Never Summer Insta/Gator Snowboard Review

Never Summer’s Insta/Gator 2018 Review

Insta/Gator Size: 151cm
Bindings: Union Contact Pro M/L
Boots: Adidas Tactical ADV size 9.0
Stance: 23.5 +18 Front & -15 back
Rider Height 5’9
Rider Weight 175
Conditions/Terrain Tested: Powder, hardpack, late season slush, and other variable conditions.

Specs from Never Summer Insta/Gator Snowboard 2018

Matte TopsheetCarbon Max Laminate Technology
Fusion Rocker Camber Profile
Extended Transition Area
Vario Power Grip Sidecut
Early Rise Nose
STS Pre-tensioned Fiberglass
Bi-Lite Fiberglass
NS SuperLight Wood Core
RDS 2 Damping System
Elastomeric Underfoot Stabilizers
Sintered P-tex Sidewall
Durasurf Sintered 5501 Base
P-tex Tip/Tail Protection

New Fusion Rocker Camber Profile:

The edge gripping hold, the snap out of turns, and the huge pop of Ripsaw RC in the back and combined it with the float and surfy feel of Original RC (rocker camber) in the front.

Never Summer Insta/Gator Snowboard 2018

The Ride:

After seeing the Shaper Series at the Snow Show (SIA) in denver in late January, we were very interested to see how the new line from Never Summer would ride, and I was super stoked when I was given the opportunity to check out the Insta/Gator. At first glance you really know this is a different board than most, it’s wide and has a good amount of taper toward the tail (12mm) which immediately lets you know it should ride well in powder. The matte topsheet is appealing on and off snow with the minimalistic paint stain and wood art colorscheme. The stance is set back noticeably and the stance width measures 26 inches at it’s widest and 18 inches at it’s narrow most inserts. The width of the Insta/Gator works well for me with a boot size of 9 and above, however I did hear that those with smaller boot sizes felt it was hard to manuever, for me I liked the extra width for float in powder and I felt the extra surface area worked out well on rails too. I sized down to a 151cm Insta/Gator, I normally ride a 157-159 in powder and 154-155 in park. The 151 was nimble and floaty in powder, the 151 was amazingly playful, a very unique feeling which made riding tighter trees really fun. I feel spoiled with this board and feel it will take the place of many of my all mountain boards in my quiver. The Insta/Gator can rail on hardpack and you’ll find yourself laying down carves like a 1988 europro. Riding park was fun on the Insta/Gator, as I said locking into rails on this board is easy with the extra surface area, the Fusion Rocker Camber works well for ollies and pressing on rails, you can really feel the extra camber pop in the tail of the board when popping onto a rail or popping of the takeoff of a jump. Jumps on the Insta/Gator for me are fun, it took a while to get used the longer and wide nose and spinning was different at first. Once I felt the board out after a few runs it was a blast on medium size jumps. I will say landing switch was a bit questionable at first since the tail doesn’t have much rise to it, but it is possible, just be aware. The Insta/Gator held it’s own in the park, something we’ve seen with other boards in the Shaper Series as well.

Summary:
The Insta/Gator lived up to the hype for me, and you should “get a Gator sooner rather than later” to experience it for yourself, with it’s 12mm of taper it’s a powder and all mountain destroyer to add to your quiver that I feel confident riding anywhere on the mountain. The Insta/Gator can handle most anything you can throw at it, and will ride like a dream in powder, it really does bring back a fun feeling that you don’t experience with other boards. I do recommend sizing down some on this board to feel how nimble it can be and still float like a dream. The possibilities of changing your stance options and playing around with this board are endless. I still need to explore them to truly see how the Insta/Gator can adapt to any condition, I’m looking forward to more experimentation with the Gator!