Never Summer Onyx 2017 - 2014 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.

If you only have one twin in the line then its usually better to give it a little bit of mountain speed. This has a lot of tech from the men’s proto that the men at the site love so it’s no surprise that our women loved it too.  Not much has changed over the years since this was introduced.

Size: 149
Days: 4+
Conditions: Everything from Hard snow, really good Sierra Groomers and a little powder
Riders: Ginger and Mary
Set Up: Centered approx 21″ wide ducked out.

On Snow Feel: The Onyx has a pretty good ride anywhere kind of feel that is a little loose between the feet in harder stuff but in softer snow feels pretty stable. When it feels loose it can auto spin on you when trying to flat track or one foot off the chair.  It’s got Never Summers traditional hybrid rocker but the nose/tail have been lowered so there is a different feel than the old Pandora when riding. It makes for an in and out of the park kind of ride.

Powder: For those that want to ride switch as much as you ride regular in powder this will be a great choice.  The new tip and tail, plane much better than the old pandora and as long as you don’t like to set your board back in pow you will be very happy with this board.  If you want directional powder riding then the Raven is the call.

Turn Initiation and Carving: Very quick edge to edge with out feeling too easy. It’s not a catchy ride at all and doesn’t make you worry about turning too much.  Wider radius turns are pretty fun even when you pick up some mountain speed.  To lay into a carve it’s not perfect but if you get your knees out to put more pressure on the tip/tail it will hold ok and don’t let the board wash out in most conditions.  It’s not for those that like to make a surfy carve with your knees closer together.  More camber in the tip/tail like the Aura has would help this.

Speed:  It’s not a bomber board but it is capable of mountain speed so you can hang if you ride with friends all day around the mountain. There is a little bit of the tip/tail slapping the snow but Never Summer does a good job with dampening the ride despite that small fault.

Uneven Terrain: Really good at absorbing shock and negotiating bumps that you might see on a crowded weekend afternoon.

Edge Hold: The never summer vario grip side cut is practically perfect in our opinion.  It holds a solid edge in hard snow and doesn’t grab in softer snow.  It’s perfect for everything except ice. When it gets icy it can hang but then boards with a much stronger side cut like MTX will often be a better call.

Flex: Very fun playful flex that borders on medium/soft.  It’s easy to butter and fun on the mountain too.

Switch: The Never Summer Onyx is a true twin that’s practically perfect either way. The only thing better would be if it was asymmetrical.

Jibbing: Very good jibbing board and this has a very balanced freestyle ride.  It’s probably the least strong quality of the ride but it’s still pretty strong.  You can play around in the jib park and hit up most rails and jibs.  The more technical jibs might be better suited for a jib specialist but its good in your average jib park.

Pipe: All but the camber preferring technical rider will like this board.  It grips and climbs the pipe wall well. It’s also pretty forgiving so it inspires confidence and makes you want to try new things.

Jumps:  Good but not great spring when it comes to an ollie. There is kind of a mix between rubbery and poppy that feels good but predictable and forgiving.  It would of been nice to see a low profile tip/tail to give it some more snap on an ollie but its still a great board for hitting the jump line at the park.

All in all the Never Summer Onyx is a very fun all mountain freestyle kind of ride that can work for a wide variety of riders.