Hello and welcome to my Never Summer Lady FR snowboard review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Lady FR as a freeride snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Lady FR a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other women's freeride snowboards.
NOTE: The review below hasn't been updated beyond the 2025 model as the 2025 was the final version of the Never Summer Lady FR. However, it was replaced by the new Women's Proto T3 FR. The Proto T3 FR is very similar but gets some updates.
Overall Rating
Board: Never Summer Lady FR
Price: $649 (USD recommended retail)
Style: Freeride
Flex Rating: Stiff (8/10)
Flex Feel: Medium-Stiff (7/10)
Rating Score: 86.1/100
Compared to other Women’s Freeride Boards
Of the 21 current model women's all-mountain snowboards that we tested:
- The average score was 83.1/100
- The highest score was 91.7/100
- The lowest score was 67.8/100
- The average price was $559
- The Lady FR ranked 5th= out of 21
Overview of the Lady FR’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Lady FR’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
STYLE:
FREERIDE
PRICE:
$649 - BUYING OPTIONS
Ability Level:
flex:
feel:
DAMPNESS:
SMOOTH /SNAPPY:
Playful /aggressive:
Edge-hold:
camber profile:
DIRECTIONAL HYBRID ROCKER
HDIRECTIONAL HYBRID ROCKer - Never Summer's "Triple Camber Fusion"
SHAPE:
setback stance:
SETBACK 0.8" (20mm)
BASE:
SINTERED | Never Summer's "Durasurf XT Sintered 5501 Base"
weight:
Felt LIGHTER THAN normal
Camber Height:
4mm*
* though hard to tell camber height accurately on a hybrid rocker
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
144 | 235 | 90-135 | 41-61 |
147 | 236 | 90-160+ | 41-73+ |
151 | 238 | 90-160+ | 41-73+ |
153 | 240 | 115-160+ | 52-73+ |
156 | 241 | 115-160+ | 52-73+ |
Who is the Lady FRr Most Suited To?
The Lady FR is best suited to a more advanced rider who wants a board that performs well at medium-high speeds, is good for powder days and doesn't feel too much chatter when riding faster or in messy snow conditions.
It's the kind of board that can be ridden slower but feels better with a bit of speed under it.
Not for beginners.
THE Lady FR IN MORE DETAIL
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Lady FR is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Never Summer Lady FR 2024, 147 (236mm waist width)
Date: March 8, 2023
Conditions
Overcast to start with, but not snowing. Slight flurries later in the day.
Temperature: 0°C (32°F) - and -4°C (25°F) with wind chill. Both morning and afternoon. Wind was 10kph (6 mph) Easterly both morning and afternoon.
24 hour snow: 0.4" (1cm)
48 hour snow: 0.8" (2cm)
7 day snow: 21" (53cm)
On groomer: Nicely groomed to start and stayed pretty decent, just a bit rougher later in the day. Good and fast but not icy.
Off groomer: A little crunchy in places but not to bad. Doable.
Set Up
Bindings angles: +12/-9
Stance width: 500mm (19.7″)
Stance Setback: Setback 0.8" (20mm)
Width at Front Insert: 9.7" (246mm)
Width at Back Insert: 9.6" (245mm)
Weight: 5lbs 10oz (2540grams)
Weight per cm: 17.28 grams/cm
Average Weight per cm: 17.38 grams/cm*
* based on just over 40 women's boards that I've weighed in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 & 2024 models. The Lady FR was basically right on average weight on the scales but on snow felt noticeably lighter than normal.
Tester: Meira
Rider Height: 5'4 (163cm)
Rider Weight: 130lbs (58kg)
Rider Boot Size: US Women's 8 (Burton Limelite)
Bindings Used: Union Milan
Powder
Nothing significant to test in. But based on specs, feel and experience with other similar Never Summer boards, it should do really well in deeper powder.
It's got a tapered directional shape, with a directional camber profile that features some rocker and a setback stance, all helping it to float.
Carving
Not as good as expected for carving. Still good, but does have it's limits. Up to a certain speed and depth of carve it feels really good, but there was a point where it would wash out if you pushed it too hard.
It preferred longer more drawn out carves vs shorter/sharper ones.
Turning
Ease of Turns/Slashing: Wasn't too difficult in terms of turn initiation but didn't like slashing turns as much. More of a medium to long turn radius felt best on this board.
Maneuverability at slow speeds (nimbleness): Not super easy to maneuver at slow speeds, but also not hard. It took a bit of effort but you could get it moving edge-to-edge at slow speeds relatively quickly.
Catchiness: Overall doesn't have a catchy feel. But feels a little more catchy at slower speeds vs higher speeds.
Speed
Had good glide and felt pretty fast. Was also decently stable at speed. Preferred to be ridden with speed under it, rather than slowly, but not super fast/stable or anything. It was something that really hummed and medium-fast speeds.
Uneven Terrain
Crud: Was damp enough that you didn't feel too much chatter in messy snow and was stable enough that it didn't get bucked around too easily.
Trees/Bumps: Decent in terms of weaving between bumps and going over them. It wasn't lightning edge-to-edge, but with some effort it was pretty effective at weaving fairly quickly.
Jumps
Overall decent enough, without being awe-inspiring, but good for jumps for a freeride board.
Pop: Wasn't super easy to extract the pop, but wasn't super hard either. And total pop wasn't epic, but it was decent enough.
Approach: Had a pretty good mix of being stable but at the same time not too hard to make adjustments and speed check with.
Landing: Again, found it had a good mix of being pretty stable on landings, but not too unforgiving if you got it a bit wrong - and was good enough for making quick speed checks after landing, if you had to.
Side-hits: Decent enough. Would prefer a little easier pop and a little easier maneuverability, but still fun.
Switch
Wasn't bad for switch for a freeride board. Transitions were fairly easy, especially when you had a little bit of speed under you when transitioning. At slower speeds transitioning felt a little catchier, but still nothing too catchy, just had to concentrate a bit more.
Butters
It's not super easy to press the nose and tail, but it's doable and not super hard either. The nose and tail feel a bit different naturally. You can't over flex, but also not super easy to lock in a butter with it. But doable.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | SCORE WEIGHTING | |
|---|---|---|
POWDER | 4.5 | 22.5/25 |
SPEED | 4.0 | 16/20 |
CARVING | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
TURNS/SLASHING | 3.5 | 7/10 |
CRUD/CHUNDER | 4.0 | 8/10 |
TREES/BUMPS | 3.5 | 7/10 |
JUMPS | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
SWITCH | 3.0 | 3/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 86.1/100 |
The Lady FR is at its happiest with medium-high speeds under it. When it's there it's in its happy place and feels really good. It's damp enough so you don't feel too much chatter at speed or in messy snow and it doesn't really have any major weaknesses. It even rides switch decently for a directional freeride board.
I was expecting a better carving performance and while it was good at medium speeds and longer more drawn out carves. It wasn't as good for higher speed carves or when they got tighter.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Lady FR, or if you are ready to buy, or if you just want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.
If you want to check out some other freeride snowboard options, or if you want to compare the Lady FR to other women's freeride snowboards, then check out the next link.
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