2027 Salomon Depart 02

The 2027 Salomon Depart 02 brings a slightly narrower Depart to the mix at 100 mm underfoot. This ski follows a lot of the same shaping and overall principles as the Depart 01, but packages it in a slightly narrower format. We still get a light, drifty, flexible ski that works great for modern freeride skiers but also brings more park performance into the mix as it does feel a bit quicker and more agile.

Salomon uses a blend of karuba and poplar in the wood core to create a slightly lighter profile than QST. They do have a titanal binding reinforcement plate underfoot, and they also use their wide steel edges to get a boost of durability to go along with increased edge grip. With full sidewalls and fiberglass fibers to stiffen the skis and provide rebound, these do have a slight mean streak to them, but overall the shape and style leans way more to playfulness. Salomon states a weight of 1920 g/ski in the 188 so it’s still on the slightly lighter side for this length and width. Tester Matt Stromecki calls them “The ultimate freestyle ski for spring park days and resort shenanigans. So surfy and playful but enough substance to go fast and blast through the slush. These skis made me look for gaps and sidehits all the way to the park and then had a balanced, creative, and forgiving feel in the park. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to hit any rails since they were demo skis but they felt great on jumps and jibbing around. The surfy shape made them forgiving for when you don't land perfectly, but they didn't want to wash out all the time, so they found a great balance there.”

These skis just seem to want to go sideways and be smeary if they’re not fully engaged, and that’s okay with us. The skis use a 21% tip rocker profile and an 18% tail. The skis have measurements of 135/101/123 in the 188 to generate a 16-meter turn radius. That’s a pretty short arc for such a long ski but it’s all in the name of entertainment. Tester Jeff Neagle says that they’re “Super fun! I think I like this new Depart more than the 01. It's not that different, I suppose, but it feels a little more dynamic when just skiing around the mountain. A little narrower so it's quicker edge to edge and it comes across the fall line more easily in a carve. Overall, I do think it feels a bit better at speed too. It's also similarly loose, slashy, drifty, and creative as the original Depart. So easy to flick around even though it doesn't feel particularly lightweight. Where I always had fun on the Depart 01, I never really felt the urge to ski park on it, where this new Depart 02 begs to be taken to the park, while making the rest of the mountain really fun on your way there.”

This narrower shape should open Depart to more of a broad audience. We think these skis will work great on the feet of advanced skiers, but you can certainly be an intermediate or an expert and it’ll work just fine. With a short arc and a playful shape, the Depart 02 enjoys being used all over the mountain, from the woods and groomers to the park and beyond.