Hello and welcome to my Never Summer Harpoon snowboard review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Harpoon as a mellow freeride snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Harpoon a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other mellow freeride snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Never Summer Harpoon
Price: $619
Style: Mellow Freeride
Flex Rating: Medium (5/10)
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (6/10)
Rating Score: 86.4/100
Compared to other Men’s Mellow Freeride Boards
Out of the 32 men’s mellow freeride snowboards that I rated:
Overview of the Harpoon’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Harpoon's specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | Mellow Freeride |
Price: | $619 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Turn Initiation: | Medium |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | Directional Hybrid Rocker- Never Summer's "Fusion Rocker Camber" |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | Setback (not sure what it is on effective edge but setback 60mm overall on board) |
Base: | Sintered 5501 |
Weight: | Felt Normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
148 | 259 | n/a | n/a |
152 | 261 | n/a | n/a |
156 | 262 | n/a | n/a |
159 | 264 | n/a | n/a |
Who is the Harpoon Most Suited To?
The Harpoon is a great option for anyone looking for a directional board, well suited to riding powder, but want more of a medium flex, than a stiff flex. And want more of a surfy feel than a carvy feel.
Not for a beginner but certainly doable for an intermediate rider. Making this also a great freeride option for intermediate riders who aren't ready for or simply don't want a stiff/technical freeride board.
The Harpoon in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Harpoon is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Never Summer Harpoon 2021, 156cm (262mm waist width)
Date: February 29, 2020
Conditions: Cloudy with some blue sky and sun at times. Perfect visibility.
Quite cold at -4°C (24.8°F) and was supposed to be -11°C (12.2°F) with wind chill, but didn't feel as cold as that.
20cm (8") of fresh snow overnight, so plenty of fresh to test in. Conditions were awesome on and off groomer.
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 545mm (21.5″)
Stance Setback: Setback 60mm overall on board (not sure about on effective edge, Never Summer doesn't publish that)
Width at Inserts: 277mm (10.9") at front insert and 270mm (10.6") at back insert
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 175lbs
Rider Boot Size: US10 Salomon Lo-Fi
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
Damp or Chattery?
More damp than chattery, but just on the damp side of the scale.
Smooth or Snappy?
Smoother than it is snappy but pretty close to the middle of the scale.
Powder
Really fun in powder. A major strength of this board. And the specs back it up too. Tapered, wide, directional, setback and with a good amount of rocker in the profile.
Carving & Turning
Carving: Good on a carve. It has a smooth carving feeling, rather than a sharp feeling, but can lay it down pretty well. Not an epic carver, but very good nonetheless.
Turning: A nice consistent smooth turn, but nothing overly exciting.
Maneuverability at slow speeds: Middle of the road in terms of maneuverability at slow speeds. It's not a tank, but it's not ultra nimble either. It's a wider board, so that usually stops it from being super agile, unless it's really short to make up for it.
Skidded Turns: Easy enough to skid turns on. Not beginner easy, but pretty easy.
Speed
Not an out and out bomber - and you wouldn't expect that with the flex. But it's pretty stable at decent amounts of speed.
Uneven Terrain
It's pretty good without being amazing. For weaving through tight bumps it's middle of the road - not overly nimble for that. Absorbs crud and bumps pretty well though, without crushing it.
Let's Break up this Text with a Video
Jumps
It's OK for jumps without being exciting.
Pop: Not a whole heap there. Certainly not as much as the Proto Synthesis I rode before it.
Approach: Good on approach. Stable enough for faster approaches and OK for trickier approaches.
Landing: Good. Nice wide platform to land on. Not a stomper but a good mix of solid yet forgiving.
Side-hits: Not ideal. Not amazing for trickier approaches and not a heap of pop.
Small jumps/Big jumps: Good for small jumps and OK for larger jumps, but probably best suited to medium.
Switch
Not ideal. This board is quite directional.
Spins
Not hard but also not easy to whip the spin around and not a heap of pop and not ideal for landing or setting up switch. Not terrible, but not great either.
Butters
There's some butterability in there. Not ultra buttery, but not unbutterable either.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | Contribution to Final Score | |
|---|---|---|
POWDER | 4.5 | 27/30 |
TURNS/SLASHING | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
CARVING | 3.5 | 7/10 |
TREES/BUMPS | 4.0 | 12/15 |
CRUD/CHUNDER | 3.5 | 7/10 |
SPEED | 3.5 | 7/10 |
JUMPS | 3.0 | 3/5 |
SWITCH | 2.5 | 2.5/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 86.4/100 |
Overall, the Harpoon is a good option for those looking for a surfier feeling board that feels best in powder, but is still good for carving up the groomers too.
A good softer flexing freeride option that would work well for intermediate riders looking to get into freeriding or those that just wanting a softer flexing directional board and sees a fair bit of powder.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Harpoon, 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 mellow freeride snowboard options, or if you want to compare how the Harpoon compares to other mellow freeride snowboards, then check out the next link.
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