Never Summer Evo Snowboard Review 2016-2010

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List Price $509 (USD)

Summary

The Never Summer Evo use to be a favorite but it's been edged out by the more stable augmented camber Funslinger. The Evo still it has a fun ride that many would like and it does ride better in powder than the Funslinger. Not much has changed from 2014-2016 NS Evo.

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Riding Style	Freestyle
Riding Level	Beginner - Expert
Fits Boot size (US)	8-10
Manufactured in	USA by Never Summer
Shape	True Twin
Camber Profile	Hybrid Rocker
Stance	Centered
Approx. Weight	Feels Normal
Split	No

Powder Average
Base Glide Good
Carving Average
Speed Average
Uneven Snow Good
Switch Great
Jumps Good
Jibbing Great
Pipe Good

On Snow Feel	Semi-Stable
Turn Initiation	Medium/Fast
Skidded Turns	Easy

Flex	Medium/Soft
Buttering	Easy
Edge Hold	Hard Snow

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2014-2016 Never Summer Evo Review Review by The Good Ride

Ethics Statement: We don’t get paid by the manufacturer to write these reviews. We do make money from the “Where To Buy” links, but this is our best attempt at an honest and objective review from an average riders’ perspective.

The Never Summer Evo has a changed hybrid rocker profile for 2014. It’s got the same general look but the profile is extended and the nose/tail is not as kinked up. It’s not major but it’s major enough to make it the call over the 2013 and below models. The 2016 Never Summer Evo hasn’t changed from 2015 and 2014.

Size: 157

Days: 4+
Conditions: Hard at the top to medium and occasionally soft at the bottom. The second day it was perfect Sierra snow. Not too hard or too soft. Just right.
Riders: Jamess, Peter, Won and a few others
Boots: Burton Ion, Nike Kaiju, Burton Imperial
Bindings: Burton Genesis, Burton Cartel Limited
Set Up: Centered about 23″ wide 15 front and -15 back

On Snow Feel: The low profile tip and tail changes the ride up for the better. There is a little more stability between the feet and there is more pop. It’s still loose in harder snow but the ride is now mostly stable compared to the semi-stable feel from last year. This is a very versatile park board that is really good with Jib’s, the pipe and Jumps. Most boards can’t get to or past good when dealing with the triple entendre that is the park but the Evo does. It’s not the mountain board that the Proto is but it sure does own the park. Another way to describe it is the Evo use to feel a bit more rubbery and now has a little more of a snappy feel to it.

Powder: There is a bit of an improvement here even with the extended profile tip/tail. The Evo changed the tip/tail profile as well so it helps the board plane instead of plow. The board is still rocker dominant so it fights to stay up in powder. However, this is still a shorter twin with a centered stance so it’s not ideal in deeper thicker powder. It’s a good board for those that ride in light fluffy powder or those that only ride it in shallow thicker powder and have a bigger board for when it gets deeper. If you ride everything on one board this still isn’t a bad freestyle powder board.

Turn Initiation and Carving: The newer model has the same easy turn initiation as before but now it just feels a bit more snappy edge to edge when making tighter radius turns. There is a nice little bit of extra spring when it comes to wider radius turns and carving has improved too. It’s still more of a butter/ollie board but now carving is a lot more fun if you want to add that to your playlist.

Speed: The extra dampening helps but it’s still not a fast board. The base is good enough to keep it’s speed in flats but it’s not a point and bomb kind of board. It doesn’t have a competent mountain speed compared to the Proto. If you are out on the mountain the board is happier treating it like a park.

Uneven Terrain: The Never Summer Evo has a very rubbery shock absorbing feel to it that makes bad landings and bumpy shitty moguly snow easy to negotiate if you slow down a bit. It’s very easy on the knees.

Edge Hold: Same great grip and even a little bit better with the new profile. NS nailed it with the Vario-Grip sidecut. It offers better edge hold than their old camber models making it a very good hard condition ride but it also doesn’t grab at all in softer snow. It’s not an ice specialist but it’s perfect for those that see a wide variety of conditions.

Flex: Still has a soft playful flex but the augmented camber and stiffened tip/tail make the board a little more snappy. It’s still easy to butter but now it’s just as appealing to ollie as well as butter.

Switch: It’s a true twin and that is perfect either way.

Jibbing: This is a great jib board and it inspires confidence. It runs in a little smaller sizing and for us it’s soft enough to feel confident on more challenging jibs. It’s not a dedicated jib board but it’s about as good as it gets for having a great feel everywhere else in the park. Not many boards can hit the jib park, the pipe and then finish off with a kicker or two and not feel awkward somewhere on that route.

Pipe: I’d say if you like a softer pipe board this will make you very happy because before you ruin the edges in the jib park it has great grip, the augmented camber in the profile helps it be more pipe proficient but the still rocker dominant feel makes it forgiving.

Jumps: To us, the Evo went from a great jump board to an excellent jump board. It’s a little more stable approaching a kicker and the extra camber helps you with that awkward tail heavy landing better. It’s still very forgiving too. The best part is the board pops much better off the tail when you ollie. It’s still not the poppiest board out there but the all-around ride is a very fun confidence-boosting experience for small to medium and even bigger kickers.

All in all the extended profile and lower tip/tail is a nice improvement to the ride and makes this board a solid choice for anyone that wants to ride everything in the park. It’s a nice improvement from the 2013 Evo.

Never Summer Evo Past Reviews

2013 and Below Never Summer Evo and Revolver Review

The Never Summer Evo and Revolver (Wide version) is a step down in stiffness from the Proto for a more soft playful freestyle ride for just about any place you want to ride in the park. It’s been a favorite of ours for years.

Size 155 and 157
Days: 15+
Conditions– 1 foot of snow to snowment bordering on ice.
Riders: James, Peter and Won
Bindings: Burton C02, Flux DS30, Flux RK 30, Burton Malavita Restricted
Boots: Burton SLX, Nike Kaiju, Burton Grail, Burton Imperial
Peter and I rode approx 23 wide 15 front -15 back and Won rode 15 front/-9 back. All of us rode centered.

The 2011 Never Summer Evo is a little more spring, is slightly more damp and has a bit more stability when flat basing over the 2010 Evo. The 2012 Never Summer Evo has been blunted out in the nose, has more of an effective edge for it’s size and now has a different size range. These upgrades make the 2012 Evo a better ride and the call over the 2011 Evo. The 2012 Evo is also slightly better one footing and flat basing than the 2011. The 2013 is pretty much the same ride as the 2012.

Thanks to our friends at Never Summer and our local shop P3 in Mammoth we were able to take this board out a lot. The Evo is the most soft and playful board in Never Summers line up. We love the 2012 model the best because the blunted nose makes for a more freestyle friendly ride. You also get a bigger ride with a smaller board. The 2012 157 was a hell of a lot of fun and we liked it a lot more than the 2010 155 and 2011 158 we tried. The newer stiffer Never Summer Proto has had most of the spotlight this year but the 2012 upgrades to the Evo should not be ignored. The 2013 is almost exactly the same as the 2012 so the ride is going to be fun any place you want to go.

On Snow Feel The Evo is going to be more stable in softer conditions and a little more loose when it gets harder. It’s a little more loose and playful than the proto but it still has some stability between the feet. That being said every year we ride Never Summer’s boards they are getting closer and closer to adding stability. One footing and flat basing ins’t bad depending on the conditions. This is at home in the park and fun to butter and ollie around the mountain.

Powder: The 2012 Evo will not be as good in powder but it’s still very close to the 2011 and even the 2010 Evo. I’ve had the Evo in about a foot of thick

Turn Initiation– The Evo is very loose and playful and will transition from edge to edge very quickly. The Evo is almost effortless when it comes to turning and all years boards are about the same here.

Speed: The Evo Isn’t made for much speed and straight lining a few long groomers brought out chatter. The up side is the Evo has a fast base that will help you pick up speed quickly in the park. This is a park board so if you ride this in the park you wll be pretty happy there. The 2012 Evo seemed slightly better than the 2011 and 2010 but this could just be in our head.

Uneven Terrain: It’s not super damp but it can handle bumpy conditions very easy. It’s not a board to handle chunder on a powder day but it moves over end of the day bumpy groomer terrain like water over rock. It’s got good slow speed shock absorption.

Approximate Weight– Not the lightest board but that is just how Never Summer rolls. Most of us would trade a little weight for more reliability and that is what you get from NS.

Edge Hold: The Evo holds an edge but in a smooth way. It doesn’t have that grippy feel but even in wind scowered areas with snowment the edge didn’t give out. We dont’ ride east coast so can’t speak for how it would hold up on that scary blue ice but can say it will do well on any icy pipe wall or snowment that you encounter West of the Rockies. There is a slight advantage in edge hold with the 2012 while the 2011 and 2010 were about the same.

Flex: Soft and playful is the name of this boards game. The Evo sit’s closer to the noodle side of the soft category. It’s a good flex that makes it really fun to effortlessly butter and jib while still being able to do well in the rest of the park.

Carving– The Evo wasn’t ideal to carve but it never washed out. It didn’t have that spring out of the turn feeling that some boards do but if you were in a carving mood it could satisfy it. Carving was slightly better with the 2012 due to the longer effective edge. The 2010 and 2011 Evo were about the same.

Switch: The Evo Rode as well switch as it did regular because it’s a true twin with a centered stance.

Jibbing: The soft flex and catch free feel makes it pretty fun to hit just about any rail you want. There are better boards for this but there aren’t many all around park boards that can compete. The Evo from any year is super fun to butter and jib. The 2012 has an advantage over the 2011/2010 model because it’s shorter, has more effective edge and is easier to throw around.

Pipe: No pipe on our mountain yet. Based on the edge hold the Never Summer Evo should do a good job in the pipe and be easy to land. The 2012 Evo was slightly better in the pipe too compared to the 2011 and 2010.

Jumps/Pop– The Evo is very springy and was very fun to pop off most natural hits. On a few laps through the park hitting small to mid sized jumps the Evo made things easyand this was one of our favorite small to mid sized jump boards in 2011 and 2012. The Evo does a great job. The 2012 has the advantage here because you get an easier board to throw around due to the reduced swing weight. All the boards pop about the same when it comes to getting your own air.

In summary we expect alot from the Evo every year we ride it and Never Summer delivered. This is a solid choice for an all park ride. The 2012 is definitely the better board over the 2011 or 2010 and Never Summer should be seriously considered as one of the top contenders when choosing a hybrid rocker board.