when I can. Prefer mostly traditional camber with forgiving tips such as rocker-camber-rocker. Based on your description, the Time Machine seems a good choice for all that. I am 5’7″, 155 lb, and not sure what size would be best. Do you think 153 cm will be good for what I described? 156 cm sounds long, especially for freestyle. Are there similar boards to the Time Machine that you would recommend? Thanks!
I think you’ll be fine on a 53 of this board. If you wanted something a little different that’s Camrocker check out the Rossignol Jibsaw or even the Angus. Possibly the Yes Great Dudes as well.
Thanks Angry. Truthfully, I expect to be cruising the mountain a fair bit more than the park, but want to leave the door open for occasional trips to the park to try mainly the jumps. For this reason, I’d rather go for a slightly directional board and I like RCR because I’m still learning and I’d prefer that traditional camber to learn on but with forgiving and floaty nose and tail for less catching and better cruising in that occasional pow. So I’m considering so far the Salomon Time Machine, the K2 Subculture, and the Rossi Angus (though you mentioned the rolled edges reduce grip, which sucks). What do you think is a better choice from these, or any others, or anything good projected for 2016? And is 153 cm still OK for that sort of riding? I don’t want to mess up the size. Isn’t it more about the effective length than the true length? I mean, I would assume the board with blunt tips could effectively feel longer than a regular board, for example. Anyway, thanks man! Cheers.
You’re on the right track for what you’re looking for. You’ll be fine on a 153, for reference I’m 15lbs heavier than you and ride a 154 for everything. I would look at the choices you’re thinking and see which one you can get the best deal on and then go from there.
I’m from Utah and Brighton is where I call my stomping grounds. I’m between the Salomon Time Machine and the Rome Agent Rocker. I’m a born again snowboarder that’s been back from a personal journey. When I ride, I have no agenda, but I feel the most fun I have is tree line stuff, but I cruise the whole mountain. Just barley started hitting boxes and hopefully will get to rails soon (but I primarily hit park when night boarding). Currently riding a Ride Antic (157, I love this board but one of my buddies needs a board, so I’m probably going to sell this one to him, plus riding switch on this board is not that fun), and I have a Salomon Villain (153, I love this board too but it doesn’t seem as comfy as my antic, I’m not sure if it’s the length of the board but I’m not as confident taking jumps with he Villain). Not sure if there is any insight here, but my question is which board would you choose. I’m in-between 300-400 dollar budget, but I’m getting tired of reading different board company sales pitch. I’m about 5’7″ at 190ish lbs.
You have to realize the Time Machine and Agent Rocker are completely different boards. Different camber profiles, different flexes, different types of riding styles. It sounds like you should get the Agent Rocker because you like soft decks.
Shows how much I pay attention, I thought they were similar boards but was shapped different at the tips. Glad im not in school any longer. Thanks for taking the time to reply. Much appreciated.
Hi Angry, I’m from Scotland and do my most of my riding in the Alps. I currently ride a 158 Palmer Honeycircle 2 which is 8 years old now. I’m mainly on the groomers but enjoy the pow when the opportunity rises. Also dabble a bit in the park, enjoy the boardercross and doing slaloms. On steep runs I like enough flex to have the ability to front foot steer. I also want to develop the freestyle side of my boarding. My board performs well in most conditions but not so good when the going gets bumpy. Have been looking at Salomon Time Machine and the Assassin. Which would you recommend? I’m 5′ 8″ and 160lbs. Thank you for your help and keep up the good work.
The Assassin is not what you want.
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Hey Angry, Here’s my question. In your opinion, which is a better all-mountain board with a medium flex. The Salomon Time Machine or the Salomon Assassin? Want to get a new board this year that has a little better edge hold than my Salomon Grip. What do you think?
I personally dig the Time Machine more for what you’re asking.
Hi angry,
I managed to locate last years(2015) time machine. But, if your were to choose just one board, would you prefer the time machine or the yes typo(2016)? Thanks in advance
Time Machine.
Hi Avran. I just bought this old school board and fell in love. I kinda want tu buy something new but similar to this salomon to support snowboard community. I was thinking about nitro dropout but maybe you have better idea (directional camrocker with medium flex)
Grab that dropout.