Extra-Wide, Stable, Versatile: Never Summer Nokhu DF All-Mountain Snowboard Review

On a cold, sleepy Tuesday morning at Crested Butte Mountain Resort, I heard rumors that The North Face T-Bar might open for the season. I was on the new 2025 Never Summer Nokhu 161 DF all-mountain snowboard. As a rider with big boots — size 11 — I struggle to find a snowboard wide enough to prevent catching my toes or heels in aggressive carves. But I’d finally found the Nokhu Drag-Free, and I was confident it could tackle a rope drop into the steeps.

The North Face terrain is home to the majority of Crested Butte’s double-blacks. As I descended to the T-bar, not only was it open, but there was miraculously no line. Score!

From the top of the T-bar, I traversed to an open gate, where the ski patrol sign read: “Little Hourglass not recommended. If you’re gonna ski it, you better send!”

With the right tool under my boots, I decided to drop.

In short: For riders wearing larger snowboard boots, the Never Summer Nokhu DF ($690) sets the bar as an extra-wide and stable all-mountain snowboard. This board is built for intermediate to advanced riders looking for a directional snowboard as a solid one-board quiver. This board loves carving on-piste, letting you lay down carves on the heelside and toeside without fear of catching your boots, and is very stable off-piste. The Nokhu is extremely versatile and excels across terrain from leaving trenches on fresh groomers to playful side hits, steep mountain lines, and deep powder.

Scope out our other favorite sticks for shredding in The Best All-Mountain Snowboards buyer’s guide.

Never Summer Nokhu 161DF: Stable in Tough Conditions

The bottom of the line has a mandatory cliff drop. The steep gut is loaded with rocks, barely covered in snow at that point in the season. But standing at the top, I could see that the choke had untracked snow.

I swiveled the nose and dropped in. The wide, directional board carried me effortlessly through the steep sections of powder and damped the blow of cross-tracks. It felt incredibly stable for such a fast-moving, nimble design. As the cliff neared, I pointed my board off a diving board, floated through the air, and easily cleared the rocks.

As I stomped the landing and plowed through variable snow in the funnel’s runout, the board remained stable. I sped out below, and looked back at my track that the Nokhu helped me set in Little Hourglass.

Before gnarlier terrain opened at CBMR, I spent the first month of the season riding mostly groomers on the Nokhu 161DF. The board comes in a 152, 155, 158, 161, and 161DF. The DF stands for Drag Free, which is an extra-wide width that’s perfect for me.

I generally prefer riding a wide board in the 158-162 size range. That’s because I wear a size 10.5 or 11 snowboard boot. For snowboard bindings, I typically need a L/XL option.

Many other large-footed guys might find the same problem I have: When my board isn’t wide enough, my boots catch the snow. I’ve taken some rough falls! But not a ton of extra-wide options are out there.

Welcome to a solution: This board has a wide waist and is perfect for laying carves. For riders with large feet, or those who like deep carves, the drag-free boasts a 28cm waist width! The extra-wide drag-free width is only available in one length — the 161. But the entire lineup has the brand’s mid-wide waist width, which is broader than the norm.

For instance, the 152cm length has a 26cm waist width, which is wider than Never Summer’s other standard boards. The 152 Proto Synthesis, for instance, has a 25.2 waist.

This board’s extra width carved well. Even with the extra width, the taper made the board feel fast edge-to-edge, which was perfect for tight trees or moguls.

Edge Technology

The board’s edge-hold inspired my confidence in icy conditions. The brand’s R.I.P. Edge-Hold Technology really bites firm snow. During early-season conditions, I found that this design provided unmatched grip and stability on the heel edge.

Editor’s Note: This edge-hold technology differs from other iterations in the space, like Magne-Traction. Instead, Never Summer adds contact points between the bindings along the plane of the base versus along the edges and sidecut. The idea is that when those pressurized points are arched mid-carve, the edge hold is strengthened, while increasing glide and reducing drag.

Profile & Shape

With a directional shape, the Nokhu has a large, squared-off nose and tail. The stance setback on this board is 1.58 inches, which helps to pop the nose for enhanced float in powder and to carve deep trenches on hardpack. Though, I found that this board also rides switch almost as well as a true twin.

The design has Never Summer’s Triple Camber Hybrid profile: camber at the tip and tail, and a pocket of camber inside the center rocker that’s between the bindings. Then there’s a transition to a rise at each end: Think of the profile as a double-W shape.

Actually, the Triple Camber Hybrid profile is what effectively leads to the pressure points of the R.I.P. Edge-Hold Technology. That’s because the pocket of camber in the center separates the rocker into two smaller troughs.

So, how does this all translate to how it rides? The rise in the tip and tail helps to lift the nose, providing effortless float in powder. The pockets of camber store potential energy that release explosively when utilized, like popping big ollies, landing big hits, and sinking into and out of carves.

Stability and energy emits from the center of the board in a predictable way. This single snowboard carves as effortlessly down a groomed run as it does floating in deep powder, a combination that most boards lack.

Core Construction & Base

Inside the Nokhu is Never Summer’s Powsurf Wood Core: a lightweight paulownia combined with poplar stringer in the middle and along the edge. There are birch inserts underfoot.

Carbon stringers on top form an X through the waist of the board and outside each binding instep. More carbon stringers in the base form a V at the nose and tail, which start at the inserts. The carbon adds pop.

The design has a moderate level of damping, called the RDS 2 Damping System, to provide stability at higher speeds, but a bit less damping than other freeride boards. A sintered UHMW polyethylene sidewall and Durasurf XT sintered 5501 base round out the board.

All this technology comes together to produce a piece with energy that drives from the waist. This design provides a stable platform with damping that performs through chunder with ease.

Topsheet Art

One of my favorite parts of the board is the incredible topsheet art from wildlife artist Stefan Bauman. This snowboard has a large white mountain goat perched atop a steep cliff. These animals carefully navigate steep and dangerous drops with ease and flexibility, much like the Nokhu. The artwork garnered a lot of compliments on the lift.

On top of all those comments, having artwork prominently displayed on the nose of the board means I get to enjoy the art, too. Whenever I find myself on top of rocks and cliffs, the mountain goat inspires confidence within myself.

Durability & Long-Term Use

Crested Butte has been my home mountain for nearly a decade. I’ve learned that you will hit rocks, and the difference between soft rocks and hard rocks. Despite my best judgment, I am frequently lured to find fresh tracks — only to discover it’s mostly rocks with a light cover.

On the opening day of The North Face, and after surviving Little Hourglass, I discovered my first hard rock with the Nokhu.

I caught air off a high point, stomped my landing, rode out, and then laid hard into a powerful heelside turn. Energy loaded into the pockets of camber underfoot. That’s when my front heel connected with the top of a large rock sitting under the snow.

The impact put a roughly 3-inch core shot under my front heel. But, the reinforced edge, sidewall, and poplar core stayed completely intact. The durability made this a quick and relatively cheap fix at the tune shop. A hard rock strike to the edge like this has totaled many of my previous snowboards.

The topsheet has held up very well, suffering only a few minor cosmetic blemishes that easily come out with a base grind. Those nicks mostly appeared along the edges after trimming trees and branches, as well as bouncing around the bed of my truck. I can confidently say this board is durable and well-constructed, and should last many seasons.

Critiques

After spending a few months with the Nokhu, it’s challenging to find a critique, but I have noticed a few minor things. The extra width of the DF can feel heavy at times. Though, the heaviness does help with stability through the rough stuff.

On occasion, while making hard turns in variable powder, the large nose would catch under the snow. The nose would drive down, causing me to flip.

Similarly, on groomed terrain when initiating a turn, I found that the triple camber profile could hook the snow weirdly, pulling the board into a slightly different direction than expected, throwing off my balance. Both of these issues have only happened a few times, but it was noticeable.

That said, the majority of the time and across most snow conditions and terrain, I really enjoyed riding this board and found it stable.

Never Summer Nokhu Snowboard: Conclusion

This snowboard excels at riding steep slopes and deep powder. It’s equally fun on groomers as it is off-piste. As a hard charger, the board delivers fast turn initiation. It serves powerful, elongated carves for riders who like getting close to the snow mid-turn and accelerating out into the next turn.

While it’s not a park board, it doesn’t mind the occasional park laps and log jams. With a mid-level flex, I found that this design can be ridden across most applications and styles.

Ultimately, the new 2025 Never Summer Nokhu DF is an impressive wide — and extra-wide — snowboard that’s great for aggressive riders and guys with bigger boots. While the price point is on the higher end, I think the design’s durability and functionality justify the cost.

This board thrives across various snow conditions while remaining fun, playful, and stable. The artisan mountain goat graphic on the topsheet inspires one to get steep, while the board is the tool to lay trenches, huck cliffs, and hold an edge on ice.