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Review: Proto CT + 09 Forces Set up. Rated: NC-17

6K views 30 replies 8 participants last post by  Beschatten 
#1 ·
Stats:

200 lbs
6'3
Age 22


Setup:
Ride Hi-phy boots 11
2009 Union Forces
157 Proto CT

A little history:
When I heard all the hype about this board, I wanted to throw my face into a wall. Last time I bought into the hype was a Skate banana and that thing is a piece of shit. 480 bucks for a board that can't even carve properly? When I did a little digging I said sure, it has some camber, lets blow half a paycheck on this thing just so I can prove the kiddies wrong. P.S. College sucks, I know I'm poor.

Pop: Thing had nice pop. Only board that probably outpopped this that I've tried was the Ride DH2.5. Granted, it may be that I am on a 157. But seriously, shit can pop. Ollies were pretty decent too. But I attribute any lack of's in this department to the piece of shit Unions I was one. More hype. I'm sure the bindings got lighter/better over time since they were 09's, but seriously, the thing weighs like 7 pounds for both. When you put that in terms of ollies with a snowboard, it's like wearing sandbags on your ankles. So yes people, how light a binder is, kind of actually does matter. I'm getting Cartels Restricted. I'll use my Unions as a dog toy after I get a puppy.


Carving: Handled groomers just fine. It felt a little catch-free, but it did have that bite as well. Loose feeling, but not too loose. Like a broken in vagina. Yum. I definitely got the 157 for the deeper side cut, and it handled small radius turns perfectly. Big ones felt a little washy. Let me just refer you back to the broken in vagina metaphor.


Butters: I'm not the best at butters, but it made it a hell of a lot easier than some other boards I've tried. Hell, maybe I'll even start buttering because of this board.


Turning/Control: No issues here. If you want to pretend the board is a imported Russian wife, you'd be wearing the wife beater for sure. The wife bends how you want it to bend, to do what you want it to do. I mean't board. Whoops.


Flex: It rides like a 5/10, but it can bend like a 4/10. It's weird. It may be because I'm a bigger guy on a smaller board, but shit, I plan on losing weight anyways. Plus a 157 is easier to resell than a 160. Actually no, it's not because I'm bigger. It's because the board is a freestyle deck and that's what it's suppose to do. I would be careful with what bindings to match up with this board. Find a binding that suites the needs of Ms. Proto CT. Otherwise she'll cheat on you.


POW: Nothing to say here yet. Groomers just opened up here so yeah, this is a 'groomed' review. Har har.

Weight of Board: Light. Not a feather, but light. Forces made this thing feel like a damn brick, which is why I'm getting off of them.

Kickers/Jumps: This incorps alot of the features mentioned above. This board is electric for jumps. Not T.Rice jumps and shit, but in terms of landing, swing weight, and pop, this board will have the 12 year olds on the sidelines at the park go "WOAHHHHH DUDE" because this board definitely made this area hell of a lot easier to do things.

Speed: Its decent. It's got a fast base, but it does get washy when you pick up speed. Not super washy, but you can definitely feel what's under your feet. At least on groomers. It's like having sex without a condom, you can feel it, but sometimes, as a result of that, you can cum way too quickly.

Who knows how it handles on POW, POW is what I cream my panties over at night. God bless snow porn and the east coast.

Jibs: Fuck that shit. I want to keep my teeth.

Overall Impressions: Hypes there for a reason this time. I wouldn't say it's the best thing ever, but it's a good board. Solid USA made, and actually does what it's suppose to. It's good at everything, but not ZE BEST. It's definitely a trick stick, and if you want it to be used all over the mountain, size up. If you want it to be park oriented (including jibs, honestly I'm too pussy to jib little thin rails) size down.

But if you want to rail around, get an Evo. These boards are hard enough to find as is since there sold out almost everywhere (at least in 157). I mean I actually had to drive around to like 6 different shops to find this thing.
 
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#5 ·
I haven't ridden the evo. But I thought the Proto was pretty flexy, it had great torsional flex and I feel like it's a great board for beginners all the way up to advanced riders. I'm guessing the evo is even softer. I thought the proto was noodley, so my guess is the evo is a total noodle.
 
#6 ·
Where were you riding at Beschatten? I just took my 154 Proto to an ice skating rink. (i mean big boulder). I thought it handled well in the horrid conditions. Once i had confidence in the ride it actually held a very strong edge. (unlike my friend who washed out on his toe edge, smacked his face and slid halfway down the hill, err mountain.)

Only thing i had to get used to was the dampening. Im coming from riding a Rossi Retox where you feel everything. The proto felt a little numb to me.
 
#8 ·
My friend is ok. Just a bruised ego. A lot of accidents up at boulder that night. Safety patrol was kept busy. He was riding a Rossi Premier 159.

Back to the board. Im 5'7 and i dont look like it but I actually weigh 190. The dampening is something i just need to get used to i guess. I also felt like it was a tad catchy. Not a very quick edge to edge. This could be because of the conditions tho. Im using 2010/11 Union Forces by the way.
 
#9 ·
My friend is ok. Just a bruised ego. A lot of accidents up at boulder that night. Safety patrol was kept busy. He was riding a Rossi Premier 159.

Back to the board. Im 5'7 and i dont look like it but I actually weigh 190. The dampening is something i just need to get used to i guess. I also felt like it was a tad catchy. Not a very quick edge to edge. This could be because of the conditions tho. Im using 2010/11 Union Forces by the way.
Wow really? edge-to-edge was okay for me. that's strange tho, you're 190 on a 154, which has deep sidecuts. should've been more responsive. might be that you're too heavy for the board?
 
#11 ·
Of course its soft, noodly, and washes out on big carves. 200lb on a 157 is going to feel like that, NS or otherwise. Entertaining review though, I don't mean to sound like I have sand in my big and smashed out vagina.

Not to hijack but what's the coverage at Snowshoe like?
 
#12 ·
60 bucks a ticket. it sucks balls but it was the only mountain open at the time.

i wouldnt say washy on big carves, but you can feel it. i kinda knew i was getting myself into it though. i plan on losing some weight, dropping to 185 so it was more planning for the future haha.
 
#13 ·
Rode the CT again today. A few minor things I want to add. Ollies are a little gimp for me because there isn't enough tail to load. Board is poppy though when taking off with two feet.

Long radius carves are probably the easiest on this board as well as small radius turns (kinda carvey but sometimes skiddy).

Damp as fuck. It was slushy shit snow and it charged right through it. Hardly rattled me while going fast.

It can also be a bit grabby, I should detune my edges for this. I fell once today because of this. I was breaking heelside, and the board just grabbed the snow out of nowhere...Well, stopping instantly while breaking down from 30mph can only result in one thing. FACEPLANT. Hahaha. I think I flew forwards maybe 15 feet. Fuck that shit hurt when my adams apple landed on my fist.

Not as noodley as I first rode it. I widended out my stance to the max and this helped out a lot. Fucked with my ollies but helped with landings and coastin down mountains.
 
#15 ·
I felt the same with my Evo but not catchy. Whenever I flat based I would whip side to side erratically. I think this is due to the razor sharp edges I don't know. I'll have to detune the tip, tail and slightly the contact point (not majorly, just slightly). I hear this allows for edge hold still but smoother transitions.
 
#16 ·
Catchy might be the wrong word. I did notice the edges are ridiculously sharp. The board actually cut my hand when carrying it. My gloves didnt fair to much better. Never had a board with edges this sharp before.
 
#17 ·
I didnt cut my hand on the board, but it is pretty sharp.

The first run of the day, I did notice that the board would sporadically shift around, but once I got used to it (4-5 runs later) I had to really muscle it with my legs. Then I got fed up with my little baby being a selfish little bitch and changed up some settings.

Settings before were: 18 front/-6 back, not rotated highbacks, about 23 inches wide.

Settings after: 18front, -9 back, rotated my highbacks, and maxed out the stance. After doing this, it was a breeze getting her down. She did still act grabby, but I just muscled through it.

I will be detuning the tip/nose and maybe half of the cambered zones. Not having a fucking fall like that again. I couldn't breathe for like 2 straight minutes.
 
#22 ·
All their boards are like that. If they pre-bevel it to a higher degree than you like, it is quite hard to change. This way anyone that buys one of these sick boards, should have the knowledge of how to do basic maintenance, and therefor can create whatever bevel they want on their board
 
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