Never Summer Easy Rider

The Never Summer Easy Rider is a new board this season, which is a twin shaped board with the Triple Camber profile.

In reality, there is nothing unique or groundbreaking in this board. It is a plain old twin, made up with ingredients you can find in a whole bunch of other Never Summer boards.

The standout feature, and one that makes a boring sounding board (on paper) ride super well is the Triple Camber profile. I will go into detail later on about, but it is the best hybrid profile I have ridden.

How the Never Summer Easy Rider Rides

My setup

Bindings: Burton Cartel X

Boots: Vans Infuse 9.5 / 27.5 mondo

I generally run a similar setup on all the boards that I test out, and this one was pretty standard. +12 on the front foot, -9 on the back with a narrowish stance width that is normally around 21 1/2 inches.

Testing conditions:

I was riding the Never Summer Shaper Twin at Mt Hotham in Victoria, Australia, in spring conditions. Quite firm and fast snow in the mornings, that turned slushy in the afternoon.

Profile

This is the first Triple Camber board that I have ridden. A far as Never Summer boards have gone, I have liked each new profile a bit more than the last. Original Rocker Camber is alright, Ripsaw was better, Shockwave better again, with this being by far the best.

Most hybrid profiles, like C2 from Lib Tech/GNU, Flying V from Burton and Gullwing from Nitro follow the same layout. Cambered sections on the nose and tail, with rocker between your feet.

This profile is along the same lines, but with an extra camber section between your feet.

Flex

The name Easy Rider made me think that this board would be soft flexing, loose and easy to ride.

I assumed that this would be a Never Summer rough equivalent of something like the Burton Good Company, a softer flexing, value full camber board. Turns out I was quite wrong.

At my weight the board felt a touch stiffer than medium, which made it feel quite capable and stable overall.

I wouldn’t say that it felt super easy to flex, but it also didn’t take a ton of effort. It would push back decently for ollies, about as well as you could expect from a hybrid camber board like this.

Turns & Edge Hold

Although I wouldn’t say that the Easy Rider has a narrow waist width, it definitely sits in the sweet spot. Nice and quick edge to edge, which makes it feel very responsive.

I already rate the edge hold off all Never Summer boards quite high, but the Triple Camber is a big step better.

It has great edge hold in all conditions, without having to put in “work” or keep your form on point to get the most out of the board. As I was riding in spring conditions, there are a few places at my closest mountain that aren’t worth going for until the snow gets softer and melts a litte.

It was no issue in any way riding this board first thing in the morning, after a melt freeze cycle, even in the shade. It gives you tons of confidence, knowing that you can ride full speed into questionable conditions and know that it will still do what you want.

After a few laps on the Easy Rider I swapped to the Capita Aeronaut (camber), which the Easy Rider put to shame, even though technically camber should be the winner.

Speed

I didn’t run into any issues with speed on the Easy Rider, even when the snow got quite soft and slushy in the a afternoon.

Who would this board suit?

This is going to suit someone who wants a twin, whether they want a park board or not.

Does it come in wide models?

The Easy Rider comes in two wide models, the 158X and the 160X. If you have boots that are size 11 or bigger, you will want to look at those two for the wider waist width.

Overall

Overall, the Easy Rider was much better than expected. The highlight is the edge hold, and the confidence that you will have grip, with a predictable ride no matter the conditions.

I can definitely see that this profile (and the other small variants like the fusion) will spread across to more boards, as it works so well.

If you were looking for a more serious board that has this profile, but with a more freeride or alpine shape, then the Valhalla would be worth a look.

A board like the Easy Rider could be ridden by almost everyone, but if you are a beginner, then expect that you will still have a learning curve to get through.

Features of the Never Summer Easy Rider

Sizes Available:

• 148cm
• 154cm
• 157cm
• 158cm Wide (X)
• 160cm Wide (X)

Technical Specs of the Never Summer Easy Rider

Size (cm)	Waist Width (mm)	Edge (cm)	Sidecut	Taper (mm)	Nose/Tail (mm)
148	244	114	Vario 738	0	287
154	251	119	Vario 742	0	299
157	253	122	Vario 764	0	301
158X	264	122	Vario 764	0	312
160X	266	123	Vario 781	0	313