Hello and welcome to my Never Summer Ripsaw review.
Note that the Ripsaw is now called the Ripper as of the 2022 model.
In this review, I will take a look at the Ripper as a Aggressive All-Mountain snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Ripper a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other Aggressive All-Mountain snowboards.
DISCOTINUED BOARD: Note that the 2022 model was the last model of the Ripper.
Overall Rating
Board: Never Summer Ripper
Price: $579 (USD recommended retail)
Style: Aggressive All-Mountain
Flex Rating: Mid Firm
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium-Stiff (7.5/10)
Rating Score: 83.7/100
Compared to other Men’s Aggressive All Mountain Boards
Out of the 16 men’s Aggressive All-Mountain snowboards that I rated:
Overview of the Ripper’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Ripper’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Aggressive All-Mountain |
Price: | $579 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | Hybrid Rocker - Never Sumer's "Ripsaw Rocker" |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | Setback 12.5mm (0.5") |
Base: | Sintered (Durasurf Sintered 4501 base) |
Weight: | Normal bordering on Heavy |
Sizing
LENGTH (CM) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
156 | 252 | n/a | n/a |
159 | 254 | n/a | n/a |
162 | 257 | n/a | n/a |
157X | 260 | n/a | n/a |
160X | 264 | n/a | n/a |
163X | 266 | n/a | n/a |
Who is the Ripper Most Suited to?
The Ripper is most suited to anyone who likes to charge hard, in every sense of the word. Bombing with speed, carving, hitting what ever jump, lip, roller, etc you can find and hitting it hard.
It’s a versatile hard charger, that can carve up groomers, ride powder OK and ride freestyle – but when I say freestyle, I don’t mean the kind when you slow it down and play around – but rather the kind for big jumps, spins etc. Not so much for buttering and jibs though.
It prefers going fast rather than slow and prefers to be ridden on edge. Definitely not for a beginner or casual rider.
The Ripper in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Ripsaw is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Never Summer Ripsaw 2019, 159 (254mm waist width)
Date: March 3, 2018
Conditions: The snow had a great medium feel to it. Relatively firm but certainly not hard and not overly soft. Off groomer was nice too and there were a few pockets of untracked powder from snow from a couple of days previous. Sunny and perfect visibility. Temperature was -7 with wind.
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance Setback: Centered
Width at Inserts: 264mm (10.39“)
Weight: Felt a little heavy on snow but felt normal in hand. It’s got quite a bit of camber, and is quite stiff which is likely what made it feel a little heavy on snow.
Powder
Didn’t feel super floaty over the patches of powder I went through. Didn’t have endless fields of powder to play in but from what I had it didn’t feel like it would be amazing but not bad – and the specs suggest it's probably about average in powder too. Not awful but not amazing either.
Carving & Turning
This board likes to carve and it really likes to do it at pace.
When riding it slow, it felt a bit heavy to turn and lacked a bit of agility, but as soon as you got this going at a reasonable clip, it started to purr. Felt nice to hold long carves on and felt responsive and energetic when hitting the hill with some pace.
I felt I had to put a lot into this board to get the best out of it, but once you throw in that effort – and that effort becomes easier when riding at pace, then you can get the goods out of it.
Speed
This board likes to ride fast. Doesn’t feel that comfortable going slow but comes into its own once you get a bit of speed on. Feels stable at speed and just feels at home at speed.
Let’s Break up this text with a Video
Uneven Terrain
It’s quite unforgiving on uneven terrain if you try to meander over it. Best way to ride this board is to charge and if it’s cruddy, then I found trying to go slow, like doing anything slow on this board, wasn’t very useful, but again at pace, you could kind of fly over top or cut through it. But yeah, not the easiest without good technique.
Jumps
A really fun board to jump on, especially for larger jumps. It’s the board built for large jumps. It’s got a really solid landing base, and its got really good pop.
Like everything with this board, you’ve got to give it some effort to get the pop out of it, but once you put it in, you really get it back.
If you’re not that capable with jumps yet, then it would be a difficult board to start jumping on – can be a little unforgiving on landings if you’re not really stomping it – and harder to make little adjustments on approach at slow speeds, if you’re not set up quite right. And the pop isn’t the easiest to access.
Also, if you’re approaching side hits relatively slowly and want that agility to hit tricky approaches, then it’s not ideal. It’s got quite a locked in feel.
But overall a killer jumper, especially for the bigger kickers.
Switch
Great for riding switch. It’s a true twin so doesn’t get much better. If you’re just starting to ride switch then it wouldn’t the easiest to learn to ride switch on, just as it wouldn’t be easy to learn in any direction as a beginner.
Jibbing
Doable but not what I would call fun.
Pipe
I didn’t take it into the pipe but it’s got all the makings of a good pipe board, fast, stable, good edge grip in hard conditions, twin and poppy.
Changes from the 2021 Model
The 2022 model now has a 0.5" (12.5mm setback). Otherwise the same, except for the graphic and the name.
Changes from the 2020 Model
The 2021 model looks to be identical to the 2020 model, except for the graphic. The only change is that they’re not longer making the 153 size.
Changes from the 2019 Model
The only change I could see for the 2020 model vs the 2019 model, was the way they do the topsheet, but otherwise looks like it’s identical to the 2019 model, bar the graphic.
Changes from the 2018 Model
As far as I can tell the 2019 and 2018 models are, for all intents and purposes, the same – apart from the graphic.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | SCORE WEIGHTING | |
|---|---|---|
CARVING/TURNS | 4.0 | 20/25 |
SPEED | 4.0 | 16/20 |
JUMPS | 4.0 | 12/15 |
POWDER | 3.0 | 9/15 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 3.0 | 6/10 |
PIPE | 4.0 | 8/10 |
SWITCH | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 83.7/100 |
The Ripsaw is a ripper (or at least now I should say the Ripper is a Ripper!). Not for the faint hearted. If you’re a strong rider, both technically and physically, and you like to ride aggressively and you like to hit big kickers, then this could be the dream board for you.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Ripsaw, are ready to buy or want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.
If you want to see how the Ripsaw compares to other men’s Aggressive All Mountain snowboards or want to check out some other options in that category, check out the next link.
Hello. I wanted to ask, if the Ripper was removed from the never summer line, what is the alternative to this board now? which can be looked at in case of replacement? although in my city you can still find a new ripper board in warehouses. and now I’m thinking about whether to watch something from the new collections or take the old original ripper 🙂
Now my current one Jones Aviator.
Hi Denys
I would say that the closest thing to the Ripper now is the Proto Ultra. But that said, they’re not that similar because the Proto Ultra now has the Triple Camber profile. But they are a similar flex, with the old Ripper being a touch stiffer than the Proto Ultra. Or if you wanted to go a little more directional, then the Proto FR. But I’d say the Proto Ultra is the closest equivalent.
Hi, i have been thinking about getting this board with the Union Atlas’ and burtons driver x, would this board fit with those boots and bindings? Thanks in advance.
Hi Nick
Thanks for your message.
Ideally I think the Atlas FC would probably be a better match for this board, but I think the Atlas would work for sure (and I know the Atlas FC comes with a prohibitive price tag!). I found the Ripsaw quite stiff, and personally I prefer stiffer bindings for stiffer boards, like that, but the Atlas isn’t super soft or anything (I would rate the Atlas 6.5/10 and the Ripsaw 7.5/10 in terms of stiffness – definitely not an exact science, particularly when crossing over between boards and bindings – but an estimation to give some perspective on the match). So yeah, I think the Atlas would work for sure.