The Never Summer Heritage and Heritage X Snowboard Review by The Good Ride
Boards Tried- 160 and 162
Days-5
Bindings Used- Union Force, Flux Super Diamond, Flux SF45
Boots- Nike Kaiju, Burton SLX, Burton Driver X
Riders- 5'10" 220lbs size 9 shoe , 5'10" 195lbs size 9 shoe, 5'11" 160lbs size 10.5 shoe
The Never Summer Heritage is like they mated the Never Summer Raptor and the Never Summer SL R. It's a little more playful than the Raptor and has a little more response than the SL-R. It's a very fast, aggressive board....especially for a hybrid camber. The length of the Heritage is pretty big (up to 165) so you can get to a more freeride side of things. The Heritage sizes we tried was very fun to get out and ride all over the mountain and had a snappy response to just about anything we did with it. We have ridden the 2011 and 2012 Heritage and there is very little difference between these years. The only thing we noticed was it seems that the 2012 is slightly better in hardpack when it comes to flat basing and one footing. Other than that it's almost the same board....well at least to us.
Groomers- The Heritage does very well on groomers and makes corduroy very fun. Its one issue is the Heritage doesn't have the stability of a cambered board on groomers when the conditions are firm. Its pretty damp but it feels loose instead of tracked in at higher speed on the groomers when flat basing. If you are on an edge then there are no issues.
Powder- This is where the rocker/camber really shines! You will never float like a cambered board of the same shape in powder like you will with the Heritage. The Heritage isn't as close as the Raptor or Premier but it does a great job for a board of it's shape that still allows a lot more freestyle manuverability than the other two mentioned. If you come from a camber board to the Heritage you won't believe what we are saying because it rides so well but those who have tried many types of rocker boards will understand.
Turn Initiation- Despite the Never Summer Heritage's damp aggressive design and wide waist it is very easy to turn. The side cut and camber/rocker contribute to making this board perform a lot better when leaning into a turn. You can transfer from edge to edge very well.
Carving Ability- You can also carve out a pretty decent turn compared to a straight rocker board. It still doesn't have that feeling of a cambered board when making big hard carving turns but its getting closer. It didn't wash out like pure rocker boards do and does a pretty good job for some one who likes to make aggressive belly scratching turns.
Speed- This is almost up there with the never summer premier. We feel that as long as you are on edge the board will perform well at almost any speed.
Lightweight- This board is pretty light for Never Summer. They usually make their boards a bit on the heavy side. We don't mind either way if they ride like this.
Edge Hold- Very stable and grippy. It's not going to be something you want on an icy or really hard pack day but it does well in almost any condition you would want to ride in.
Stiffness- Pretty stiff but not completely out of the playful range.
Jibbing- Not that bad for a freeride board. You can stop and even hang in the park with this board.
Switch- Pretty impressive when it comes to riding switch for a directional board. We are very stoked with the way you can switch up. It will come in handy on long traverses to get to good snow on pow days or just to play around in the park.
Rails/Boxes/Jibbing- It's not too bad. You will be ok if you like hitting them on occasion but not if you ride all day in the park. The Never Summer SL-R and Evo-R are a better choice for this category but the Heritage is ok.
Pipe- This does surprisingly well in the pipe. We were very impressed on how the board holds an edge on an icy pipe wall and how forgiving it is when it comes time to land. Good times........good times.
Jumps- Stiff enough to land a huge kicker and the rocker makes it pretty forgiving when a little off on a rotation. There are better boards out there but the Heritage is definitely at the upper end.
The Good Ride Take on Hybrid Rocker Snowboards
This is what we call a snowboard that has rocker in the center and then a camber bend at the tip and tail. The end result is the tip and tail are still off the ground but it helps bring some good qualities that people liked with camber to rocker. The camber usually keep’s the board from washing out when you lay into a harder carve and for the most part provide a more balanced all conditions ride compared to continuous rocker or camber. This is still nothing like camber board and it provides a loose forgiving catch free ride. Hybrid Rocker comes in all riding styles from Freestyle to Freeride and is a solid next step from where it started with continuous rocker. Hybrid Rocker is usually pretty poppy, floats well in powder, catch free and very forgiving. The one complaint is it can still be unstable flat basing or one footing in some conditions like hard pack or ice. The major companies are working on this problem and it’s been getting better since this was introduced. Most love this loose feeling and get use to the squirrely nature in certain conditions. We at The Good Ride feel this is one of the better shapes out there so give it a try.
Never Summer Heritage 2012 Description
Heritage / Heritage X
TYPE: Big mountain freestyle
HERITAGE
Like the freeride inspired Raptor, the new Carbonium Series Heritage is equipped with the new NS SuperLight woodcore and extensive carbon reinforcement (Carbonium Laminate Technology) to power this big mountain freestyle board anywhere on the mountain. Super snappy, yet powerful and lightweight, the Heritage is comfortable charging full speed down groomers, in the trees, or slaying the park with absolutely no sacrifice in quality and durability.
HERITAGE X
A wide version of the original.
Technical Features:
Never Summer Heritage 2011 Description
Heritage / Heritage X
TYPE: Big mountain freestyle
HERITAGE
Like the freeride inspired Raptor, the new Carbonium Series Heritage is equipped with the new NS SuperLight woodcore and extensive carbon reinforcement (Carbonium Laminate Technology) to power this big mountain freestyle board anywhere on the mountain. Super snappy, yet powerful and lightweight, the Heritage is comfortable charging full speed down groomers, in the trees, or slaying the park with absolutely no sacrifice in quality and durability.
HERITAGE X
A wide version of the original.
Technical Features:
Never Summer Heritage 2010 Description
HERITAGE
The limited edition Heritage’s deep sidecut, Carbon VXM laminate system and powerful flex, fuel this board’s all-terrain dominance. The STS Pretensioned fiberglass and lightweight Custom Flight Core provide maximum pop and responsiveness, while the RDS 2 damping system delivers high speed edgehold and stability anywhere on the mountain. Each limited edition Heritage will be numbered and comes complete with custom NS retro Colorado graphics.
HERITAGE X
A wide version of the original
