The Never Summer Benchmark is a playful, forgiving all-mountain board that excels in trees, side hits, powder and cruising, but isn't a charger.
In this review, I will take a look at the Benchmark as a mellow freeride snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Benchmark a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other mellow freeride snowboards.
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- Overall Rating
- Overview of the Benchmark’S Specs
- TEST/REVIEW DetailS FOR THE Benchmark
- Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
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Overall Rating
Board: Never Summer Benchmark 2026
Price: $599
Style: Mellow Freeride
Flex Rating: Medium (6/10)
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (5/10)
Rating Score: 84.4/100
Compared to other Men’s Mellow Freeride Boards
Of the
28
current model mellow freeride snowboards that we tested:
- The average score was 85.7/100
- The highest score was 92.8/100
- The lowest score was 78.3/100
- The average price was $600
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❄️ The Benchmark ranked 21st out of
28
Overview of the Benchmark’S Specs
Check out the tables for the Benchmark’s specs and available sizes.
STYLE:
mellow freeride
PRICE:
$599 -
BUYING OPTIONS
Ability Level:
flex:
feel:
DAMPNESS:
SMOOTH /SNAPPY:
Playful /aggressive:
Edge-hold:
camber profile:
HYBRID ROCKER
Hybrid Rocker
- Never Summer's "Original Rocker Camber"
SHAPE:
TAPERED DIRECTIONAL
setback stance:
Setback 12.5mm (1/2")
BASE:
Sintered
- Bataleon's "Ultra Glide S"
weight:
FELT Normal
Camber Height:
8
mm
Sizing
LENGTH (cm)
Waist Width (mm)
Rec Rider Weight (lb)
Rec Rider Weight (kg)
152
257
tbc
tbc
156
259
tbc
tbc
160
261
tbc
tbc
157X
266
tbc
tbc
161X
268
tbc
tbc
Who is the Benchmark Most Suited To?
The Benchmark is best suited to riders who want an easygoing, playful all-mountain board that’s more about quick turns, side hits, trees, powder, cruising and messing around than bombing at high speeds or laying down aggressive carves.
It could work as a one-board quiver for someone who likes to ride a bit of everything but prefers a looser, more forgiving feel over something stiff, damp and locked-in. It’s particularly well suited to riders who spend significantly of time in tighter terrain , such as making quick adjustments, slashy turns, natural hits and playful powder lines.
It wouldn’t be my first pick for hard chargers, bigger jumps, icy high-speed carving or rough chopped-up snow, but for low intermediate riders and up looking for something fun, maneuverable and confidence-inspiring, it makes significantly of sense.
TEST/REVIEW DetailS FOR THE Benchmark
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Benchmark is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Never Summer Benchmark 2026, 156cm (259mm waist width)
Date: April 4, 2025
TESTING Conditions:
Overhead:
Mix of sun and cloud.
Visibility: 90-100%
°C °C +wind chill °F °F rounded °F +wind chill °F WC rounded °C | °F ° +wind chill Morning Temp: 2 0 35.6 36 32 32 2°C | 36°F 0°C | 32°F Afternoon Temp: 5 4 41 41 39.2 39 5°C | 41°F 4°C | 39°F cm inch in rounded cm inch 24 hr snowfall: 0 0 0 0cm 0” 48 hr snowfall: 0 0 0 0cm 0” 7 day snowfall: 14 5.5118 6 14cm 6” kph mph mph rounded kph mph Morning Wind: 5 3.1075 3 5kph 3mph Afternoon Wind: 5 3.1075 3 5kph 3mph
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On groomer:
Hard with icy patches and some softer areas. It got a little softer as the day went on. but higher up stayed pretty consistent. Near the bottom of the mountain it got slushy. That slush crept up the mountain as the day went on, as it does when the temperatures are what they were.
Off groomer: Icy for the most part. Borderline not doable in trees but taking it slowly it was ok but definitely not great. If I wasn't testing, it's unlikely I would have gone in there today (I was definitely the only one I saw go into the trees that day!)
Set Up
Bindings angles: +18/-9 mm in mm in Stance Width: 535 21.0630 21.06 535mm 21.06” Stance Setback: 7 0.2756 0.3 7mm 0.3” Width at Front Insert: 270.5 10.6496 10.6 270.5mm 10.6” Width at Back Insert: 267 10.5118 10.5 267mm 10.5” feet inches cm cm rounded Rider Height 6 0 183 6`0” 183cm pounds 81.6327 0 Rider Weight 180 0 82 180lbs 82kgs Rider Boot Size: US10 (K2 Overdraft) Bindings Used: Burton Malavita, size M grams pounds ounces lbs rounded oz rounded grams lbs & ozs Board Weight 2960 6.5256 0.5256 6 8 2960g/cm 6lbs 8ozs 8.4092 Weight per CM 18.97 0.0418 0.0418 0 0.67 18.97g/cm 0.67ozs/cm 0.6691 Average Weight per cm 18.58 0.0410 0.0410 0 0.66 18.58g/cm* 0.66ozs/cm 0.6554
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* based on a sample size of 300+ models that I’ve weighed in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 & 2025 models.
Carving
I found the Benchmark to be a board that was way more at home laying down slower to moderate speed carves than it was trying to rail aggressive high-speed carves. At those more relaxed speeds, it actually felt really fun to carve on - more so than I was expecting. It had a nice, fluid feel edge-to-edge and I could really lean into turns without feeling such as I had to fight it.
But once I started pushing the speed up, that’s where I noticed its limitations. It began to feel like it wanted to let go a bit earlier than I’d like, and I couldn’t quite commit as hard into deeper carves. It wasn’t sketchy or anything - just not built for that locked-in, trench-digging style at high speeds. Definitely more of a “fun cruiser” carver than a charger.
Turning
Ease of Turning/Slashing: From the first few turns, I could tell this board nice and easy to initiate turns on. It felt quick to respond and super easy to slash the tail out. There was a looseness to it that made it really fun to throw around without feeling like it was going to punish me.
Maneuverability at slow speeds: This is where it really shined. It felt highly agile edge-to-edge and required highly little effort to maneuver. I found I could make quick adjustments effortlessly, which made it ideal for tighter terrain and just generally playful riding.
Catchiness: Really minimal. I didn’t find it catchy at all unless I was really looking for it. It had that forgiving feel that let me relax a bit and not have to focus too much.
Speed
When it came to speed, I found the Benchmark sat pretty comfortably in that middle ground. It wasn’t unstable to the point of being sketchy, but it definitely wasn’t something I’d want to straight-line all day either.
At moderate speeds, it felt fine - stable enough and predictable. But once I started pushing it, I noticed it lost a bit of composure. It got a little more wobbly and less confidence-inspiring compared to more aggressive boards. Glide was solid though - I didn’t feel like I was getting bogged down or anything.
Uneven Terrain
Crud/Chunder: In messy snow, I found it handled things decently but not exceptionally. It absorbed smaller chatter fine, but in rougher, more chopped-up conditions, I definitely felt it getting knocked around more. It wasn’t super damp, so the terrain feedback came through quite a bit.
That said, it was easy to correct when it did get thrown off line, which helped keep things manageable.
Trees/Bumps: This was a strong point. The quick edge-to-edge feel and easy turn initiation made it really fun in tighter spaces. I felt really comfortable weaving through trees and navigating bumps.
It just responded so quickly and predictably, which made it a great option for technical terrain and more playful lines.
Powder
I got this board in some fresh snow, and it definitely had a nice, surfy feel to it. It floated well enough and felt intuitive to ride in powder.
It’s not anything super directional or specialized, but it handled itself well and gave me that loose, playful powder experience rather than a locked-in, drivey one.
It does have 10mm of taper, a small setback and a nose that’s a little longer than its tail, plus a fairly generous amount of rocker in its profile, so it’s certainly not a big surprise that it felt good in pow.
Jumps
Overall, I found it to be a really fun board for jumps - especially smaller to medium features and side hits.
Pop: The pop was easy to access, which I always appreciate. It didn’t take much effort to load it up and get off the ground. Total pop wasn’t massive, but it was definitely respectable - kind of middle-of-the-road.
Approach: Approaches felt stable enough up to a point. I was comfortable lining things up and making adjustments on the fly, which was a big plus. But for bigger jumps that required higher speeds, it started to feel a bit less stable.
Landing: Landings were forgiving and predictable. It handled slightly off landings well and didn’t feel too punishing. For its flex and overall personality, I thought it struck a nice balance here.
Side Hits: This is where it really came alive. Super easy to pop off natural features and mess around. One of its more enjoyable characteristics.
Switch
I found it pretty decent riding switch overall. It wasn’t perfect, but it didn’t feel overly awkward either.
Transitions were smooth and easy, which made riding switch less intimidating. Once I was riding switch, it felt relatively comfortable - just not completely identical to riding regular. Solid, but not standout.
Spins
One of the more surprising aspects was how easy it felt to spin. It actually felt lighter and more maneuverable in the air than I expected.
Setups felt forgiving, and I didn’t have any fear of catching an edge on takeoff or landing. I did notice a tiny tendency for spin continuation after landing, but it was manageable and didn’t throw me off too much.
Overall, it gave me a lot of confidence for spins.
Jibbing
Not a dedicated jib board by any means, but I felt pretty comfortable taking it into the park.
It had enough forgiveness and playfulness that I didn’t feel out of place on rails and boxes. I wouldn’t choose it specifically for jibbing, but it handled it well enough for casual park laps.
Butters
Butters and presses felt good on this board. The flex made it accessible without feeling overly soft or unstable.
It struck a nice balance where I could hold presses without feeling like I was going to over-flex it. Tip and tail felt fairly consistent too, which helped with overall control.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
FACTOR Rating (/5) weighting total score weighted rounded score
Weighted Powder 4 30 24 24/30 Turns 4.5 15 13.5 13.5/15 Carving 3 10 6 6/10 Trees 4.5 15 13.5 13.5/15 Crud 3 10 6 6/10 Speed 3 10 6 6/10 Jumps 4 5 4 4/5 Switch 3 5 3 3/5 TOTAL (after normalizing): 90 84.4444 84.4 84.4/100
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I found the Never Summer Benchmark to be just a super fun board to ride. It leaned more toward the playful side of the spectrum, but still had enough backbone to handle a bit of aggression when I pushed it.
Its biggest strengths were its maneuverability, ease of turning, and overall forgiving nature. It really excelled in slower to moderate speed riding, trees, side hits, and just cruising around having fun.
The main trade-off was at higher speeds and in rougher conditions, where it lost some stability and that locked-in feel. It wasn’t the board I’d pick for charging hard or carving at full throttle all day.
But for a rider looking for something lively, easygoing, and super fun across a variety of terrain - especially if you like to keep things playful - I found it absolutely delivered.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
To learn more about the Benchmark, or if you're ready to buy, or if you just want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.
Never Summer Benchmark 2026 at evo.com Never Summer Benchmark 2026 at blauerboardshop.com Never Summer Benchmark 2026 at christysports.com Never Summer Benchmark 2026 at backcountry.com
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Never Summer Benchmark 2026 at evo.com Never Summer Benchmark 2026 at blauerboardshop.com Never Summer Benchmark 2026 at christysports.com Never Summer Benchmark 2026 at backcountry.com
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To check out some other mellow freeride snowboard options, or to see how the Benchmark compares to others, check out our top rated mellow freeride snowboards by clicking the button below.
Our Top Rated Men's Mellow Freeride Snowboards
FAQs
Who is this guide for?
This guide is for skiers, snowboarders, and outdoor travellers comparing gear, preparation, or destination choices before their next snow trip.
What should readers do next?
Use the checklist and buying guidance above to compare your current setup, then choose equipment that matches your ability level, terrain, and weather conditions.
Related reading
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Official resources
- SnowSafe alpine safety guidance
- Bureau of Meteorology alpine weather forecasts
- Snow Australia
Related reading
- Union Source Pro Bindings Review
- Bent Metal Lightning Supermatic Bindings Review
- Lib Tech Cortado Snowboard Review
Official resources
Source: Snowboarding Profiles
