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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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#735 ·
So, I have a 157 T Rice but after reading all these posts about the Proto makes me want to get one. What does everyone think, get one now, if I can find one, or wait until next year's model?

If I do buy a Proto, I'll be sending in my T Rice in for a warranty replacement and will probably have a 2013 T Rice for sale if anyone is interested.
 
#737 ·
Finally got some snow out here in Colorado and I've got 10+ days on the Proto.

Here's a list of updates in no particular order or relevance:

* After riding nothing but icey groomers, the first day in a couple inches of fresh further excited me about the board's nimbleness and charging abilities - you can really push the thing.
* I get asked about the Proto no less than 5 times every time I go out
* I spoke to 3 other Proto owners, all said "best board I've ever owned"
* 2 days in the trees in Steamboat proved it can handle deep snow and is super agile, my 160 was decidedly more nimble than the 158 heritages my friends were on.
* I read the previous post concerning edge tweaking coming out of turns, applied it and agree.. you can carve really tight on the thing.
* I hit a few bump runs just to further understand the boards capabilities and was impressed, very snappy out of turns and torsional flex allowed me to keep my shoulders downhill
 
#738 ·
LEO-
Since your have reviewed this board and also the Cobra, which would you consider better if you were more on the groomer/freeride/not park side of things? If the Cobra is better, does the improvement justify the higher price that the Cobra probably will have over the Proto when it is released? Or will there be a new Proto when the Cobra is released?
 
#739 ·
I have not ridden my cobra yet. I will ride it this Friday at a local hill, then a couple more times at the bigger hills up north in a couple weeks. I will post my initial thoughts after Friday.

From what I know about the Proto, if you don't do any freestyle, you have better options.
 
#740 ·
Just got back from my first day riding it, figured I should post my thoughts.

Setup:
Proto CTX 155
Burton 09' Custom bindings
Thirty-Two lashed boots, Size 12

Conditions were less than ideal, it was a spring skiing day on the ice coast. Slushy and soft, no snow in the glades and the park was swiss cheese from the rain the night before. First off, let me say that this is definitely an all mountain freestyle board.

The pop is there to really get off some of the sketchier stuff, and the stiffness is middle of the road. To put it in perspective, when I leaned back over the tail of the board, the nose flexed up about 10 inches, a lot less than my old jib noodle. I found it super damp when going mach 11 down groomers with rollers, although the nose of the board makes a different noise when coasting off of stuff, something that I'll get used too.

I felt like I was pretty slow on the board compared to my friend on skis, although it was factory wax and by the end of the day it looked hungry for some real stuff. I didn't find the CTX to have bad/slow edge to edge, worked out just find for me. (And I was giving it through some berms.)

Didn't get to test the durability of the topsheet yet (yay :D), but I did run over a couple rocks when a rental kiddie cut me off getting off the chair. Base didn't scratch, although the metal edge has a bit of a scratch along the bottom. Funny that the base is seems stronger than the metal rails.

Last thing is the vario edge, which is golden. Not sure yet it it was just the snow or the board, but I was super agile no matter where I was or how fast I was going.



Thanks Never Summer!
 
#742 ·
i've added two more boards to my decision-making process. it's between the proto, rome mod (rocker), or the gnu riders choice. all great boards from what i've seen and in the same general middle-upper price range. all three are selling out at online retailers so maybe it'll come down to what's available once i make my decision :thumbsup:

the latter two have more of a history to them making them seem like safer bets. the riders choice i hear is getting better every year which is not necessarily a good thing for the consumer. but i have more experience on the proto as i've ridden my friend's and part of me tells me to buy what i know though the novelty part of me tells me to tread in a different direction. ARGH.

does anyone have any feedback comparing the 3?
 
#743 ·
I've been craving a proto since december when I demoed one at wolf creek and I'm definitely ready to fork out the cash for one. The question as always is what size to go with. I'm 5'10", weigh around 160 give or take, and I wear a size 10.5 Vans Aura boot. Im coming off of a 09 Burton Mayhem 156 and tried out the 157 and it was incredible but felt kinda long for my taste. I've found a great deal for a 154 Proto and was wondering if you guys think the size is appropriate for my dimensions. What worried me was the shorter width of the 154 compared to the 157... are my boots gonna hang off the edges? Thanks for any input
 
#747 ·
Damn you NS fanboys;),

I have never even seen an NS board here in Japan. I have just pulled the trigger on a 157 proto. I have to see what all the hype is about.

I really want to work on my freestyle on the whole mountain and feel this is the board to help me do it. I have another stick for hard charging freeride and deep pow so this is going to be my everyday do it all (knee high pow) stick.

Will be sure to post up my thoughts once I get some time on it:D.

Since we are having an epic season here it should see a lot of pow and mostly very good conditions.

I am totally stoked to get on this board now.
 
#751 ·
Never Summer's bases vary because they do "flips". This means they make their bases to utilize all excess materials so you're going to see color differences as well as minor stuff like "NS" being on some bases and not others. A lot of companies do this to minimize waste.
 
#752 ·
thanks for the explanation. i am also looking to get new bindings, i am currently wearing a nike kaiju in sz 8, i think i am in between size for the burton bindings, should i go with S or M? currently i am using mission binding from 2008 and i have to tighting the toe strap almost to the end. just wonder should i still get a sz M if i am deciding to get burton bindings again?
 
#762 ·
Im looking at buying a proto ct and im 6'2 175ish and have a pair of 10.5 thirtytwo boots. I ride powder when i have the opportunity too, fly down groomers and hit kickers in the park with the occasional jib if i have nothing else to ride. Should i look into getting the 157cm or 160cm for my size?
 
#765 ·
I read through 25 pages of this thread and haven't found anyone similar to my height so I'm just posting instead.
5'7
175-180lbs
9.5 boot

I am replacing my T Rice 153 with the Proto CT since I want something more playful and fun for smaller east coast mountains. I'm undecided on whether I should step down to the 152 or up to the 154. Either way they both have a longer effective edge than my Rice.
 
#766 ·
Say what? You're only a couple inches shorter than me. All other stats are exactly the same bro. You and I should be riding the same board size ranges.

If you want something playful for the East Coast (where I ride), what makes you want the Proto over the Evo?
 
#772 ·
i see a lot of proto guys out here...just wanted to get your thoughts
i got a 160 proto ct and im 6'4'' 210 lbs guy with a 11-11.5 size boots...you think i did ok with the sizing..i think i nailed it because i do all mountain freestyle stuff... meaning i like to boomb down fast down the track and also like to have fun on any feature that i can find..also was spending some time in the park on boxes and jumps...rode with factory 0 degrees bevel..

i guess i wanted to hear your opinions because i little worm is eating me in the back of my head saying that i could've gone with 157 proto..but then again...this is a good do it all stick and maybe the second one can be a bit of a noodle type and then i got it covered...but in all honesty i think proto will be ok for everything
 
#776 ·
that is exactly what i said to myself...didn't want to neglect that freeride component of my snowboarding,progressed so much with this stick past season its unreal..easily going through forest between the ski lift on black tracks in some icy conditions(it took some time to get buy the guys that are working on skilifts but it was worth it :)))

thanks again for all the help,im really pleasantly surprised how upfront and honest everybody here is, but thats what i like about the us winter freeks,cool pips enjoying the wildness
 
#777 ·
I'm new and wanting some input. I moved to Denver and got 8 days in last year, prior to that, it had been 12 years since I had been on a board.

I bought a season pass this year and I'm looking for a different board. Last year, I rode a GNU Park Pickle 153 (it always felt a little squirrely).

I'm 5'9", 170-178 lbs, size 9 boot. I just bought last season's Nike Kaijus. I'm looking at NS boards and I really want to pull the trigger on the Proto CT 157.

Please give me your thoughts.

Here's what I like: I like to go all over the mountain, I like to race with friends, I really want learn to butter/jib this year, I'll do a little park riding, very small jumps and some rails, and definitely some woods riding.

I doubt it matters but I have the ride rodeo bindings from last year. Because I'm still learning, I don't know how to rate them. They held my foot in but I'd usually have to ratchet them down at the beginning of a new run.

I'm looking forward to opening day!
 
#778 · (Edited)
Park Pickle 153 at 180 lbs? Yea... not surprised that board is a little squirrelly for you.

I'm 5'9 ~155 lbs size 8 boots and I ride the Proto CT 154.

157 Proto CT will work for what you want to do. If you are doing more freeriding/treeriding ... than butter/jibs... might consider the Cobra - especially if you still have the Park Pickle.
 
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