The By no means Summer time Valhalla presents itself as a destroyer of mountains, take no prisoners, beast of a snowboard.
And it’s that.
However what it does not reveal on the face of it, is it is extra delicate facet….
The Valhalla manages to offer sudden versatility in the way in which it handles itself when not being ridden hell-for-leather.
On this overview, I’ll check out the Valhalla as a freeride snowboard.
As per custom right here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I’ll give the Valhalla a rating out of 100 (based mostly on a number of elements) and see the way it compares with different freeride snowboards.
General Ranking
Board: By no means Summer time Valhalla 2025
Value: $699
Fashion: Freeride/Aggressive All-Mountain
Flex Ranking: Stiff (8.5/10)
Flex Really feel on Snow: Mid-Stiff (7/10)
Ranking Rating: 90.8/100
In comparison with different Males’s Freeride Boards
Of the 35 present mannequin freeride snowboards that we examined:
❄️ The Valhalla ranked 2ndout of 35
Overview of the Valhalla’ Specs
Take a look at the tables for the Valhalla’s specs and accessible sizes.
* however arduous to get an excellent learn on it with all of the rocker and camber sections happening
Sizing
Who's the Valhalla Most Suited To?
The Valhalla is greatest suited to those that wish to primarily optimize velocity, carving and powder efficiency however nonetheless need the bonus of one thing that may deal with straight air side-hits, jumps and cliff hucks and does not really feel like a tank at slower speeds.
It is a stiffer, extra technical board with a semi-locked in really feel, so that is greatest for superior to professional riders and also you wish to be comparatively bodily sturdy/effectively conditioned for snowboarding as effectively.
Valhalla DetailS
O.okay. let’s take a extra detailed take a look at what the Valhalla is able to.
Demo Information
Board: By no means Summer time Valhalla 2025, 156cm (259mm waist width)
Date: February 26, 2024
Powder
Solely had shallow powder to check in on the day, nevertheless it felt good in there. And based mostly on specs and shallow powder really feel, it ought to do very well in deeper powder.
In it is favor for powder, it has a reference setback of 25mm (1") and with the nostril being longer than the tail, the full setback over the size of the board is 65mm (2.6"), 7mm of taper and rocker within the profile.
Carving
This board was sick to carve on! Locked in effectively, even in arduous/icy situations and will adapt effectively to carving at increased speeds, average speeds and low speeds. I'd say it has it is restrict as to the best velocity carves,however you'll be able to nonetheless lay a pleasant deep carve at excessive speeds and it holds on and rips round like a dream.
Turning
Ease of Turning/Slashing: With how good this board is at velocity and for carving, you would be forgiven to imagine it might be arduous to provoke activates or to slash out, nevertheless it's really not unhealthy in any respect. A bit extra effort than the simplest turning boards,however actually nothing that requires an excessive amount of effort.
Maneuverability at gradual speeds:Like how simple it was to provoke turns,it was surprisingly fast edge-to-edge at slower speeds. Not high tier,however nonetheless actually good and given the way it rides at velocity,this makes it a really versatile turner.
Catchiness:There was a touch of catch within the tail when performing fast tight turns at gradual speeds. However nothing main and nothing that I seen when driving with at the very least average speeds below it.
Pace
This board felt quick and,extra importantly,steady at velocity. Felt assured opening this factor out,even within the more durable situations.
Uneven Terrain
Crud/Chunder:The Valhalla felt actually good in messy snow. Despite the fact that I discovered this board had good snap in it,it was additionally decently damp and gave little or no chatter and was not simple to get bucked round. Stayed good and steady.
Timber/Bumps: Because it's fairly agile and first rate at tight turns, it felt good within the bushes each within the more durable sections and the shallow powder we had that day. I think it might really feel even higher in bushes in deeper powder.
Jumps
Whereas jumps might not be this board's forte,it was nonetheless enjoyable to carry out jumps on. Not primarily why you'd get this board, however for those who're all about velocity,carving and pow however wish to throw within the odd cliff huck,side-hit or bounce within the park,it could actually undoubtedly accommodate it.
Pop:Was pretty simple to entry the pop on this board. Some effort required however nothing too tough extract. And the full pop,whenever you actually wind it up,was fairly good too. Not epic,however actually first rate.
Method:It felt actually good on the strategy. Good and steady,even for bigger jumps,however on the identical time fairly simple to regulate/velocity verify when wanted.
Touchdown:It felt good whenever you bought it proper and did not land too tail heavy. However tail heavy landings weren't preferrred.
Facet-hits: For a stiffer freeride board, I actually loved this for side-hits. It isn't preferrred,however for those who actually wish to optimize that pow/velocity/carving trio however nonetheless need first rate side-hit efficiency,that is proper up there.
Small jumps/Massive jumps:It has the soundness to deal with huge jumps-it is simply with tail heavy landings being not-so-great,I felt it was greatest for medium jumps,the place the implications of a tail heavy touchdown gone flawed had been on the extra minor facet. The tail has sufficient stiffness to assist stabilize you however there's simply not sufficient of it for me to really feel totally snug on bigger jumps.
Swap
Doable, like just about any board is however nonetheless did not really feel nice driving swap. Tail felt a bit of sketchy when main. Transitions had been okay when it comes to not feeling overly catchy or something, however transitioning from nostril first to tail first wasn't nice. Transitioning from tail to nostril felt good.
Spins
Touchdown swap was a bit of sketchy on that tail. Nevertheless it did rotate effectively and had first rate pop that wasn't too arduous to entry. Does not overspin after touchdown and was comparatively simple to complete an under-rotation on the bottom when wanted. Undoubtedly extra of a straight air sort of board for me, however spins doable. I'd simply want to maintain them to rotations in multiples of 360 to keep away from having to land (or take off) on that tail.
Butters
It wasn't really overly demanding to press the tip/tail. It wasn't tremendous flexy or something,do not get me flawed,however did not take a heap of weight over them to get them to bend. I might say 3.5/5 for ease of urgent. However the tail felt too brief to lock in correctly and the nostril too lengthy. So it was a bit of awkward for butters/presses and the nostril and tail felt considerably completely different to one another.
Rating Breakdown and Last Verdict
Take a look at the breakdown of the rating within the desk beneath.
| Issue | Ranking (/5) | Weighted |
|---|---|---|
| Powder | 4.5 | 22.5/25 |
| Pace | 4.5 | 18/20 |
| Carving | 4.5 | 13.5/15 |
| Turns | 4 | 8/10 |
| Crud | 4 | 8/10 |
| Timber | 4 | 8/10 |
| Jumps | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
| Swap | 2 | 2/5 |
| TOTAL (after normalizing): | 90.8/100 |
The Valhalla is at the start a board for superior to professional freeriders who wish to optimize for powder,velocity and carving-nevertheless it has a hidden versatility which will go well with some riders who do not wish to must journey all-out,on a regular basis.
Whereas it is sudden slower velocity efficiency could take away a bit of bit from it is highest velocity capabilities,it does so in such a minor method that solely those that like to essentially level and shoot down the steepest terrain ought to be affected by it.
For me it had all the soundness at velocity that I am ever prone to want,so I appreciated the way in which it balanced excessive/gradual velocity efficiency and ease of turns/aggressiveness of carves,whereas actually being extra optimized in direction of quick/aggressive.
Extra Information,Present Costs and The place to Purchase On-line
To study extra in regards to the Valhalla,or for those who're prepared to purchase, or for those who simply wish to analysis costs and availability, try the hyperlinks beneath
To take a look at another freeride snowboard choices,or to see how the Valhalla compares to others,try our high rated freeride snowboards by clicking the button beneath.
