Never Summer Harpoon Review

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.

NOTE: The review below hasn't been updated beyond the 2025 model as the 2025 was the final version of the Harpoon. 

Overall Rating

Board: Never Summer Harpoon

Price: $649

Style: Mellow Freeride

Flex Rating: Medium (5/10)

Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (6/10)

Rating Score: 85.4/100

Compared to other Men’s Mellow Freeride Boards

Of the 30 current model mellow freeride snowboards that we tested:

• The average score was 85.6/100
• The highest score was 93.8/100
• The lowest score was 72.5/100
• The average price was $587
• The Harpoon ranked 18th out of 30

Overview of the Harpoon’s Specs

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

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. 

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.