Our Never Summer Trooper Snowboard Review

The Never Summer Trooper was a really fun, cruisy, semi-playful ride that felt easy to get along with right away.

It had that surfier, looser Never Summer feel, but without feeling washy or sketchy most of the time. It was more playful and more easy-going than the Proto Type Three (that I also tested that day) and also felt a little more forgiving and less demanding than my control board (YES Greats), while still having enough backbone to ride all over the mountain.

In this review, I will take a look at the Trooper as an all-mountain snowboard, which we define as the do-it-all swiss-army knives of boards. 

As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Trooper a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other men's all-mountain snowboards.

Overall Rating

Board: Lib Tech Trooper 2026

Price: $639

Style: All-Mountain

Flex Rating: Medium (6/10)

Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (5/10)

Rating Score: 87.3/100

Compared to other Men’s All-Mountain Boards

Overview of the Trooper's Specs

Check out the tables for the Trooper's specs and available sizes.

Who is the Trooper Most Suited To?

The Trooper was best suited to someone looking for a playful, easy-going all-mountain board that was fun for cruising, slashing, side hits, trees, switch riding and small to medium jumps.

It wasn’t the board I’d pick if I wanted something ultra-stable at speed, super powerful through crud or really locked-in on big carves. But if I wanted something that felt easy to turn, easy to slash, forgiving, surfy and agile, then this was right in its wheelhouse.

It would suit intermediate and up riders best, in my opinion. It was forgiving enough that a solid beginner progressing into intermediate territory could probably get away with it, but I wouldn’t call it a true beginner board.

Best matched to riders who prioritize playfulness, maneuverability and easy access pop over bombing speed and hard-charging carving.

Trooper DetailS

O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Trooper is capable of.

Demo Info

Board: Never Summer Trooper 2026, 157cm (255mm waist width)

Date: April 2, 2025

Weight

In hand, the Trooper felt a touch heavier than the Proto Type Three, particularly noticeable on the lift. Not a tank or anything, but it didn’t come across as ultralight when carrying it around.

On snow, though, it was a different story. It felt lighter underfoot than it did in hand and lighter feeling than the average board. So, while it didn’t have that noticeably light hand feel, it rode with a fairly light, easy-to-move personality.

That helped contribute to its easy-going, quick, playful feel.

Board Feel

The Trooper had a semi-loose feel overall, maybe bordering on stable. It wasn’t twitchy-loose or overly rockered feeling, but there was enough looseness there to make it feel really easy to slash, pivot and redirect.

It felt more playful than aggressive and had a cruisier, surfier personality than the Proto Type Three.

In terms of dampness, I’d call it pretty average. It wasn’t overly chattery, but it also wasn’t especially damp. It could get knocked around a little in rougher snow, but for smoother snow and more mellow speeds, it felt comfortable.

It also had a nice mix of smooth and snappy. Not ultra-snappy, but there was enough life there to keep it fun, especially when popping off side-hits or making quick turns.

Flex

The Trooper felt around a 5/10 flex overall.

Compared to my control board, I’d say it was similar longitudinally and maybe similar in the tip and tail, but torsionally it felt softer. Compared to the Proto Type Three, it was softer all round.

That torsional softness helped make it easier to twist and steer through turns, particularly at slower speeds. It also helped with the forgiving nature of the board and made it feel easier to butter and press than I would have expected.

Turning

Ease of Turning/Slashing

This was one of the Trooper’s biggest strengths.

It was super easy and natural to initiate turns on and really easy to slash out the tail. It didn’t take much effort to get it turning, and it had that easy pivoty feel that made it very comfortable to ride casually.

It didn’t feel catchy or demanding and didn’t need a lot of rider input to get it moving edge-to-edge. For more mellow cruising, quick direction changes and slashy turns, it was a lot of fun.

Maneuverability at Slow Speeds

Slow-speed maneuverability was really good. Nice and agile when riding slow.

This made it really easy to ride through tighter spots, make quick adjustments and generally keep things relaxed when cruising around.

Catchiness

There was very little catchiness to speak of.

Everything felt easy and catch-free, and I never felt like I had to be overly precise to avoid catching an edge. It was forgiving and easy to trust, especially at slower to moderate speeds.

Carving

Carving was good, but not amazing.

It was fine on a carve and could definitely lay one over, but it wasn’t as strong as the Proto Type Three or my control board in this area. It favored tighter carves at slower to moderate speeds more than big, fast, drawn-out carves.

When I pushed it harder, it didn’t have the same power or locked-in feeling as those boards. So, while it was perfectly capable for casual carving and tighter turns, it wasn’t what I’d call a hard-carving specialist.

Speed

The Trooper was decently fast, but not bomber.

It had enough stability for moderate speeds and general cruising. But when things got faster, it felt less composed.

Uneven Terrain

Crud/Chunder

In crud and chunder, the Trooper was OK, but not amazing. It could handle some messy snow, but it was easier to get thrown around than on the Proto Type Three and my control board.

That made sense given its more playful, lighter-on-snow feel. It wasn’t the kind of board that just blasted through everything in its path. It was better when you rode it a little more actively and used its agility to work around rougher patches.

Trees/Bumps

In trees and bumps, it was really nice.

The quick edge-to-edge feel and easy maneuverability made it feel at home in tighter terrain. It was agile, easy to redirect and didn’t take much effort to make quick turns.

For someone who likes weaving through trees, finding little pockets and making quick slashy turns, the Trooper would be a really fun option.

Powder

I didn’t have proper powder to test it in, but based on its feel in slush, I reckon it would be decent.

It had that surfy feel that usually translates pretty well into soft snow, and it felt easy to slash and pivot. I wouldn’t expect it to be a dedicated pow board or anything, but for an all-mountain board, I’d expect it to be decent in fresh snow.

Not amazing, but certainly not something I’d be worried about taking into a moderate powder day. Deeper powder would be harder work though.

Jumps

The Trooper was fun for jumps, especially smaller features, side hits and anything where easy pop and quick setup mattered.

Pop

Pop was really easy to access. I didn’t have to work hard to get it to spring, which made it fun for little ollies, side hits and natural features.

Total pop was more average than explosive, though. It wasn’t a massive boost machine, but the pop that was there was very easy to get to.

Approach

Approach was good. It was more adjustable than ultra-stable, which I actually liked for smaller and medium jumps. It was easy to make little corrections on the way in, but it wasn’t as composed as something stiffer and more aggressive when approaching at higher speeds.

Landings

Landings were good. There was enough forgiveness there to make slightly off landings easier to recover from, and the board was easy to maneuver after touching down.

For bigger jumps and higher speed landings, I’d want something with more stability, but for small to medium jumps it worked well.

Side Hits

Side hits were one of the most fun parts of this board.

The easy pop, agility and forgiving feel made it really well suited to popping off little hits around the mountain. This was where the Trooper’s personality really came through.

Switch

Switch felt good.

It wasn’t fully twin feeling, but transitions were nice, easy and catch-free. It felt comfortable enough riding switch and didn’t punish imperfect technique much.

For someone who rides switch regularly but doesn’t need a dedicated freestyle twin, the Trooper should do well.

Spins

Spins were good too.

Setup was nice and easy, and the board came around without much effort. There was just a hint of spin continuation after landing, but not too much. And when I didn’t get the rotation fully completed in the air, it was easy to finish the rotation on snow.

Overall, it felt like a fun, approachable board for spins, particularly smaller natural spins, side hits and park jumps.

Jibbing

I didn’t spend a ton of time jibbing it, but based on how it felt, I reckon it would be pretty decent.

It had the right kind of ingredients: easy maneuverability, forgiving feel, decent pressability and easy pop. It wasn’t a super-soft jib specialist, but for casual park laps and the odd rail or box, I think it would handle itself well.

Butters

Butters and presses were pretty easy.

It was easier to press than the Proto Type Three and felt similar to my control board in that respect. It wasn’t so soft that it folded or felt weak, but it was easy enough to get into the nose and tail without having to muscle it too much.

For casual butter tricks and presses around the mountain, it was fun.

Score Breakdown and Final Verdict

Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.

The Never Summer Trooper was a really fun, cruisy, semi-playful all-mountain board.

It wasn’t the strongest board for high-speed charging, big carves or smashing through crud, but it was easy, forgiving, agile and surfy. It felt lighter on snow than in hand, had easy pop, pressed well, rode switch nicely and was really fun for side hits and slashy turns.

Compared to the Proto Type Three, it was softer, more playful, more surfy and easier going, but not as strong for carving, speed or crud. Compared to my control board, it felt more playful and maybe a little more agile, but again not as strong when pushed harder.

For riders who want something fun, versatile, maneuverable and not too demanding, the Trooper made a lot of sense. It had a really enjoyable easy-going personality and would work best for riders who like to cruise, slash, pop, spin, ride switch and explore the mountain in a more playful way.