The Standard Assassin is a great snowboard in its own right, but the Pro version turns the volume up a notch with full length carbon inlays giving it a good whack of extra pop. Those inlays also add to stiffness, the Pro is 30% stiffer than the standard Assassin according to the rep, so naturally aggressive riders might get more out of this snowboard than cruisers, but it's also surprisingly forgiving for such a high-end board.
Another area where the Pro version has been amped up over the original is in the core where super light, but stable and responsive paulownia wood has been shaped to maximise that snappy feel. This makes it a great snowboard for all mountain freestyle riding, hitting jumps and kickers is where the Assassin Pro shines but it also has great capabilities elsewhere on the mountain. Float in powder is decent thanks to a slightly longer nose and 4 x 2 inserts giving you a decent amount of binding options and set-back, but true to its playful heritage the directional twin shape makes it a pretty good snowboard to ride switch as well.
Salomon's 'Rock out Camber' is also a triumph for playful all mountain riders who like to mix up park riding with going fast everywhere, the flat/camber/rocker profile giving it straight line stability and precision in long and fast carves without rinsing out all of the fun.
If you're an intermediate to advanced rider looking for a dependable quiver of one snowboard to have fun with all over the mountain then the Assassin Pro is a great bet and only narrowly missed out on the all mountain snowboard of the year prize to Capita's excellent Super DOA.
