Review: Never Summer SL-R

I finally put a few days under my belt on the Never Summer SL-R 158 after I sold the TRS BTX 157.  I’m an intermediate rider, and will tackle nearly any level trail.  I’m experimenting a lot more w/ jumps, etc.  I don’t spend much time in the park; when I do, I’m usually just hitting smaller kickers as I work my way to other features ;)  So far, I’ve ridden the SL-R over 3 days (this past Sat-Mon) primarily on a groomed mixture of manmade and natural snow.  On Monday, temps hit upper 40’s (maybe even 50), so the snow was loose and granular… gradually getting a little slushy toward the end of the day.  I ran my Union Forces on the SL-R all 3 days (side note: I’m really loving them).  The SL-R info sheet says it’s slightly set back --- I rode the reference 22” stance --- but when I measured, it appeared to be centered.

Compared to the TRS BTX, the SL-R feels just a smidgeon stiffer torsionally, but IMO, primarily only because it’s beefier.  The board itself feels solid… like it could basically run over anything… and it feels like that as you go over hardpack, chop, etc.  With that said, it also feels noticeably heavier IN HAND than the TRS.  I believe Kimchi weighed a ’08 TRS BTX and ’09 SL-R on a scale and noted they were nearly identical in overall weight.  Under foot, the SL-R feels no heavier or lighter than other boards I’ve ridden.  The TRS did feel lighter than average (the nose and tip are cored out more), but I still found the SL-R easier to spin.  The dampening is truly excellent.  Whereas the TRS would give you a lot of tactile feedback between the bindings, the SL-R kept things fairly muted.  Some people prefer a nicely dampened ride --- I do --- but it does take some of the “liveliness” away that you would get on a TRS.

There wasn’t much ice, so I didn’t get to test out the Vario Powergrip sidecut thoroughly, although I didn’t notice the SL-R to be as grabby as the TRS when riding in the flats.  The SL-R holds a solid edge in hardpack no matter how fast I was running compared to the TRS, which fluttered on me a bit when I tried to make some sharp carves at relatively high speeds.  Similar to Kimchi’s comments, I also felt that the TRS seemed to ride “shorter” than its size would indicate.  In that respect, the SL-R rides much more like a cambered board than the TRS.  The TNT base on the TRS was faster than the base on my SL-R (for anyone that might be concerned with the Lib base).  Some of that might be attributable to the c

^^^That sounds awesome... I'm hoping for some more dumping here, but temps for the last 3 days have been in the 50's.  Powder days on the east coast are so rare... you learn to *really* value them