Hello and welcome to my Never Summer Snowtrooper review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Snowtrooper as an all-mountain snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Snowtrooper a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other all-mountain snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Never Summer Snowtrooper
Price: $629
Style: All-Mountain
Flex Rating: Medium (5/10)
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium-Soft (4/10)
Rating Score: 84.3/100
Compared to other Men’s All-Mountain Boards
Of the 30 current model all-mountain snowboards that we tested:
❄️ The Snowtrooper ranked 15th out of 30
Overview of the Snowtrooper’ Specs
Check out the tables for the Snowtrooper’ specs and available sizes.
Specs
STYLE:
ALL-MOUNTAIN
PRICE:
$629 - BUYING OPTIONS
$619 - BUYING OPTIONS
Ability Level:
flex:
feel:
DAMPNESS:
SMOOTH /SNAPPY:
Playful /aggressive:
Edge-hold:
camber profile:
HYBRID ROCKER
HYBRID ROCKer - Never Summer's "Original Rocker Camber"
SHAPE:
setback stance:
A little setback (but Never Summer doesn't give that spec, so not sure how much exactly)
BASE:
Sintered | Never Summer's "Durasurf XT Sintered 5501 Base"
weight:
Felt normal
Camber Height:
5mm (but hard to measure with hybrid rocker proiles)
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
152 | 248 | 120-160 | 54-72 |
156 | 252 | 140-180 | 63-82 |
159 | 254 | 160-200 | 72-90 |
157X | 261 | 140-180 | 63-82 |
160X | 263 | 160-220 | 72-100 |
164X | 266 | 160-220+ | 72-100+ |
Who is the Snowtrooper Most Suited To?
The Snowtrooper is most suited to a high-end beginner or early intermediate rider looking to progress quickly and wants more than a beginner board and also want something that's versatile and can take them anywhere. It's easy to ride and playful and good for learning freestyle tricks/jumps.
It's pretty beginner friendly. I wouldn't say it's the ultimate board for a beginner, and it has performance beyond a true beginner board, but at a stretch you can ride this as a beginner and then keep it all the way until you're an advanced rider - and indefinitely really, if you want to continue with a more casual/playful style. Or you can keep it as your playful board, if you were to upgrade to a more aggressive option at some stage.
Snowtrooper DetailS
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Snowtrooper is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Never Summer Snowtrooper 2024, 156cm (252mm waist width)
Date: March 8, 2023
Conditions
Overcast to start with, but not snowing. Slight flurries later in the day.
Temperature: 0°C (32°F) - and -4°C (25°F) with wind chill. Both morning and afternoon. Wind was 10kph (6 mph) Easterly both morning and afternoon.
24 hour snow: 0.4" (1cm)
48 hour snow: 0.8" (2cm)
7 day snow: 21" (53cm)
On groomer: Nicely groomed to start and stayed pretty decent, just a bit rougher later in the day. Good and fast but not icy.
Off groomer: A little crunchy in places but not to bad. Doable.
Set Up
Bindings angles: +15/-15
Stance width: 545mm (21.5″)
Stance Setback: Not sure of setback on effective edge as its something Never Summer doesn't publish, but it was setback 17mm on the length of the board - but that's not all on effective edge as the nose is a little longer than tail on this board, I believe.
Width at Front Insert: 261mm (10.28")
Width at Back Insert: 263mm (10.35")
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 180lbs
Rider Boot Size: US9.5 Adidas Response ADV
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
Weight: 2980grams (6lbs 9oz)
Weight per cm: 19.1 grams/cm
Average Weight per cm: 18.71 grams/cm*
*based on a sample size of around 250 models that I’ve weighed in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 & 2024 models. So the Snowtrooper was a little heavier than average on the scales, but pretty close to average and on snow it felt normal or even bordering slightly on the lighter side of normal. It is a looser feeling board, which can often make a board feel lighter.
Powder
Nothing significant to test in on the day, but based on specs and feel, it should be decent enough in powder. It's got a predominantly rocker, rather than camber, feel and there's a little bit more nose than tail and a little setback, which should all help.
Carving
It can wash out on a carve fairly easily when getting up to higher speeds. Can't carve super aggressively or deep with it. OK for slower speed carves.
Turning
Ease of Turning/Slashing: Nice and easy to initiate turns on and really suited to slashing around - definitely more of a slasher than a carver.
Maneuverability at slow speeds: Nice and quick edge-to-edge at slower speeds.
Catchiness: Really nice and uncatchy.
Speed
It didn't take much speed for the Snowtrooper to start to feel a bit wobbly. It wasn't the most stable at speed. I mean you could get up to moderate speeds and be OK, but at any decent speeds it started to feel washy and wobbly.
Uneven Terrain
Crud/Chunder: It's not super damp and gets bucked around fairly easily. Because of how nimble it is, you can correct quite easily, but it doesn't charge through it or anything.
Trees/Bumps: Nice and quick edge to edge, so really decent overall. But a little too loose feeling to be ideal, when it's not super soft in there.
Jumps
It's definitely decent for jumps but lacked a little energy and stability to be ideal.
Pop: Nice and easy to access the pop in this board - but not a lot of total pop when you really put the energy in.
Approach: It's not super stable for faster approaches, so not as good for approaches to bigger jumps that require more speed. But it is easy to correct your line and speed check, so good in that sense for smaller jumps and for those just getting started with jumping.
Landing: A little wobbly on bigger landings, but fine for small jumps and gives good forgiveness for smaller jumps, but not a stomper.
Side-hits: Really decent with that maneuverability and easy access pop. Preferred this for side hits and ollies than other types of air.
Small jumps/Big jumps: Best for small and up to medium jumps. Not stable enough for bigger jumps, IMO.
Switch
Good for riding switch. Transitions were easy and it felt pretty similar riding in either direction.
Spins
Decent for setting up and landing switch and pop was easy to access which was good. But lacked the spring/energy to be amazing.
Jibbing
Easy on approach and didn't feel catchy or anything. Not the ultimate jib board or anything, but not something that I would fear hitting jibs with either.
Butters
Nice and easy to press the tip and tail. And tip and tail felt pretty similar to press.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
| Factor | Rating (/5) | Weighted |
|---|---|---|
| Powder | 3.5 | 10.5/15 |
| Carving | 3 | 6/10 |
| Turns | 4.5 | 9/10 |
| Speed | 3 | 6/10 |
| Crud | 3 | 6/10 |
| Trees | 4 | 8/10 |
| Switch | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Jumps | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Spins | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
| Butters | 4 | 4/5 |
| Rails | 3 | 3/5 |
| TOTAL (after normalizing): | 84.3/100 |
The Snowtrooper is a playful, easy to ride board that can take you anywhere on the mountain from powder to park and hold its own. It's a slashy board more than a dig-the-edges-in-and-carve type of board and it prefers more moderate speeds than anything high octane.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Snowtrooper, 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 snowboard options, or if you want to compare how the Snowtrooper compares to other all-mountain snowboards, then check out the next link.
Hello and welcome to my Never Summer Snowtrooper review.
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Snowtrooper is capable of.
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