$459 A Good Ride Favorite! Intermediate to Expert Freeride This is a large step to the freeride side from the Never Summer Infinity . The Lotus-R is one of the first boards to exemplify the evolution of a rocker and camber in a Freeride Board. It's rocker and camber tech allow you to keep most of the positive qualities of rocker and camber. This board is heavy but will last a long time and fulfill the need of a powder board and a groomer bomber in most conditions. There are few complaints that we had with the Lotus. Not much has changed between the 2011 and 2012 models. It seems that they are almost indistinguishable. The only difference we noticed is there seems to be a bit more stability between the feet in hard pack conditions when flat basing or one footing. Check out the detailed review below.
The Never Summer Lotus Snowboard Review by The Good Ride
The Lotus is a super fun All Mountain/ Big Mountain board. It's a well built great take on reverse camber freeride, also a very damp board. We have ridden this board for 3 years now trying the 2011 and 2012 models. All of these were hybrid rocker and all ride very similar to one another. The only real thing we have noticed is each year they reduce the squirrely ultra loose feel between the feet when flat basing and one footing. Even the 2012 Lotus is still much more happy on an edge but it's getting better.
Groomers- It's just fun to make wide open turns with this board on the corduroy. There is nothing wrong with choosing the Lotus R if you are a groomer whore. Our only complaint is the boards rocker in the middle can make it a little squirrely if you try to flat base. It is carve friendly and we couldn't get the tail to wash out on an aggressive carve. That impressed us for a reverse camber but it needs to be on an edge in order to have a stable feeling. This isn't very noticeable in soft conditions but it stands out when the conditions get really firm.
Powder- The reverse camber and taper make the Lotus R incredibly easy to stay afloat. You will be very happy if you want one board for powder, off piste and groomers. They will just plow through crud, sierra cement, and haul ass when you get into the flats on the way back to the chair. This is not very surfy but it will float well in the powder and probably never get buried. We like how the tail is more pin tail like than the nose but don't know if it really helps in powder. At least it makes you think it does.
Speed- This is one of the fastest reverse camber board we have ridden. On really good or soft conditions we felt this was just like it's cambered freeride competitors in terms of dampness and stability. On hard firm days we noticed that the rocker and camber does have the same trappings that many many hybrid camber boards have. As long as you are on a rail you are fine but if you try to flat base it can get a little squirly. In 2011 and 2012 NS has worked on this problem and it's less squirrely than the original that came out in 2010 but it's still a bit loose.
Weight- This board will never win any awards for being light weight. That seems to be a trait with most Never Summer boards. Your first reaction when you get on the chair is this board is going to suck. But when you make your first turn you completely forget that this board is on the heavy side. All their boards are incredibly sturdy and the weight has something to do with long term reliability.
Turn initiation- The turn initiation is still in the freeride category where it takes a little work. It definitely has more of the positives of camber and rocker. Due to the wider waist and stiff flex the Lotus is going to be a bit more difficult to get from edge to edge than many other hybrid rocker boards. The one advantage is the hybrid rocker shape is already helping you point the board in the right direction of the turn.
Carving Ability- Because the nose and tail is bent back down but not all the way it keeps you from washing out when making a hard carving turn.
Edge Hold- Many rockered snowboards haven't addressed edge hold properly but the Never Summer Lotus holds an edge in almost every condition you want to ride in. Never Summers' side cut (variogrip) definitely compensates for the lack of contact a rockered board has. It's going to be fine in almost any situation and it doesn't have the ultra grippy feel that most magnetraction boards have. It's like a mellow magnetraction. We can't say this will grip ice as well as magnetraction but it never slipped in any of the conditions we rode in. We'd say this lies on the good side of excellent.
Stiffness- The Lotus is stiff but somehow it has a playful flex. It can bust some crud. One of the days we rode this it was pretty choppy with wet crappy spring snow at the top and hale/rain at the bottom. It was all chewed up by the end of the day and this board had no issues getting through it.
Switch- Not bad for a directional tapered board but definitely not as good as a twin or even some other directional boards.
Pipe- You can stop in the pipe with the Lotus and not feel sketched out if you are riding a smaller size but why would you? This is for the other side of the park fence and if you are riding the right size you should not be lapping the park with this.
Rails Boxes/Jibbing- This is a big stiff board that isn't made for anything inside the park.
Jumps- This board will shine hitting something natural and depending on the size you choose it isn't that bad at all on a man make kicker. You won’t have issues landing switch but it isn't something dedicated to the roller coaster part of the park.
Overall this is an excellent balance between a cambered freeride board and dedicated powder board. We put this at the high end of freeride snowboards.
The Good Ride Take on Hybrid Rocker
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. 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 ride compared to continuous rocker. This is still nothing like camber board. It provides a loose forgiving and catch free ride. Hybrid Rocker comes in all riding styles from freestyle to freeride and to us this is a solid next step from continuous rocker which is what started it all. Hybrid Rocker is usually pretty poppy. 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 Lotus 2012 Description The women’s version of the Premier F1, the Lotus features a softer flex and narrower shape. The Carbon V-Twin Laminate Technology and custom F1 Elastomeric Stabilizers underfoot increase edgehold and vibration absorption in any snow condition. The incorporated NS Custom Flightcore also provides a multi-flex profile giving the Lotus a powerful tail flex and a more responsive mid flex for unmatched carving ability and effortless turn initiation. This powder dominating deck also utilizes our Vario sidecut greatly enhancing the Lotus’ high speed edgehold.
The women’s version of the Premier F1, the Lotus features a softer flex and narrower shape. The Carbon V-Twin Laminate Technology and custom F1 Elastomeric Stabilizers underfoot increase edgehold and vibration absorption in any snow condition. The incorporated NS Custom Flightcore also provides a multi-flex profile giving the Lotus a powerful tail flex and a more responsive mid flex for unmatched carving ability and effortless turn initiation. This powder dominating deck also utilizes our Vario sidecut greatly enhancing the Lotus’ high speed edgehold.
The women’s version of the Premier F1-R, the Lotus-R features a softer flex and narrower shape. The Carbon V-Twin Laminate Technology and custom F1 Elastomeric Stabilizers underfoot increase edgehold and vibration absorption in any snow condition. The incorporated NS Custom Flightcore also provides a multi-flex profile giving the Lotus a powerful tail flex and a more responsive mid flex for unmatched carving ability and effortless turn initiation. This powder dominating deck also utilizes our Vario sidecut greatly enhancing the Lotus’ high speed edgehold.
I'm loving the Never Summer Lotus; it's the perfect board for me. I'm an older rider (i.e., 65), solid on most terrain and in all snow conditions. I'm not a park and pipe rider, though I like a little switch riding and occasional straight airs. I was looking for more of a freeride board, with rocker and camber technology. I picked the Lotus as more suited to my style (lots of powder on our local mountain, Brundage, McCall, Idaho), after riding and enjoying an Infinity for several years. I'm riding a 154cm, which according to some might be a bit long for my size (5'6", 130 lb), but it feels right to me. Looking at the table above, I'd probably rate it better on Edge Hold, and on Flex, certainly not too stiff. Notice also the Never Summer warranty is better than most companies. They can offer that because they build bomber boards. The way my Infinity held up during a time when I was teaching and had beginners sometimes riding across my board, I was not likely to stray from the Never Summer brand. Looking forward to many more happy days riding the Lotus!
