Never Summer Swift Split
Best powder surfer
Brand: Never Summer
Model: Swift Split
Specs
Weight
7lbs. 15oz.
Our take
“This board is virtually unsinkable,” our tester raved after a month of riding the deepest snowfall ever recorded in Crested Butte, Colorado. Credit the tapered shape and the wide, early-rise nose for keeping the Swift Split on top of the soft stuff. The banana-rocker profile and a swallow tail made harvesting low-angle powder a dream, but having less edge contact makes this board a bit squirrelly on hardpack.
The details
The Swift Split has a medium-stiff flex and laminated dampening strips between the core and topsheet, which make it a bit more stable in choppy, firm snow than most boards with this profile. The rocker between the feet helps initiate snappy turns. Downer: The heavy weight and banana rocker make it less efficient for long tours, and it’s pricey for a specialist board.
Trail cred
“Snow slides right off the carbonium topsheet,” our Colorado tester says. “It shed light flakes with the flick of a board, saving significant weight when going uphill.”