Never Summer Harpoon Review 159cm Review
Snowboard Tested and Rider Specs:
- Never Summer Harpoon 2020-2021
- Never Summer Harpoon Size: 159cm (waist width 26.4 cm)
- Never Summer Harpoon Sidecut: Vario Power Grip utilizes multiple radiuses creating extra contact points to enhance edge hold.
- Carbon Max Laminate Technology combines an advanced top and bottom carbon matrix to maximize response and strength where it’s needed most.
- Bindings: Union Falcor (Large)
- Boots: Adidas Tactical ADV size 11
- Stance: approximately 22.5″
- Rider Height: 6’0″
- Rider Weight: 195
Conditions/Terrain Tested: Groomers, park, chop, and some deep pow!
Review:
Surprisingly, Never Summer made a big decision to drop the Maverix and the Insta/Gator from their 2021 line. But, they sure put some thought into why this was a smart move. They combined the best features from each board and created an Orca slayer… and appropriately named the 2021 Never Summer Harpoon.
I heard a lot of talk about the Harpoon just prior to its release and was fortunate enough to be able to check it out at Outdoor Retailer in late January. After talking to Vince Sanders and a few others at Never Summer, I couldn’t wait to get out on one. I had to leave Colorado early because of a huge storm coming in, so I was super bummed to miss out on test riding a Harpoon at the on-snow demos at Winter Park. Fortunately, Vince sent one out to me for testing a few weeks later. Right out of the box it has similar qualities to the Big Gun, which is one of my favorite Never Summer boards. I rode the 159cm which is the biggest in the line, so it’s a short, fat board, or as Never Summer calls it, Volume Shifted.
The Harpoon is part of the Tim Canaday Shaper Series and uses the Fusion Rocker Camber profile that the other boards in the series use. It boasts the Ripsaw Rocker Camber over the back binding and the Original Rocker Camber in the nose. All this is topped off with a Carbonium top sheet. The Harpoon is a Directional All-Mountain board with a setback stance, 31.6” nose, 29.8” tail, and 13 millimeters of taper that rides like a dream through most conditions.
I mostly ride in the Teton’s, Travis Rice’s backyard so I felt a little dirty running around on the whale hunter. It made for some great conversations with those riding the Lib Tech Orca. I was fortunate enough to get the Harpoon out in just about every condition in the short time I had it. The Harpoon was really fun to ride in every condition and handled them all with ease. It definitely excels in deep powder but it was fun to play around on when riding groomers as well.
The short tail on the Harpoon provides plenty of pop off jumps and drops. The length of the nose is offset by the lack of length overall in the board and it makes for some visually appealing butters. Although it’s not designed to be a park board, there are some great videos of Skylar Gallardo crushing park on it. I would have liked to run the Harpoon through the park a bit more but COVID-19 closed resorts early. I was lucky enough to sneak in one extra day of powder hiking up with it after the closures.
I really liked riding the Harpoon on groomers as it had a great loose surfy feel to it. I found the more aggressively I rode it, the better it responded. Being a medium flex, it is snappy and really responsive edge to edge. With the Vario Power Grip Sidecut, it holds an edge well when laying down some deep carves. Riding it switch is challenging with the long nose but still super fun. I found the Harpoon to be very stable at high speeds. I had a few runs over 50 mph and I definitely could have pushed it more.
Riding the Harpoon in powder was where this board really excelled. It was really like riding a nimble surfboard. The big nose, tapered profile, and the setback stance provided great float on some really deep powder days. I found it to turn with minimal effort and had a lot of fun testing its abilities.
Overall Impressions:
Never Summer really hit a homerun with Harpoon. Taking the best qualities from the Maverix and Insta/Gator was a brilliant idea. It carved up everything in its path while whale hunting. Playful, super responsive, and just a really fun all-mountain board.
Pros:
- Stable at high speeds
- Incredibly nimble for a wide board
- High End Construction and 3 Year Warranty
- Excels in powder
Cons:
- None
| Performance: |  (4.8 / 5) |
| Design: | (4.8 / 5) |
| Overall: | (4.8 / 5) |
