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Never Summer Chairman Review: Freeride Snowboard Review

Last Updated: September 30, 2020 by Nate 20 Comments

Never Summer Chairman ReviewHello 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: $629 (USD recommended retail)

Style: Freeride

Flex Rating: Stiff (9/10)

Flex Feel on Snow: Stiff (8/10)

Rating Score: 86.4/100

Compared to other Men’s Freeride Boards

Out of the 36 men’s freeride snowboards that I rated:

  • The average score was 82.0/100
  • The highest score was 91.8/100
  • The lowest score was 70.1/100
  • The average price was $596 (USD)
  • The Chairman ranked 8th out of 36

Overview of the Chairman’s Specs

Check out the tables for the Chairman’s specs and available sizes.

Specs

Style:

Freeride

Price: 

$629

Ability Level: 

Ability Level Advanced to Expert

Flex: 

Snowboard flex 8

Feel:

snowboard feel stable

Turn Initiation: 

Medium-Fast

 Edge-hold:

Hard Snow

Camber Profile: 

Hybrid Rocker (Never Summer's Ripsaw Rocker)

Shape: 

Tapered Directional

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+

*Note that the 2020 model also had a 169X, which the 2021 model doesn't have. Going further back, the 2018 model also had a 173, which the 2019 & 2020 models didn't have (and the 2021 model also doesn'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

Never Summer Chairman 2019 reviewO.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

This video is a couple of years old now – but the Chairman hasn’t really changed for a good few years, apart from the graphic. 

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

Never Summer Chairman review 2019Again, 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 2020 Model

The 2021 model looks to be the same as the 2020 model, except for the graphic.

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
(out of 5)

SCORE WEIGHTING

CARVING

4.5

18/20

TURNING

4.0

8/10

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

86.4/100

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.

  • US
  • CANADA

>>Never Summer Chairman at evo.com

>>Never Summer Chairman at backcountry.com

>>Never Summer Chairman at PRFO.com

Never Summer Chairman 2021

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.

My Top 10 Men's Freeride Snowboards
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Filed Under: 2019 Snowboard Reviews, 2020 Snowboard Reviews, 2021 Snowboard Reviews, Men's Freeride Snowboard Reviews, Never Summer Tagged With: Never Summer Chairman 2018-19, Never Summer Chairman 2019-20, Never Summer Chairman 2020-21, Never Summer Chairman 2021, Never Summer Chairman Review, Never Summer Chairman snowboard review

About Nate

Nate is passionate about and loves learning new things everyday about snowboarding, particularly the technical aspects of snowboarding gear. That, and becoming a better rider and just enjoying and getting the most out of life.

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