Never Summer Twenty Five 2017 Snowboard Review
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Instagram| Overall Rating | Loved it! |
| Riding Style | Freeride |
| Riding Level | Intermediate - Expert |
| Fits Boot size (US) | 8-10, 10-12, > 12 |
| Manufactured in | USA by Never Summer |
| Shape | Tapered Directional |
| Camber Profile | Hybrid Rocker |
| Stance | Setback over 20mm |
| Approx. Weight | Feels Normal |
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Where To Buy
No obligation, but these links & ads support the site.
| evo Never Summer West Bound Snowbo | $501.49 | Buy it |
| evo Never Summer Insta/Gator Snowb | $412.49 | Buy it |
Never Summer Twenty Five 2017 Review by The Good Ride
The Never Summer Twenty Five is new this year and celebrating 25 years of being in business. We feel it took a lot of the things we loved about the West and turned it into a tapered, damp forgiving Freeride board.
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: 158
Days: 4
Conditions: Everything from perfect snow to pretty hard spring conditions to slush.
Riders: James, Peter, Jimbo, Matt, Kyle
Boots: Burton SLX, Burton AMB, Burton Imperial, Burton Rover, Nike Kaiju,
Bindings: Union Atlas, Burton Genesis X, Union Force,
Set Up: A little set back approx 23″ 15 front -3 back.
Approximate Weight: Felt normal. Nothing light or heavy but felt very well made.
On Snow Feel: So the Ripsaw profile really stabilizes the ride when one footing and flat basing compared to the Rocker and Camber Profile. It’s not quite as stable as hybrid camber but it much closer to it. What we liked about the 25 is it’s stiff and damp but not catchy or angry in uneven snow. It’s one of the better all-condition freeride boards we tried this year. It feels to us like a more tapered directional NS West.
Edge Hold: Solid edge hold that can hold in hard snow as long as you don’t commit too hard to the edge. It’s not ideal for ice or riding harder snow on a consistent basis. If you want something for that it’s probably better to go with the Rossignol XV Magtek.
Flex: It’s medium/stiff but it still butters pretty well for its flex.
Turn Initiation: Nice and quick edge to edge without being twitchy. It’s got a nice spring out of the turn that makes short to wide radius turns fun. Once you commit a bit to the edge you feel that camber in the tip/tail engages and it’s a great thing.
Skidded Turns: One of the only Freeride boards out there that can easily skid turns and that’s great if you get off your game and need to correct things. It’s one of the few boards in the Freeride section that’s forgiving enough for an intermediate rider to handle.
Carving: The Never Summer Twenty Five carves really well and lays it out hard when you really commit to that camber near the tip/tail. We all had a blast trying to scratch our nips. It’s great the 25 can be this forgiving and still lay out a really hard carve and that’s what we like about the Ripsaw Camber profile over the Rocker and Camber profile.
Powder: No powder yet but I hope to own the 25 and get some time on it when it dumps this winter.
Speed: The base has a good glide to it so it keeps its speed. Also, the board is damp and easy to handle some pretty aggressive straight lining. The rocker in the middle gives it a touch of a loose feel underfoot so it’s not 100% perfect. If you are used to camber you might feel this is a little bit squirrely but if you are used to hybrid rocker boards you will feel this is a very fast stable ride.
Uneven Terrain: really shines in anything from messy groomers to off-piste bumps or just slamming through some chunder.
Switch: Doable but not ideal.
Jibbing: Not where I want to or will take this board.
Pipe: The Never Summer Twenty Five can be a fun board to get some directional pipe riding in. It’s the kind of board that I just want to surf the walls with.
Jumps: Really nice snap off of the tail and we all love that personality that NS has with their boards. It feels rubbery and damp but at the same time really pops and feels lively when its’ time to get some air.
So this year there were a lot of really good Freeride boards we tried and there are so many excellent choices out there. The Never Summer Twenty Five is one of those standouts and it’s one of the few Freeride boards that can do what an advanced to expert rider wants as well as be forgiving enough for an intermediate rider. Also, it works really well in all the conditions you want to ride.
Never Summer Twenty Five Specs
Never Summer Twenty Five Images
We try to get as many images of the Never Summer Twenty Five, but forgive us if they're not all there.
2017
Never Summer Company Information
Never Summer Twenty Five User Reviews
This is the go to board. If you can get your hands on this board, don’t delay. I have had several deep pow days with the 25, and it does not disappoint. If you like to float seamlessly through the powder, and slash big spraying turns, this is the board for you.
Great board
So far the 25 is the most fun board I've ever ridden, and its the most expensive. I meant to post this review last year when the board was still for sale, but I guess I didn't. I rode 10 days in Colorado and 10 on the ice in North Carolina. This board is meant for big mountain cruising. When I stepped foot on the 25 my average speed increased by 10 MPH simply because I felt so much more stable. Never summer makes a great product, listen to these guys at the good ride when they say good things about boards like the Chairman. I wouldn't recommend this board for an east coast rider unless you wanted to throw it in the quiver for days with good conditions, but this could be your daily driver west of the Mississippi.
Why did I sell it???
I bought a 155cm at the beginning of this season and sold it because a)my home mountain snow is very light and dry and b)I was having too much fun on my proto type 2.
Later in the season now the snow started getting wetter and heavier so I bought a Maverix as I couldn't find a twenty five again.
The twenty five floated just as good as the maverick and carved better and felt better edge to edge maneuverable.
Get this board if you can.
Note: The previous posted review here says the twenty five is advertised as ripsaw but is really fusion. I'm not so sure about that. The maverix in my garage would tell me different. The twenty five is basically the same board as my type two but longer floaty nose. The maverick for sure has less camber on the front foot.
NS twenty five x
Boots: burton imperial Bindings: burton cartel
I was nervous coming from all cambered boards (arbor a frame, burton custom). I ride primarily east coast hardpack and want sure this board could handle the hard snow with the ripsaw camber. I've got to say; I was impressed. Having three contact points is a huge bonus. This thing carves like a dream.....very surfy... reacts best turning off the back leg. The dampness is off the charts. I have never been able to rail through resort chop with this much speed and confidence. This is what surprised me the most out of the twenty five. I personally didn't feel the board getting to washy... but it did get a little washy getting off the lift and one footing.... but that was it. This is my second wide board, and I couldn't notice a difference I edge to edge performance. This board is fast edge to edge and turn initiation is easy. I felt that it at times would take off turning and almost forget to take me with it! I didn't take it into the park this year, but took it off some 10'-15' cliffs and it absorbed the impacts nicely. If you can get your hands on one of these dreams, do it. But if you cant, the the new maverix is very close. I've been talking with neversummer and they said the maverix is almost identical. The twenty five advertises as a ripsaw camber profile, but it actually is the fusion profile, where there is heavy camber under rear binding, rocker between the bindings and Mild camber under front binding with an extended transition to the nose. Words from never summer, not mine! Regardless, it's a great, fun freeride board that won't disappoint!
