Hello and welcome to my Never Summer Swift review.
In this review, I will take a look at the Swift as a mellow freeride snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Swift a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other mellow freeride snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Never Summer Swift 2024
Price: $699
Style: Mellow Freeride
Flex Rating: Medium Stiff (7/10)
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (6/10)
Rating Score: 93.8/100
Compared to other Men’s Mellow Freeride Boards.
* Note that the "mellow freeride" category represents freeride boards that are in that softer flex range - 6.5/10 or less.
Out of the 33 men’s mellow freeride snowboards that I rated:
Overview of the Swift’s Specs
Check out the tables for the Swift's specs and available sizes.
Specs
STYLE:
MELLOW FREERIDE
PRICE:
$699 - BUYING OPTIONS
$699 - BUYING OPTIONS
Ability Level:
flex:
feel:
DAMPNESS:
SMOOTH /SNAPPY:
Playful /aggressive:
Edge-hold:
camber profile:
DIRECTIONAL HYBRID ROCKER
DIRECTIONAL HYBRID ROCKER - Never Summer's "Fusion Rocker Camber"
SHAPE:
setback stance:
setback 3.25" (83mm) - this is what Never Summer has published, but by my calculations, this is the setback on the length of the board, not on effective edge, which is how this spec is usually measured (see more below).
BASE:
SINTERED | Never Summer's "Durasurf XT Sintered 5501 Base"
weight:
felt normal
Camber Height:
10mm*
* though harder to measure on a hybrid rocker. This was measured at the camber section near the tail. The camber was considerably more pronounced in the tail camber section than in the camber section that comes in before the nose.
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
153 | 257 | 120-200 | 54-91 |
158 | 259 | 120-200+ | 54-91+ |
163 | 262 | 160-200+ | 73-91+ |
Who is the Swift Most Suited To?
The Swift is best suited to someone looking to add a tree/powder board to their quiver. But in saying that, it could be a one-board-quiver for the right rider.
It's not something you have to ride in powder to have fun on, that's just where it will excel the most. If you like to ride trees, even when there's very little or no powder, this board performs really well in there. And while I didn't find it a carving at high speed demon, it's no slouch on a carve or at speed either. Moderate speed carves feel really nice, so just carving up (or just cruising) the groomers works on this board too.
So, if your riding is predominantly trees, powder when you can get it, some moderate speed carves/just cruising groomers when there's not powder, but want something that's super agile and is also fun on small to medium jumps and side-hits (straight air or 360, but not so much 180s etc).
Otherwise as a quiver addition, play it to its strengths and rip through trees and hunt down powder.
I didn't find it an overly demanding board to ride, so should be fine for intermediate riders all the way up to expert riders, particularly those who want a mellower feel or who may be getting older or recovering from an injury and don't want a board they have to physically fight or get fatigued by, by the end of the day.
The Swift in More Detail
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Swift is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Never Summer Swift 2024, 158 (259mm 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: 520mm (20.5″)
Stance Setback: Unknown on effective edge. Setback 3.35" (85mm) on total length of board. Never Summer have that figure at 3.25" (83mm). Though they may have rounded to the nearest 1/4".
Width at front inserts: 272mm (10.7")
Width at back insert: 266mm (10.5")
Rider Height: 6'0"
Rider Weight: 180lbs
Rider Boot Size: US9.5 Adidas Response ADV
Bindings Used: Burton Malavita M
Control Board for Control Laps: Lib Tech Terrain Wrecker
Weight: 3140grams (6lbs 15oz)
Weight per cm: 19.87 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. The Swift is heavier than average on the scales. Some of that is that it's wider than the average 158. But it's not super wide. But weight per surface area would be closer to the average than the weight per length suggests. And on snow it felt normal, weight-wise.
Flex
Never Summer rates the Swift 7/10 flex, but I felt it at 6/10 flex.
The tail is stiffer than the rest of the board, and I'd say that feels around a 7/10 to 7.5/10. But through the middle of the board it's not as stiff as the tail.
The torsional flex is also pretty easy going, not stiff torsionally, which helps to make it the easy turner that it is.
Powder
No real powder to test in, but from the feel of the board (and the specs back it up), it should be really sweet in powder. It has a decent amount of setback on overall length of board, a nose that is significantly longer and wider (20mm of taper) than the tail and a decent amount of rocker in the nose. All of this should help it to float well in powder.
Carving
It's not a high speed, hard carving beast or anything, but it feels really nice on a moderate speed carve. You can lay into fairly aggressive carves at moderate speeds, without it washing out or anything. But it has its limits - get too aggressive or try to carve at too high a speed and it can start letting go.
Given the rocker in the profile, the relatively friendly torsional flex and the 20mm of taper, it was never going to be a carving sensation when at higher speed, but all that said, it wasn't bad at all on a carve, particularly at moderate speeds.
Turning
Ease of Turning/Slashing: The biggest surprise with this board was just how easy it was to turn. I've tested multiple hundreds of boards over the years and not much genuinely surprises me anymore. You know the occasional "I wasn't quite expecting that" but this thing genuinely surprised me with just how easy it was to turn and slash with.
Maneuverability at slow speeds: Lightning fast edge-to-edge and effortless is how I found this board. Yes, I did ride it with a narrow stance width - and that does help with maneuverability, but the difference it makes (from experiments I've done in the past) doesn't account for how effortlessly you could make super fast turns at slow speeds on this board. A really good snap/spring out of turns.
Catchiness: Definitely wouldn't call it catchy. Would also not call it the most uncatchy board in the world. But for an solid intermediate rider and up I wouldn't have any concerns with catchiness on this board.
Speed
I didn't feel it was an out and out bomber or anything, but decently fast and decently stable at speed. Felt some chatter and wasn't invincible when getting up to decently high speeds.
Uneven Terrain
Crud: Was pretty good at smashing through crud. But it wasn't unshakeable or anything. You felt it a little and in the serious stuff, you get a bit bucked around. If it's something you can go over the top of, it's all good. It's not ultra damp either, so you feel some chatter.
In terms of dampness I found it damper than average, but nothing crazy damp or anything. So it surprised me to learn that Never Summer rate this an 8/10 for dampness. 6/10 at most by my feel. Which isn't a bad thing for me. Too much dampness and I find I loose feel of the board and feel the board tends to lack snap. For the amount of snap I felt from this board, that amount of dampness was quite high - a good mix of snap and dampness, IMO.
If you're someone who likes your board super damp and saw that 8/10 rating and starting drooling, just know that it wasn't my experience that it felt as damp as that. If you're like me and were put off by the 8/10 dampness rating, don't necessarily right off this board, because in my experience it definitely wasn't overly damp and had a great mix of dampness and snap.
Trees/Bumps: About as perfect as it gets, IMO! Lightning quick edge-to-edge and you get that quickness with very little effort, so you're not fatigued by the time you've done 50 feet through a tree line. And for how well this board is setup for powder, there's no doubt it would be just as good or even better when there was powder in the trees.
Jumps
Definitely not what this board was designed for, but was actually pretty fun and had more snap than I was expecting for sure.
Pop: I wouldn't call it's total pop epic, but it's decent enough. And that pop is pretty easy to extract as well. Not as easy access as some softer boards, but still nothing that you have to throw all your weight behind just to get it to pop or anything.
Approach: A good of being stable enough, but also easy to make line adjustments and speed check with, without it feeling catchy or slow to adjust (in fact one of the easier boards to adjust). Feels a bit weird in switch, so if you're looking to do switch 180s/540s etc, then it's going to be difficult. I didn't attempt.
Landing: Not a stomper, but solid enough on landings. Just don't want to land too tail heavy. There's some tail there to help out, but not heaps. Landing switch is not as good! Backside 180s felt pretty sketchy.
Side-hits: Quite enjoyed the Swift on side-hits. But really just for straight airs. Not so much 180s.
Small jumps/Big Jumps: Best for small to medium.
Switch
Doable but feels weird. The nose feels long and the tail short and when you switch that around it feels a bit weird and you don't want to hit anything too rough. And with there being way more camber towards the tail, which feels good when riding normally, you now have all this camber on your front foot and not much at the back and the nose is softer flexing than the tail, so that reverses. Just an odd feeling. Doable on a well groomed gentle slope but otherwise not the best.
Spins
360s feel OK, but anything in multiples of 180 not so much (see switch above).
Butters
The tail is the stiffest part of this board. It softens up through the middle and into the nose. While the overall flex felt like a 6/10 to me. The tail is more like a 7/10, maybe 7.5/10. The Nose is easier to press in terms of its flex, but actually more awkward because of how long it is. So quite a different feel between tail and nose. Not what this board is good at, but not what it's made for 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 | 5.0 | 15/15 |
CARVING | 4.0 | 8/10 |
TREES/BUMPS | 5.0 | 15/15 |
CRUD/CHUNDER | 3.5 | 7/10 |
SPEED | 3.5 | 7/10 |
JUMPS | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
SWITCH | 1.0 | 1/5 |
TOTAL after normalizing | 93.8/100 |
The Swift, for me, was one of those boards that genuinely surprised me - and after just a few turns on this thing, I had a smile from ear-to-ear. The way this effortlessly sprang from edge-to-edge was a tree line dream come true.
Combine that with specs and a feel that would suggest it would be great in powder (we didn't have any on the day) and this would be the first board you'd reach for if you got a powder day and wanted to spend it in the trees. Those foggy days where you can't see much outside the trees, but inside the visibility suddenly becomes perfect.
But it's not a one-trick pony either. It's actually really good on a carve, so long as you don't push the speed too much, and is actually pretty fun for straight airs on jumps and side-hits.
It's predominantly a quiver board, but could definitely make a one-board quiver for the right riding style.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
If you want to learn more about the Swift, 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 Swift compares to other mellow freeride snowboards, then check out the next link.
Just realized email was wrong. posting again
Intermediated rider. enjoy riding the trees, powder and groomers. Looking to progress in powder. I Ride in Utah. Thinking about the Neversumner Swift
Any recommendations for boards and/or size
Height 6’1
weight 160
boots size 12.5
Hi Lee
Thanks for your message. I think the Swift would be a great option for what you’re describing. But sizing may not work. The 158 would be a good for you, IMO, but a little too narrow for 12.5s, IMO. I would take a look at our >>top 10 Mellow Freeride snowboards list for more options. Let me know if there’s anything there that interests you and I would be happy to give my opinion on whether I think it would be a good bet and what size I’d go with.
Hope this helps
Hey Nate!
How do you think the 23/24 redesign compares to the previous version? The Fusion Rocker profile and general shape are the same but the tips look a little different and the size offerings changed. Love my Harpoon but sometimes I want a little more board for the real deep stuff.
Cheers, bud!
Hey AMac!
The 23/24 model was the first I’ve actually ridden of the Swift, so not sure how it compares to older models. In terms of specs changes see below (copied from our 2024 NS overview):
So nothing overly significant really. Though sometimes boards can be changed up in ways that aren’t published (like subtly changing the flex, kind of thing but for whatever reason don’t want to advertise it – sometimes because they feel they’ve rated the flex wrong, but they keep the flex rating the same, but change the board to more closely match it – this is just a theory of course, but I like to consider the reasons why changes are sometimes made but not published.
Great review!
I’m looking to get this board to do more slashing and carving on groomers, and start to dabble in tree and pow riding.
I’m 5’7 165lbs with a 10.5 boot; would the 153 or 158 work better?
Thanks
Mike
Hey Mike
Thanks for your message.
I would go 153 for you. I would put your “typical all-mountain length” at 156, so it’s a close call whether to go down or up. I don’t think the 158 would be wrong, particularly given you have 10.5 boots, but I would be leaning 153. The 158 would give you better float in powder and if you were going to be using this board predominantly for powder, then I’d probably err to the 158. But given it sounds like you’ll be on the groomers with it more than in powder, I think the 153 will be better for you on groomers and the 153 should still be good for you in powder in the 153, particularly as it’s a little wider than normal in that big nose.
Hope this helps with your decision
Hello!
What’s the difference between the 2024 version of the Swift and the 2023 version?
Would a 157 be good enough for me? I like riding in powder and sometimes in trees and crud. I am planning to get this as part of a quiver.
I’m 5’11, wear 10.5 boots, and weigh 185lbs.
Hi Joseph
Thanks for your message.
There’s a few subtle differences but hasn’t significantly changed. Check out our 2024 Never Summer overview to see specific changes (towards the end of that post).
The 2024 model was the first time I’d ridden the Swift, so can’t say what effect those changes had, but I imagine there would be a relatively subtle difference, but hard to say for sure.
Size-wise, the 157 could work. I would put your “typical all-mountain length” at around 160, so 157 is on the smaller side for you, for powder, however, it’s wider than normal. It’s not super wide, but a little wider than normal, so that brings it closer to a typical 160 in terms of surface area. And should be really good in trees in that size for you, IMO. So I think it would definitely work. The 162 (2023 model) or 163 (2024 model) would likely feel quite big in trees for your specs, IMO, so I would be leaning 157/158.
Hope this helps with your decision