$449 Intermediate to Expert All Mountain Freestyle Hybrid Rocker Twin The Never Summer Revolver R is the Wide version of the Evo-R is a step down in stiffness from the Legacy R and it makes this a great all around do everything freestyle board. Never summer has really stepped up to be more of a main stream board manufacturer. The Revolver-R is made for park exploits but will perform well if you step out side of it. The rocker and camber tech along with a multiple radius side cut that allows more edge hold make the Evo a board that should be considered with Lib-Tech and the other top hybrid camber boards. Actually they came out with hybrid camber the same year as Lib Tech. We would say if you were to compare this to Mervin (lib-tech & Gnu) that the Evo would be a softer version of the Gnu Riders Choice BTX Wide. All Never Summer boards are great in almost every condition. The one complaint is when the conditions are firm the Revolver R looses that feeling of stability when you are one footing or flat basing. For 2011 the Revolver has a little more spring, is slightly more damp and has a bit more stability when flat basing. In 2012 The Revolver is still the same great board in terms of tech but has a new design. It's been blunted out in the nose, has more of an effective edge and now has a different size range. These changes makes a shorter Revolver ride bigger. We really like this change and had a lot of fun on the new 2012 model. It's also slightly better one footing and flat basing than the 2011 model.
This is not a review of the Revolver but a review of the narrow waisted verison of the Revolver called the Evo. The boards are identicle so hopefully this will help.
Thanks to our friends at Never Summer and our local shop P3 Snow in Mammoth we were able to take this board out for a spin a few different times. Out of all the $400+ boards the Evo is the most soft and playful board in Never Summers line up. Out of the hybrid camber boards out there Never Summer and Mervin (lib/Gnu/Roxy) really have this shape down. So now to Never Summers park board. Before we get into the detail of this board we will say that the overall impression is that it's pretty loose and springy. We love the 2012 model the best because the sizes are better for our specs and riding style. The blunted nose makes for a more freestyle friendly ride. The 2012 157 was a hell of a lot of fun and we liked it a lot more than the 155 and 158 we tried. It's like a soft version of the
Groomers- The Evo is not going to lite up groomers like the Never Summer SL R but it can do a very good job hunting around for natural features and even a small straight line or two. The only weakness the Evo R has is the ability to keep from getting a little squirrely in hard conditions. That being said every year we ride Never Summer's boards they are getting closer and closer to fixing this issue. One of the riders today (Jimbo) was shifting from the Lib Tech Dark Series and the Never Summer Evo R and he comented that the Evo R felt much more loose and flexy. Taking a freestyle approach to the groomers is very fun with the evo.
Powder- You really can't ask much more from a twin park board when it comes to powder riding. We didn't have fresh powder but the conditions are good enough to get some pretty decent leftovers. The Evo was set up centered and even in about a foot of leftover there was some work on the back leg but nothing like the old camber days. Still the Never Summer SL and many other boards with some type of rocker or hybrid shape and a set back will do much better. For 2012 the Evo will not be as good in powder but just by a little bit.
Turn Initiation- The Evo R is very loose and playful but when it comes time to transition from edge to edge it does an exceptional job. The Evo can make some pretty quick turns.
Speed- The Evo Isn't made for excessive freeride speed and bombing a few long groomers brought out a bit of chatter but the Evo did a good job despite it's soft and playful design. The Evo has a fast base too that will help you pick up speed quickly in the park. It should also be pretty chatter free in the park.
Weight- Not the lightest board but that is just how Never Summer rolls. Most of us would trade a little weight for more reliability and that is what you get from NS.
Edge Hold- It holds an edge but in a smooth way. It doesn't have that grippy feel but even in wind scowered areas with snowment the edge didn't give out. We dont' ride east coast so can't speak for how it would hold up on that scary blue ice but can say it will do well on any icy pipe wall or snowment that you encounter West of the Rockies. There is a slight advantage in edge hold with the 2012.
Flex- Soft and playful is the name of this boards game. The Evo sit's right in the middle of the soft category. It's that perfect flex that will allow you do go anywhere in the park and jib pretty easy.
Carving- The Evo wasn't ideal to carve but it never washed out. It didn't have that spring out of the turn feeling that some boards do but if you were in a carving mood it could satisfy it. Carving was slightly better with the 2012 due to the longer effective edge.
Switch- The Evo Rode as well switch as it did regular because it's a true twin with a centered stance.
Rails and Jibbing- There wasn't much rail and box play today but the soft flex and catch free feel makes it pretty fun to hit just about any rail you want. There are better boards for this but there aren't many all around park boards that can compete.
Pipe- No pipe on our mountain yet. Based on the edge hold the Never Summer Evo should do a good job in the pipe and be easy to land. The 2012 Evo was slightly better in the pipe too.
Jumps- The Evo is very springy and was very fun to pop off most natural hits. On a few laps through the park hitting small to mid sized jumps the Evo made things easyand this was one of our favorite small to mid sized jump boards in 2011 and 2012. The Evo does a great job.
In summary we expected alot from the Evo and it delivered every year we tried it. This is a solid choice for an all park ride. The 2012 is definitely the better board over the 2011 and Never Summer should be seriously considered as one of the top contenders when choosing a hybrid rocker board.
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.
A wider version of the Evo, this team favorite crushes pipe, park and big kickers while still being super versatile. The Revolver’s shape offers a wider platform that allows you to stomp big landings while reducing heel and toe drag. Our new blunt shape make the deck extremely agile to throw around in the air while increasing maximum effective edge for high speed stability. This is the perfect board for bigger, technical freestyle riders!
A wider version of the Evo, this deck crushes pipe, park, big kickers and is extremely stable at high speed. The Revolver’s shape reduces toe and heel drag and is perfect for bigger, technical freestyle riders.
A wider version of the Evo-R, this deck crushes pipe, park and big kickers and is extremely stable at high speed. The Revolver-R's shape reduces toe and heel drag and is perfect for bigger, technical freestyle riders.
