What size boots do you wear, and what size is your Orca?

The first thing that came to mind reading your saga was maybe the Orca is a bit wide for you, while the Proto isn't. Your previous use of Now's skatetech bindings on the Orca would have helped with the edge transitions. Diodes are responsive enough for regular width boards like the Proto but could be a little overwhelmed on wide boards if you have smaller feet.

I wear size 8s and pretty much depend on skatetech bindings for boards with wider waists like the Orca, which in my case is the 153 length with 265mm waist.

 

Yep. I have smaller feet. 8.5. And I'm on the 153. I guess I could try throwing those nows back on the board to see if it changes the feel that much. I guess I didn't think it would make THAT much of a difference in board feel.

 

When you have your bindings mounted, do you just center them on the board?

I love wide decks, but there's an adjustment the I MUST DO in order for me to even ride them.

If I just put them on a wide board, in the center of the disc or center holes.
It's not even rideable in my opinion.
Technically it is but I won't ride it like that, it rides like shit.

ALL THE WIDE BOARDS I RIDE HAVE THE BINDINGS MOVED CLOSER TO THE TOE SIDE EDGE.
ALL OF THEM.

I used to have size large bindings on a few of my wide boards back before shrink tech.
And if said wide model board had size large bindings on it, I'd have to slide the larges even farther toe side than the mediums because they put the heel cup that much farther heel side.

So try this.
If you have size medium bindings, slide them closer to the toe side edge half the distance between where they are now & the max that they will slide toe side edge.

I'm 100% sure you be amazed at the way it rides now compared to how it used to ride.
Then you can fuck with it after to get it exactly where you like it.

Trust me on this one.
I learned that swapping out boards with Sasquatchs.
My boots were so far back heel side edge with my size 9's on their wide boards with lol arge bindings.

TT

 

Bindings are crucial force multipliers for smaller feet riders imo.

Also, not sure what version Diodes you're running but older models didn't have lean adjusters on the highback. If you don't already, try using a little extra forward lean when riding your Orca.

 

I think they are 17/18. I think ur right they don't have any forward lean

 

Quick search reveals Diodes from 2014 got forward lean adjusters in the highbacks. If so, setting forward lean is easy. If yours don't have adjusters they are pre-2013. With these you have to adjust lean and rotation at the same time by loosening the two main screws.

I have a set of 2012 Diodes that have seen better days and heavily modded but still active duty.

 

Well my first thought is that the Orca was your first real board, Never Summers are glorified rentals and you should stop riding them if you want to progress. NS usually gives a damp, lifeless ride with a super heavy board and that can build bad habits. Second thought echoes some of the other ones here, it really sounds like its too much board for you. Try the NOW bindings you have, and if that doesnt solve the issue Id sell it and get a board that isnt as wide.

 

NS usually gives a damp, lifeless ride with a super heavy board and that can build bad habits

Which one that you rode? I've never ridden an NS, lots of people seem to like them.

 

@El Cholo Rojo
I rode a snowtrooper once, was not impressed. Plenty of people like Dope Snow gear too but its still trash. I wouldn't feel this way about Never Summer if they weren't charging $650+ for all of their boards. They're made for people who snowboard and want to show out to their friends about how they support local business and how cool they are for riding a board made in Colorado.

@arbroadbent
Maybe they've changed up their process, last I checked they were still putting that "Carbonium" rental topsheet on their boards thats like 2 pounds of epoxy. Combine that with their weird ass camber profiles and sidecuts and you've got questionable boards. If you like it you like it, Id start branching out to other companies if you can though. Rome, Capita, and Bataleon are great places to start. Once you ride something like a Mega Merc or an Evil Twin you'll never go back. Get out there and demo stuff

 

@El Cholo Rojo
I rode a snowtrooper once, was not impressed.

You got all that opinion from one ride on one board or did you get your opinion from other peoples posts on here?
Op ignore that stuff that the ns board is holding you back or teaching bad habits, it makes no sense. It's just a snowboard. We all like different boards.

The orca is a wide board so it will feel slower edge to edge than your proto. In tracked or heavy powder the orca will just feel like work. Orca is nice to cruise in mellow light powder. If powder is heavy or you want to go fast a freeride board will be better. (ignore what t-rice does on orcas - he could do what he does on a skate banana). Try switching out with your bindings from your proto and see if that feels better.

 

OP what's your specs? And no the Orca was not made for powder. It's a all mountain board and pending how you size can be used for powder.

 

And no the Orca was not made for powder. It's a all mountain board and pending how you size can be used for powder.

I'll respectfully disagree with this whole heartedly. The orca was and is designed as a pow board and was marketed as a quiver of one once all the orca dorkas jumped on board. Lib then added some additional sizes adjusting the sidecut to live up to the hype. They also released the golden and apex which tryly are more all mt w/powder capability decks though terribly overpriced.

 

@Mike256
Didnt realize NS has such a big fan club here, yeah I hated the board I rode and looked at the tech they were putting into it combined with the price and what people I respect have to say about it. A damp, lifeless, heavy board will not teach you how to tweak your ankles and knees to steer. It wont teach you how to react to things you cant plow through, its not gonna float in pow, and its not gonna be good for jumps either. Plus the things are so damn hooky. Im not going to ride multiple boards by a company I already disliked just to have a "valid" opinion. I live next to their damn factory and Ive ridden one of their boards, I think thats enough to have an opinion. If its "Just a Snowboard" companies like Clew, NS, Gilson, etc etc wouldn't be an issue. They are an issue though, because they funnel people into kook shit while not supporting the sport and the people who make it what it is. If we want more snowboarders who are worth a damn we need to get them on gear that helps them progress made by companies that care about the sport. Ill stop shitting up OPs thread talking about NS, if we really wanna debate why they are good or not create another thread.

 

@Mike256
Didnt realize NS has such a big fan club here, yeah I hated the board I rode and looked at the tech they were putting into it combined with the price and what people I respect have to say about it. A damp, lifeless, heavy board will not teach you how to tweak your ankles and knees to steer. It wont teach you how to react to things you cant plow through, its not gonna float in pow, and its not gonna be good for jumps either. Plus the things are so damn hooky. Im not going to ride multiple boards by a company I already disliked just to have a "valid" opinion. If its "Just a Snowboard" companies like Clew, NS, Gilson, etc etc wouldn't be an issue. They are an issue though, because they funnel people into kook shit while not supporting the sport and the people who make it what it is. If we want more snowboarders who are worth a damn we need to get them on gear that helps them progress made by companies that care about the sport. Ill stop shitting up OPs thread talking about NS, if we really wanna debate why they are good or not create another thread.

There isn't a ns fan club here, it's more the complete opposite. But what you're saying makes little to no sense and a bunch of stuff clearly just pulled from other people's posts.

Just went a weighed a few boards: libtech 154 2885g, ns 154 2861, ns 153 2809.

 

OP your powder experience isn't wrong and what you're describing beyond bindings also comes down to board shape. It's why many of us that get to ride powder tend to have several different pow boards with different shapes and purposes. For example my 166 snowmelier feels very different from my 148 backslash, both ride pow well but they feel drastically different and each excels in different areas of riding pow from the other.

 

We can agree to disagree, go take a tour of their factory sometime. Tell me this is going to help anyone progress, compared to literally any of Capitas camber/rocker profiles.
Its like buying a surfboard and buying a super expensive doyle. Can you learn on it? Yes. Will it take a beating? Yes. Is it going to help you learn/progress beyond the basics?Absolutely not. A doyle is a bad example beause at least those skills transfer between boards, surfboards dont have camber profiles to relearn.

 

Thats just sounds like rocker with extra steps.

 

What wax are you using? Are you waxing it often?

 

deleted as im just contributing to thread drift

 

The only good profile they have is their traditional camber, I just posted the other to show how whack their profiles are in general. The shockwave rocker/camber is also hilarious.Pic related

I wasnt trying to shit on it so hard, just trying to make OP consider some other companies. People kept asking why I hate them so there ya go. Im done derailing the thread, sorry about that. Id go back to Niveks basement if I was pretty enough, instead its under the bridge for me, cheers.

 

He also says it's a banked slalom board 🤔

 

The problem with ALL of this, is the marketing. NS makes you think you need their 37.6 camber zones, when you dont. Their boards track like shit. They ride like theirs a god damn saucer between the feet and the board cant track straight. Their old camber stuff wasnt bad.

Lib made every rad dad and sunday shredder think they needed an orca because you ride hunter mountain 4 weekends a year. Everything is a trend. NS needs to start making normal ass snowboards again. The orca is kind of like a meme. its the new skate bananana. Every jerry and gerri on the east coast thats side slipping down a blue run with a 9 foot selfie pole and an insta 360 has one because it was marketed as "the board to get" but in reality everyone just needs some sort of camber with maybe rocker in the nose, just in case mountain creek gets a 2 inch pow day.

edit: They will record on a 360 cam but still post vertical video because fuck them.

 

for me NS protosynthesis is the most comfortable board in a really messy snow 🤷🏻 ( I own 7 boards)

 

NS boards ride and track fine, once you get used to them (at least the several I have ridden, which doesn't include the Snowtrooper or standard Proto). You have to keep them slightly on-edge, which is pretty easy. They are different tools than a standard cambered board, both of which have their place. OP, if you like the Proto so much, I would trust that, as opposed to "haters" on the internet. There is a backstory involving brand hate.

 

x-games athletes may disagree

 

The shit show that a mere mention of NS brings never disappoints. Sprinkle some Orca dust and we get this gem! 🤣

 

WOW.... I didn't know I was starting a war with this one. I actually appreciate the comments, gives me something to think about. Personally, I'm just looking to get something that works better for me in the POW. I have had more and more chances to ride in it and I want something that floats a bit better. I want something better for the trees, the proto does pretty good but not always great as I get stuck under the snow at least a couple times a day (which is a lot of work to dig myself out). I thought bringing out the orca would be the answer, but I couldn't seem to maneuver it well enough in the trees to make tight turns and carves.

The shit show that a mere mention of NS brings never disappoints. Sprinkle some Orca dust and we get this gem!

There is a backstory involving brand hate.

Jesus this thread is off the rails with bad advice

Might be bad advice but it is opinion none the less. I'm looking to broaden my horizons.

90% of the time hate for an entire company's products is just bias.

Agree for sure.

just trying to make OP consider some other companies

That's what I was looking for. Where do I get the opportunity to ride a bunch of different boards (that won't cost me an arm and a leg)

Sounds like you've started riding enough boards to realize what you once loved was only loved because of lack of experience.

Yes. I feel like I'm getting better and I want a board to advance my riding not pull me backwards.

 

Plus 1 for a fish in powder!!!

 

"Not another gutless fish!"
"Turns ice into powder!!"
"Whale tail technology!!!"

COME ON PEOPLE!!!!

 

I’m hardly a pro but I switched to an Orca from a Custom & loved it, especially in powder. But some idiot crack the front of my Orca at the beginning of last season so instead of renting a board while it was being repaired I got a great deal on a War Pig. Honestly now I never want to ride my Orca. The War Pig is so good. But force myself to use the Orca in powder but my experience is very similar to yours. The War Pig feels solid & tight in turns & I go from powder to groomers with absolutely no problem. Both are intermediate boards which should be perfectly fine for me but the War Pig feels about 50% better to me than the Orca. I’ve done a ton of research on this & most pros preferred the Orca overall but it was close. I dunno…I used the Orca today ironically & it was the best it’s ever felt. But I missed the War Pig.

 

One of the most common criticism I see about NS boards is that they are "heavy". Frankly speaking, I wonder about that. I have more than a dozen boards, and, being a nerd, I decided to weigh them, as well as any other boards I can borrow. And the Women's NS Proto Type Two is actually one of the lighter board for it's length that I have. The main problem I have with the two NS boards that I have, and what completely put me off buying any more NS boards, is that I find their sintered base noticeably slower than a few other brand that I use, and glide matters a lot in one of the resort I ride in.

 

I think a lot of the use of the term heavy is describing the on snow feel as well. I wouldn’t consider the ns boards I’ve ridden to be at all lively, but it’s been a few years I suppose.

 

Get a never summer swift if you like your proto.
The swift is their powder board & imo it's the best powder board you can get.
I have a shit tonne of powder boards, a shit tonne of boards period.
Got an orca. Apex orca. Wayfinder 55 & 60, retro ripper. Couple camber fish, S rocker fish, 3 Dupraz, Jones lone wolf, Jones mind expander,
probably a few more in there that I'm forgetting.
But out of all of em I like the swift the most.
It even slays groomers for fuck sakes.

So if you like the ride of the proto, just get their powder board.
You'll love it

TT