Engearment

Updated review on the Never Summer Swift Splitboard 2019

After using the Never Summer Swift 162 splitboard for one year, I formed an incredible bond with it.  I am updating this review to share what I have learned as well as compare it to its bigger brother – 167 Swift. What could possibly be better than a Swift splitboard??  Two Swift splitboards!!

I had been riding the 162 all of 2018 and loving it.  After a swing by Never Summer to chat with Vince, I left with a 167 to enjoy for a bit.  The timing was perfect, as we had just received copious amounts of new snow.  Plus, it was Christmas, then my 40th birthday, so life was lining up very well!  We took the 167 and 162 out to test at our usual stomping grounds.  The 167 toured like a champ and had no trouble keeping traction on the snow.  I was using G3 Mohair skins for the test.  The tail clip of the G3 is compatible with the swallowtail of the Never Summer.

First turns on the 167 were even better than I imagined.  Plus, the extra size allowed for more speed with little effort.  I took it out to an are called Perfect Trees for the next mission.  It is an ideal spot for low angle fun but can be challenging to maintain speed in sections.  The 167 proved capable of maintaining speed and yet nimble enough for tight trees.  I fell in love with at that moment.  The 162 is a great board, but if you are 6′ 200lbs or more, then the 167 might be a better fit for you.  Everything else remains the same about the boards.  The build quality is outstanding, the dampness and playfulness are perfect.  It is hard to find any issue with the Swift.

If there is even the slightest negative, it is that matching up a skin with the swallowtail can be less than perfect.  So what.  I have not had any skins come off the Swift and I sure as heck have not had issues with touring.   If wondering what skin to get, grab the newer G3.  The ones with the adjustable white clips.  I prefer the Mohair, but the Universal work just as good.  Grab a set here for $199

This is the second year for the Never Summer Swift splitboard.  It was at the top of our splitboard list last year and not much has changed about that.  (read the review here) And I am OK with that!  The Swift snowboard and splitboard come from the “Tim Canaday’s Shaper Series”  Meaning these shapes have been in the minds and dreams of the Never Summer founders for quite some time.  As an avid Never Summer fan, I have seen several boards come and go. All of them good. All of them hand built in Colorado and made of bomber construction (3-year warranty?! – heck yes!). The Swift may be my favorite yet.

Never Summer Swift Shape

Given the Rocker Fusion profile, the Swift can easily float like a hydrofoil, turn like it’s on rails and even handle crappy snow on the cat track.   Thanks to the RDS 1+ dampening system.  It absorbs the little bumps and sled tracks with ease.  More importantly, the shape allows float in all snow conditions.  The 20mm taper is just right for this.

Fusion Rocker Camber

The unique combination of Rip Saw and OG rocker make the Swift one of the most fun boards to ride, ever.  The rocker underfoot is less than ideal for touring.  But, if you own this board with a quiver of other boards, then this will be your ideal powder board.  It tours just fine in powder.  It rides even better.  This is the ideal powder negotiating tool that you want on your side.  If it is your only splitboard, then get ready to not be so happy on packed out skin tracks and setting a skin track in the firm snow.

This board can handle all conditions very well.  That said, you will ideally want to save this for powder days.  The days when you need a board built around floating in several feet of powder.  When you do get to use your new Swift in those conditions, all we can say is, enjoy!  This splitboard is built for what we all want to achieve when searching for pow turns.  Check out some of the pics and videos of this board in action.  It truly is something to see and experience.

Sizing – you can size down!

The Swift splitboard tested is the 162.  Although I am 6’1″ 200lb (before backpack and kit) and usually ride a 165-168. the 162 seemed to do me just fine.  Plus the boards are a bit wider than the average board.  This makes it more palatable for a person with a boot bigger than size 10.  Width on the 162 is 26.3 with a surface area of 681cm.

The Never Summer Swift Splitboard is a serious tool for backcountry riders that are serious about having fun in the mountains.  I treated the board with the DPS Phantom kit and equipped it with Karakoram Prime bindings.

Grab the Never Summer Swift Splitboard here for $1039