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Review: 2012 Never Summer Proto CT

272K views 919 replies 187 participants last post by  dreampow 
#1 · (Edited)
Review part 2 here with David's take on the board as well:

aGNARchy Proto CT Review

Introduction

For the past two years, I've slowly been getting sucked into the Never Summer hype around these forums. I wondered, "Can a line of boards really be that good?". Well, earlier last month, I was presented an opportunity of a snowboarding lifetime. Vince and Tracey from Never Summer contacted me and offered me a position in their online design team. What does that entail exactly? Well, they wanted my input on their products present and future. If I have any ideas/input regarding all aspects of their boards, then I am more than welcome to provide them. What's the catch? I have to ride and review a board of my choice. I chose the Proto CT because the tech specs sounded to be a perfect compliment to my riding style.

So you might be wondering what I thought about the board now. Well, I am a little angry at snowboardingforum to be honest. All that hype... all that talk... for what? A board that did not meet my expectations... THE NEVER SUMMER PROTO CT EXCEEDED MY EXPECTATIONS. So why the anger? Because now I have to add another brand of boards to my want list. Now I want to ride them all! Thanks guys. This is not a good thing for a gear whore like me.

So here it is, my initial review of the excellent 2012 Never Summer Proto CT 157:

Setup
Board: 2012 Never Summer Proto CT 157
Bindings: 2011 Rome 390 Boss L/XL
Boots: 2011 Burton Restricted Hail 9.5 US
Stance: +18/-12 Regular @ 23.5"

I am 5'9, 180lbs.

Handling
The Proto CT really shines in this department. The snow conditions was as good as it gets for Michigan at a generous 10-12". The Proto absolutely loves the snow. It held a solid edge when initiating carves and was more than easy to engage the sidecut. I did a series of short to medium to long carves and it was superbly stable and smooth. The Proto rode like a 160ish board, but handled like a 155ish. I attribute these characteristics to the longer effective edge and light weight (the blunted tips reduce the swing weight as well).

As the day progressed, the good snow had been pushed off to the side leaving the hardpack exposed. The Proto didn't have a single problem eating through it all. In fact, I felt so confident on this board, that I still rode aggressively even though there was crazy wind gusts with snow that made it hard to see. Of course, I didn't mach down the run in fear of hitting another rider, but I sure was carving it up on terrain I could barely see.

I didn't take the Proto into park jumps yet, but I definitely will soon. I was hitting some pow build ups though and it was super stable on those little jumps. On one occasion, I leaned forward too much and was sure I was going to eat snow. Much to my joy, I was able to ride it out. Come on, I got away with landing on my nose. That's pretty good. Not sure if this will be the case on an actual kicker, but I'll take it.

The only cons I could find about the handling is the edge to edge quickness and speed. It wasn't quite as fast as other boards I ride. This is because the board's width is a little wider than what I normally ride. The Proto CT 157 has a waist width of 25.3". My other boards are under 25". But to be honest, that is nitpicking and someone with even a size 10 boot won't likely have this problem. As for the speed, I found it to be a bit slower than my other rides. However, this is on factory wax and I will surely have to see how it rides after I personally wax it.

Pop
Very satisfying. One of the more poppy boards out there. Load up on either the nose or tail and off you go. I was having a ton of fun just ollieing over branches and clumps of snow.

Flex/Camber Profile
I'd give this board a 6 rating flex-wise. Just over middle-of-the-road. Perfect for all-mountain freestyle in my opinion. Torsionally, it is a bit stiffer which is one of the reasons why this board carves so well for a mid-flex.

I was very curious about Never Summer's now famous Rocker Camber profile. Love it. I'm going to say it... I like it more than my previous favorite, C2 BTX. While the C2 is in fact more playful, it doesn't lend to carving and stability (stable C2 boards are good deal stiff like the T.Rice). Never Summer got things right with their hybrid camber and this is probably another reason why a board of this flex can handle like a bigger, stiffer board. I like that their camber section feels like it has more bite. I haven't compared it next to a C2 yet, but I'd hazard a guess that NS's camber zone is a little more pronounced. Although there wasn't a ton of pow, I did take the Proto on the sides of the runs where everyone was neglecting the untouched snow build-up. The NS held up really well and gave me a glimpse of what riding actual pow would be like. Obviously, there are better pow boards out there, but the Proto CT does well enough.

Other Thoughts
I have to mention that I had a crash on the Proto. I was riding behind a skier and wanted take a path to the right. I did not realize that he had the same path in mind and he made an abrupt right turn. We ended up colliding causing him to lose his skies and me to go into a tuck and roll. Don't worry, I admitted fault and apologized and we both had a good laugh about it. Anyway, back to the point. I was sure I was going to find some damage on my board. Absolutely sure of it. Needless to say, I still can't find it and I want to give it another look over next time I ride. I guess Never Summer isn't kidding about the Carbonium topsheet being durable.

That brings me to my other point. The Carbonium topsheet not only looks good, but makes for a damn handy stomp pad. As in, you don't need one with this board. The whole topsheet acts as a stomp pad thanks to that cool looking texture.

Conclusions
Boy oh boy did Never Summer deliver. Trust me, I wanted every bone in my body not to like this board as much as I did just so I can have a different opinion than the rest of the crowd. But now, I realize that this Never Summer hype has a solid foundation. Is it the perfect board? Well, no. No board truly will be perfect. But for an all-mountain freestyle shredder, it comes pretty darn close.

Who do I recommend the Proto CT for? The intermediate-advanced rider that is looking for a do everything ride.

Big thanks to Vince and Tracey for giving me this opportunity. The Proto CT is definitely an excellent board that exceeded all my expectations.
 
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#257 ·
You're lighter than me by a good 10lbs. But... I used to weigh 175 and rode 158's lol.

At any rate, the Proto rides longer than the given length. So the 154 will ride more like a 155/156. So you've been renting boards? Is it safe to assume that you haven't really found your niche riding style wise?

The 154 is honestly the size I would get at your weight.
 
#258 · (Edited)
Well this is my first season so I just rented a board for the season and have played around on a couple friends' boards. I've been out quite a bit now though, enough to know that I'll be riding about 60% groomers, 30% park and 10% powder (although I may go more park once I return to Minnapolis next winter). I was also leaning a bit towards 154 and possibly picking up a cheaper, longer board later in the 2012 season.
 
#261 ·
Hello :)

Am thinking of pre-ordering a proto in the UK. It seems it may be difficult to demo one here so just wanted opinions on what size to go for?

height 5'9'' (short, v stocky build)
weight 220-230lbs (210 on a very good month :D )
feet size 11 us (UK 10)
intermediate skill
all mountain and a bit of park
duck stance 15/15 wide

I currently ride a 156 Imperivm Snowboards - DJ VI Series which is great apart from my boots overhang a full inch on both the toe and heel. I have started to get some toe drag on very steep runs with this but never enough to make me face plant.

The Proto CT 157 specs are pretty much the same as the DJVI, wider by a couple of mm so I am looking at that, although the the wide version 158 CTX has also got my attention because of my boot overhang.

Any opinions / help welcome.

ten
 
#265 ·
#286 ·
great read guys! Awesome input from everyone (except for that small 'flight' lol). I thought i'd take a shot at a question for the guru's. I currently ride a 2010 Legacy 159 and i think and feel the board is way to stiff for my liking. I currently weigh 210 lbs (weight lifting) but i'll prob be around 195 ish come next season. Us so-cal people ride a lot of park (but still love bombing down blacks) so i would like something with alil more flex. i was pretty set on picking up an EVO until i found out about the CT. I now rock a size 11 - 11.5 2011 F20 which is way smaller boot than it seems so i think ill be fine on a reg size stick. This past season i stuck to jumps and boxes because jibing on that Legacy was hard for me as i'm still learning 'park'. Also, butters and what not were so hard and made it seemed like a workout. I want board a can venture out and be able to try/learn everything. SO the big question is whats the flex difference between them since everybody talks about the SL which i know has better flex than the Lagacy and of course which board would be better for me?

Sorry for the essay :)
 
#287 ·
From all accounts I've heard, the Proto feels slightly softer than the SL. Compared to the Evo, it is definitely stiffer, torsionally as well.

The Proto also has less dampening than the SL so it should feel more lively. SL riders should chime in here.

Based on your intended use, the Proto sounds like a great choice for you. It's a really good, well-rounded board.
 
#288 ·
I've reviewed the Proto CT from my 1 day demo in VT from Feb. already, but I got my hands on my very own Proto and rode it in Utah 2 weeks ago for 5 days!

I'm riding the 157 Proto CT with 2011 Auto Evers. I'm 6'1" 200 lbs.

Rode the first 2 days at Solitude. These were the closing days at the mountain. They had gotten 40 inches of snow the week before I got there. Warm slushy conditions. Deep heavy unridden pow/slush in the woods. The board did great, floated well in the quick cement like powder and did fine on the slushy groomers. The snow was very sticky, the Proto did a good job and retained it's wax quite well. The groomer I could find that were shaded were super fun, and the Proto ripped trenches in the snow.

Days 3 and 4 were at Snowbird. Day 1 at Snowbird was rain at the base and snowing balls at the peak. Needless to stay I stayed up high. Very wet heavy snow. The board rode well in the powder. It does get tossed around a bit in the chopped up heavy snow, if I lived in UT with all my gear I would not have ridden the Proto that day because I'd have ridden a longer damper board, but it still did fine. Great in the trees that were untracked. I can't say how well this board turns in tight spaces. Tho tight trees out west don't really exist compared to what I'm used to riding on the East Coast. Day 2 at Snowbird was killer. We got 10 inches of heavy wet snow on day 1, and another 10 of fluff that night. It got colder and sucked some of the moisture out and made for a blower day. Face shots all day long, the Proto was super fun. Floated super in the deep steeps, deep flats, deep trees. This is the kind of day we all live for and the Proto performed flawlessly.

Day 5 was at Brighton and was another great pow day. The Proto did great and I found a nice cliff with a great landing and sessioned that for quite some time. The board pops well and provided a nice landing in the pow.

Hope this helps anyone who reads it.

MDC
 
#291 ·
After reading your review, I'm still not sure what size Proto CT to get for next winter. I'm only 5'9 165 but it seems like people much heavier than me are riding the 157 and enjoying it. 154 just seems a bit too short. I guess in the end 3cm isn't going to make or break the board for me.
 
#293 ·
Metric, I think it really depends on your riding style. If you like to ride a healthy amount of park/freestyle etc, I'd go 154. If you like bigger mountain, faster, off piste, I'd go 157. To give you an idea...I'm 5'10 155 and going to get the 152. I have a good friend (another instructor) who is 200 lbs and loves the 157 cm.
For me, when I rode the 157 I loved it for fast carving, steeps, and jumps...but i couldn't press or butter it well at all. I think at your size either the 154 or 157 will work out great...you just have to be honest with yourself about what kind of riding you enjoy the most, and that will make your decision for you. hope it helps!
 
#294 ·
Well I'm basing my recommendation off the assumption that he will be doing some sort of freestyle. The Proto CT is a true twin after all.

If you're looking for big mountain carving goodness, there are better options for you in the NS line.

If you are heavily park focused, there is the Evo.

The Proto is going to be a great choice for all-mountain freestyle. The true twin shape gives it more bias towards the freestye aspect than the setback SL. But the flex of the Proto lends more to the all-mountain side than the Evo.

I haven't been on the SL, but all the specs point to that being the better all-mountain board.
 
#295 ·
Leo I know you were basing it off some type of freestyle riding, perhaps I worded my response wrong. What I was getting at is that size wise if he's more interested in riding a lot of park..especially with a lot of presses, jibbing, butters he might enjoy the flex of the 154 more, its certainly still going to be plenty stable for him. If he is more interested in bigger jumps and charging harder, the 157 might be the call. I wasn't suggesting the Proto as a big mountain ride like a premier would be.
Size wise I'm pretty close to his weight, I'm 155lbs, and the 157cm was challenging to press and butter well. I enjoyed charging on it though. My everyday ride a 155 cm. evo but I will be downsizing to the 152cm proto for next season...just my $.02.
If you get a chance to ride an SL I think you'd be into it. Its a SUPER fun board. I would be all over it but I prefer riding twins.
 
#296 ·
Me too bro. I prefer true twins now. Mainly because I don't ride big mountains often. Even then, if there isn't powder, I want a true twin :)

I actually like the Evo more for jibs and butters. Also prefer it for the tight tree runs here.

Still, the quiver of one choice for me is hands down the proto.
 
#298 · (Edited)
Thanks for all the good advice. I think if I were sticking around Switzerland, I would go with the 157 for the stability at high speeds. But since I will be headed back to Minneapolis this fall, it's going to be more all mountain freestyle with some park as well. That's why I'm leaning towards the 154. I'll likely get pretty bored of the pathetic vertical places we have around there so I'm looking to improve my (beginner) park skills on kind of a one size fits all board.

Really the only big mountain I'll be riding is one week a year at my uncle's place in Mammoth and probably another week in CO or UT.
 
#299 ·
I have kind of a strange question. I was just hired at REI which has opened the door to some amazing discounts from a few board brands. I was convinced that the Proto 155 CTX would be my next board but now it seems like I should at least investigate other choices and save some money.

I understand there are obvious features that NS boards (especially 20th anniversary) hold over other brands but I was wondering if anyone could pick an equivalent board to the Proto from any of the following brands: GNU, K2, Burton, Arbor, Ride, Salomon and Rossignol.

Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
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