Hello and welcome to my Never Summer Peacemaker review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Peacemaker as an all-mountain-freestyle snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Peacemaker a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other all-mountain-freestyle snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Never Summer Peacemaker 2020
Price: $579
Style: All-Mountain-Freestyle
Flex Rating: Medium-Soft (4/10)
Flex Feel on Snow: Soft (3/10)
Rating Score: 84.5/100
Compared to other Men’s All-Mountain-Freestyle Boards
Out of the 28 men’s all-mountain-freestyle snowboards that I rated:
Overview of the Peacemaker’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Peacemaker’s specs and available sizes.
Specs
Style: | All-Mountain-Freestyle |
Price: | $579 |
Ability Level: |  |
Flex: |  |
Feel: |  |
Turn Initiation: | Fast |
Edge-hold: |  |
Camber Profile: | Hybrid Rocker - Never Summer's Ripsaw Rocker Camber |
Shape: | |
Setback Stance: | Centered |
Base: | Sintered |
Weight: | Normal |
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
149 | 253 | not available | n/a |
152 | 254 | n/a | n/a |
155 | 256 | n/a | n/a |
* note that the 158 was dropped for the 2022 model
Who is the Peacemaker To?
The Peacemaker works best for anyone wanting a softer flexing, super buttery board for riding freestyle in the park or freestyle over the whole mountain. It's a good bit softer than the average all-mountain-freestyle deck, so if that's what you're after and willing to sacrifice some stability at speed and hard carving, for a more playful option, then the Peacemaker might be the board for you.
Good also just as a pure freestyle deck. The main reason I put it in here is the "Blower Stance" inserts which allow you to set the board back quite far for powder days. So if the above sounds like you but you also want to be able to set it back on powder days and get a nice surfy powder feel, then that's another tick for this board for you.
It's really easy going all-round. Probably not for complete beginners, but certainly higher end beginners could happily ride this board.
The Peacemaker in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Peacemaker is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Never Summer Peacemaker 2020, 158cm (258mm waist width)
Date: March 2, 2019
Conditions:
Bright blue skies. Groomers hard but not icy. A little cruddy in places.
Some light fresh off-groomer.
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 560mm (22″)
Stance Setback: Centered
Width at Inserts: 265mm (10.43")
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 185lbs
Rider Boot Size: US10 Vans Aura
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
Flex
It's supposed to be a good bit stiffer tip and tail vs the softer center. But overall it feels very soft. And it butters really easily off tip and tail, so whilst the tip and tail might be stiffer than the middle, they certainly didn't feel very stiff at all.
Powder
Didn't have any deep powder to test it on, but there was some around and it felt like it had a nice surfy feel. On the centered stance it would sink pretty quickly in deeper snow (or at least be hard work to keep it on top) but the "Blower Stance" would certainly help there.
Carving & Turning
Carving: For it's flex it's quite surprising how this thing carves. It's not a top of the heap, hard/deep aggressive carver by any means, but you can still put a carve on it. When it gets steeper and faster, it's not the best, but for slower, sharper carves it's not too bad.
Maneuverability at slow speeds: Super nimble at slow speeds. Can turn on a dime.
Skids: Really forgiving of skidded turns. Super easy to skid turns on - not catchy at all.
Speed
Gets pretty wobbly when you start to ride it fast. Even at medium-fast speeds it starts to get a bit wobbly. It's certainly not a point and shoot bomber, IMO.
Uneven Terrain
Nice and nimble for navigating bumpy terrain - and going over bumps and crud too. Hugged the curves well. Felt the chatter quite a bit and got bucked around too - but very easy to correct.
Let’s Break up this text with a Video
Jumps
Nice and poppy and snappy. Felt light and great for ollies and side-hits, but landings were a bit wobbly and approach at any kind of speed could feel wobbly.
Pop: Super easy to access and a good bit there too.
Approach: On any approach that required a bit of speed it felt a bit wobbly.
Landing: Not that solid. It felt a little wobbly even on smaller jumps. Fine for them, nice and forgiving, but for anything bigger it's not the most solid landing platform.
Side-hits: Really fun for side hits. Nice easy accessible pop and nice and nimble.
Small jumps/Big Jumps: Definitely most suited to smaller jumps. For bigger jumps, the approach and landing just didn't feel solid enough.
Switch
Really good and easy for riding switch on.
Spins
So easy to get the spin around and the board feels light and poppy. Landing and taking off switch is awesome. Just all round a great board for spinning. Not as suited to massive tricks off big kickers though.
Jibbing
A really fun board to jib on. Felt really confident jibbing on this board. And I'm not that confident a jibber most of the time.
Butters
Ultra buttery. So easy to butter this board.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
RATING | SCORE WEIGHTING | |
|---|---|---|
JUMPS | 3.5 | 14/20 |
SWITCH | 4.5 | 9/10 |
JIBBING | 4.5 | 9/10 |
CARVING/TURNS | 3.0 | 6/10 |
POWDER | 3.0 | 6/10 |
SPEED | 2.5 | 5/10 |
UNEVEN TERRAIN | 3.5 | 7/10 |
SPINS | 4.5 | 9/10 |
BUTTERING | 5.0 | 5/5 |
PIPE | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 84.5/100 |
Overall, the Peacemaker is a great little freestyle come all-mountain-freestyle board that has that blower stance to make it better in pow than it otherwise would be, giving you the option of having a predominantly freestyle board, that you can still enjoy on a powder day.
It's buttery, snappy and just really fun to play around on - and given all of that isn't too bad on a carve either.
Not a bomber of a board - definitely more on the playful side, but really fun if you're after something softer to play around on the mountain.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Peacemaker, 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 all-mountain-freestyle snowboard options, or if you want to compare how the Peacemaker compares to other all-mountain-freestyle snowboards, then check out the next link.
I bought a used 152 cm Peacemaker 2020/21 this Fall. I am 5′ 8″ 145 lbs with a size 10 boot. The rocker between the bindings required a bit of adjustment since my daily driver is camber with rocker in the tip and tail. But after about three days, I no longer notice it. I’ve really enjoyed riding it, even though I’ve only spent five days on it so far. More stable at speed (up to a point) than I expected, holds an edge pretty well and rides switch great. I cannot speak to how it rides in the Park or taking jumps. I bought it primarily to learn some flat land tricks like butters. It spins really well, but is not as soft and flexible as I had hoped. That might be due to my weight. It would probably be more playful for someone another 10 to 15 lbs heavier. I probably need to look for something much softer and with a flat to rocker profile to play around on. I don’t know if I can give this board up, even though there is some overlap with my daily driver, a 155 United Shapes Gemini all-mountain twin. The Peacemaker is great for riding the local hill an hour from my home.
Hi Brett
Thanks for the update on your experience with the Peacemaker. Always great to get the experiences of other riders.
I don’t know too many too much softer than the Peacemaker, but maybe if you got the size down – or if you do end up getting a flat to rocker soft playful board, try to size down a little bit. Smaller sizes always feel softer and more playful. For your specs, I would put you on around a 153 as your “standard all-mountain” size. For your playful/buttering/trick board, you could certainly afford to size down to more like 148/149, if it’s going to be dedicated to that kind of thing, and you’re not too worried about stability at speed or anything on it. With 10s, it’s a little tricky to find a board that size that’s wide enough, but the 149 Peacemaker would be that. And there are others too.