Hello and welcome to my Never Summer Chairman review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Chairman as a freeride snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Chairman a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other freeride snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Never Summer Chairman
Price: $619 (USD recommended retail)
Style: Freeride
Flex Rating: Stiff (9/10)
Flex Feel on Snow: Stiff (8/10)
Rating Score: 87.5/100
Compared to other Men’s Freeride Boards
Out of the 39 men’s freeride snowboards that I rated:
Overview of the Chairman’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Chairman’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Freeride |
Price: | $599 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Turn Initiation: | Medium-Fast |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | Hybrid Rocker (Never Summer's Ripsaw Rocker) |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | 20mm (0.75") |
Base: | Sintered (Durasurf XT Sintered 5501 Base) |
Weight: | Felt Normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
157 | 256 | 130-180 | 59-82 |
160 | 256 | 145-195 | 66-88 |
164 | 257 | 150-200+ | 68-91+ |
161X | 266 | 145-195 | 66-88 |
165X | 267 | 150-200+ | 68-91+ |
169X | 267 | 150-200+ | 68-91+ |
*Note that the 2018 model also had a 173, which the 2019 & 2020 models don't have.
Who is the Chairman Most Suited To?
The Chairman is best for anyone who likes to ride powder, in the backcountry or charge hard in the resort. Speed, carving and powder is what this board is all about.
So, if you’re not fussed by playing freestyle, or if you have another board for that and you’re a relatively advanced rider, then the Chairman is worth checking out.
Not for beginners, at all. Way too stiff for beginners – and too much camber in the profile too. This is advanced rider’s board.
The Chairman in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Chairman is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Never Summer Chairman 2019, 160 (256mm waist width)
Date: April 14, 2018
Conditions: With 27cm of fresh snow in the 24 hours prior it was the perfect day for testing freeride boards (which is what I mostly rode on the Saturday). Visibility (at least the part of the mountain where I was riding) was great. There was a bit of wind (which was surprisingly cold for April) but only noticed it on the chair lift. It was around -8 degrees with wind chill.
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 560mm (22”)
Stance Setback: 20mm (0.75”)
Width at Inserts: 258mm (10.16”) at front insert and 259mm (10.2”) at back insert
Powder
Floated well in powder and felt pretty effortless. Not epic in powder but still really really good. As good as most will need.
Carving & Turning
A really fun board to lay out good deep, long arcing carves on.
Skidded turns weren’t impossible – doable but not easy.
Preferred speed for turning but wasn’t unmanageable at slower speeds, by any means. Felt quite agile in tress even when having to navigate slower, trickier sections.
Speed
This board is a speed demon. Can handle speed really well. Felt stable and damp at speed and just generally felt best when riding this board fast. A bomber!
Let’s Break up this text with a Video
Uneven Terrain
For a board this stiff, it’s surprisingly good in messy uneven resort snow – and over undulations. It’s pretty damp, so that helps to reduce the chatter, so that’s gotta be part of it for sure.
Jumps
I preferred the Chairman for jumps than I do most freeride boards. Still not what I’d have as my stock and trade jumper but still pretty decent.
Good on approach and decent pop. Not what I would call easy pop – and what I mean by that is, that I felt I had to put in a good bit of effort to extract the pop – but when I did there was a good bit there.
Landings really solid.
Not much for spinning though, IMO.
Switch
Again, for a freeride board, not too bad.
The set back isn’t huge by freeride standards so that certainly helps in the switch department.
Changes from the 2019 Model
The 2020 model looks to be identical to the 2019 model, except for the graphic and the way they are doing the topsheet.
Changes from the 2018 Model
The 2019 model is, as far as I can tell, identical to the 2018 model, except for the graphic.
And it looks like they aren’t offering the Chairman in the 173 for 2019 (which they had in 2018). So one size less, otherwise looks to be the same board (but definitely no complaints about that).
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | Contribution to Final Score | |
|---|---|---|
CARVING | 4.5 | 27/30 |
POWDER | 4.0 | 16/20 |
SPEED | 4.5 | 18/20 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
JUMPS | 3.0 | 6/10 |
SWITCH | 3.0 | 3/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 87.5/100 |
Overall the Chairman is a charger, a bomber and a great carver that can ride powder really well too. Surprisingly agile in the trees for a big stiff board and a little better for jumps and riding switch than your average freeride board.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Chairman, are ready to buy or want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.
If you want to see how the Chairman compares to other men’s freeride snowboards or want to check out some other options in that category, check out the next link.
Hi! Great review!
How does the Chairman compare to the Mullair or Billy Goat for riding fast and hard?
I’ve always had cambered boards, but really like how well buit never summer boards are. Can you also compare the two brands for durability of the boards? Cheers.
Hi Victor
Thanks for your message.
In terms of riding fast and hard, there’s not much in it between those. They’re all good for that for sure. I would say I preferred the Mullair only just on a carve, but that’s not saying anything about the Chairman on a carve – as the Mullair is one of the funnest boards I’ve carved on – you can check out my review on the Mullair here. In terms of stability at speed, the Mullair and Chairman are very similar. The Chairman is a little stiffer, but not by much – I rate the Chairman at an 8/10 and the Mullair at a 7.5/10, so both really quite similar.
The Billy Goat is a slightly different board (I have in a different category – aggressive all-mountain) as it’s not as suited to powder. But in terms of carving/speed, it’s up there with the other 2. I’d say as good as the Chairman (but it’s a different feel to the Chairman, of course).
The Billy Goat and Mullair, both being GNU’s C3 Camber, are pretty much all camber. There’s a very subtle rocker section between the feet, but you hardly notice it. The Chairman also has rocker between the feet and it’s a little more noticeable. But it’s still more camber dominant than rocker for sure.
In terms of durability, I couldn’t say really. I don’t own a GNU or Never Summer, I’ve only ever tested them (but I would certainly have one of both in my quiver if my wallet could take it!), so I can’t really comment on durability having not had them for long enough. Both brands have a reputation for being well built boards, and I haven’t heard anything in the negative about their durability.
Hope this helps
Hi Nate! Thank you for replying.
Interesting about your review regarding carving with the Mullair, being the board with the smallest effective edge. Since I really like to use my front leg on carves, I think I would prefer the other two boards.
Also, I have now read your Slash ATV review (great reviews btw) and put it on the equation as well. I think it’s almost what I want – full camber, unforgiving and stable.
How do you compare the Slash ATV to the billy goat for carving and riding fast early groomers?
Thanks for your time!
Hi Victor
I’m not sure those effective edge figures on the Mullair are accurate. It’s showing very low and definitely not how the Mullair feels on snow. I suspect that is the “contact length” which is a different figure and usually always a smaller figure than the effective edge figure. GNU shows contact length on their website rather than effective edge – and a lot of retailers pick this up as effective edge so it’s a bit confusing. There are a few brands now that publish both contact length and effective edge, which is awesome. Wish they all would, to save the confusion.
In any case, the ATV is definitely a fun aggressive board and great carver. It’s at it’s best on smooth, fast groomers, IMO. It’s just a subtle step better than the Billy Goat for carving, IMO. About the same in terms of stability at speed. Not as good in powder for bombing and carving it’s a sweet ride.