Snowboard Review: 08-09 Never Summer Heritage

Location: Loveland, Colorado & Steamboat, Colorado

Snow Conditions: Snowing with hardpacked groomers to icy groomers to fresh snow on the runs at Loveland. At Steamboat, hard packed groomers to heavy slushy powder.

Setup: I rode the Never Summer Heritage with Union Force’s and Raiden Tigre bindings and my Vans Omni Focus size 8.

First Impression:  Hmm this is the first time riding this in winter conditions

Size: 158cm

Weight: heavier than average

Flex:  It’s not a forgiving board in the sidecut or flex.   Overall it’s a stiffer flexing board, torsionally and longitudinally.  I can see why it’s liked but I definitely don’t suit the board as a rider so I find it is limiting to me.  Decent amount of dampening in it, over choppy slushy stuff it held up.

Turning:  It has a real aggressive sidecut, quick initiation into turns and a little too much for me.  From heelside to toeside, I felt it was slower with the ww and my boot size, sluggish.  It’s a board that I wouldn’t want to turn at all, just go fast and straight with it.  

Stable:  I shouldn’t be on a mid-wide but definitely for hauling it feels stable with more board underneath.   I didn’t feel stable on cat tracks when I hate to unstrap and skate.  

Pop:  Even for a little sluggish and wide for me, it has good pop.  Easy to ollie off of rollers and I have no doubts about landing on it.  

Switch:  I just spent a couple turns on it riding switch on an open groomed area and same thing with the sidecut…which made me ride more careful switch than I normally would.

Powder:  I took it in some really heavy slushy powder that was leftover in the trees.  I didn’t have any problem with floating through it and it charged through the heavier snow.

Overall Impression:  This board doesn’t suit me, the mid-wide offers up a stable ride for me…but when I took it into the trees for the first time, it was too sluggish for my size 8 boots and I didn’t get a quick response.  I had to skate with it on the groomers and it’s one of the few boards where I felt like I could lose control with one foot strapped in skating.