It offered the perfect balance of freeride stability, flex, and fluidity. I went with the Harpoon because I thought it offered the most versatility, and I knew it would be fun in just about every condition, especially groomer side hit days and slow days with my kids around the resort.
I was looking at other comparable high-performance boards-Ride Warpig, Lib Tech Orca, and the Bataleon Party Wave-as comparable volume boards (all offer their own unique pros and cons). The graphics also appealed to me, so the stars aligned for me to pull the trigger. Carbon max laminate technology gives the mounting area around the bindings extra grip, similar to a stomp pad that is built into the topsheet materials. The advanced top sheet materials also made me interested in checking this board out. I was also really stoked about the tail shape, and flex for long floaty butters in the pow. The shape was really appealing to me, with a wide, rounded, and slightly uplifted nose. I also love the NS Shaper Series, which includes the Swift, and Shaper Twin. The Harpoon has all the key features and checked all the boxes for what I was looking for, with its freestyle-inspired freeride shape and flex patterns and its overall 5/10 flex rating. (Side Note: two very different boards in my opinion and one is not better than the other). It was being called the “Orca killer,” in reference to the Lib Tech Orca. The Harpoon had a lot of hype as a new board in the Never Summer lineup. I also love Never Summer’s Fusion Rocker Camber profile and anything in the Shaper Series, so I had my eye on the Harpoon as it was getting released.
Many directional volume shifted freeride boards are pretty stiff and not playful enough for my liking. I wanted a board that could hit untracked morning pow conditions and has fun all over the resort once everything is tracked out, finding side hits and buttering around. I tend to favor twin-shaped boards as my daily driver, but love a directional board for pow of course. I wanted this board to be versatile enough to be a daily driver. I was in the market for a higher-end directional volume-shifted board (wider than a regular width board, the surface area is shifted into the width, and the board can be ridden 3-6 cm shorter) and wanted a board with a surfy feel, quick turn initiation, medium flexing, maximum power transfer and ideal for tree/glade riding….my favorite! I also wanted something with a setback stance, but not too stiff and playful enough to compliment my love for freestyle, without jeopardizing freeride performance.
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