Never Summer Big Gun 2020 - 2018 Review by The Good Ride

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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.

Size: 165
Days:  4
Conditions:  Everything from some hard snow to some thick powder
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185lbs), Zobel (Size 11.5, 6’ 180lbs
Boots: Adidas Tactical ADV
Insoles:  Footprint Insole Technology Gameghangers Low Profile
Bindings: Union Atlas, Burton Genesis X,
Set Up: 22.75” set back a bit and set close to what I think is a reference. 18 front -6 back

Approximate Weight: Feels a bit on the heavy side only because the board is a 165 but if you compared it to others it’s size it would be normal.

Flex:  Pretty stiff throughout most of the board but not old school super stiff and it falls on the med/stiff side of things.

Sizing: When looking at the specs, the Never Summer Big Gun 165 seems a bit wide for my size 9s but I had no problem at all turning it and I would have sworn that it was a cm narrower.  A size 9-10 US boot could easily ride this board and it seems like even an 11 could easily handle any size too without too much toe drag.  After 11 I’m not too sure.

On Snow Feel: The Never Summer big gun has that kind of loose hybrid rocker feel underfoot that auto spins on you in medium to harder snow when one footing or flat basing so the personality can change from condition to condition. It’s not super washy but likes a little more weight on the back foot for sure. It’s the kind of ride that kind of a bomby pointer but it’s super forgiving when skidding a turn. It’s something you wouldn’t expect when flexing it in the shop.

Edge Hold: Pretty strong grip in most conditions you want to ride but in comparison with boards that have a little more disruption in the side cut it starts to lose its edge in pretty hard snow.  Wouldn’t recommend it if you often ride in really hard to icy conditions but it’s pretty competent in most conditions you want to ride.

Turn Initiation: As I said above my size 9’s turned the Never Summer Big Gun really easy and it only took a little work to make this go where I wanted it.

Turning Experience: The Ripsaw camber profile in the back seat is nice to have and it really likes a surfy back foot heavy approach to turning.  If you like that kind of ride then you will probably like the Big Gun and it has pretty good spring out of the turn off the tail.

Carving:  It’s a fun back foot carver and you can lay it out pretty hard.  The Never Summer Big Gun hurried up the carve a bit more than I would like but it’s still fun.

Speed: The loose feeling between the feet is a little difficult to really feel comfortable truly pointing it but it’s got a very damp thing going on for it without being too damp/dead.  The base really keeps it’s speed well too.

Uneven Terrain: Yeah the Never Summer Big Gun can just hammer through the uneven snow in a way not many can.  It’s a little long for weaving in and out of bumps but it’s doable. I love how it keeps those hard micro-bumps from passing through the boards and up into your joints.

Powder: There is taper, a lot more volume in the nose so the tail sinks, rocker in the middle, a mellow elliptical camber in the front transitioning to flat with what seems like a little rocker and a set back on board of 7.75″ on board with a 21.75″ stance width.  It’s float matched the specs pretty well in the little bit of thick Sierra snow we experienced.

So, all in all, the Never Summer Big Gun offers up a really fun big board surfy ride.  Even though it’s a little loose between the feet, it’s super damp, glides well and it’s really fun in powder.