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2,280 Posts
Thanks for the feedback. What are you referring to on icy catwalks? Is it twitchy?
Never Summer Proto FR weird camber profile
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15 Posts
I would say it rides a bit different then my Snowtrooper or Maverix which are rock stable in that condition, just took some getting used to.
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10,040 Posts
No hate, promise. But with no history of board use, this recount has little foundation.
Do you have any experience with anything like the Arbor Coda/Shiloh, Rossi Revenant/Krypto/Jibsaw, Rome National, Niche Aether or Story, Lib Attach Banana, Gnu Riders Choice, Burton Custom, Capita Mercury, K2 Broadcast, Ride Wildlife, Yes Typo, Jones Mtn Twin...? All boards that are well established quiver of ones.
Sorry, your comment will just carry more weight if you have some different board experiences to reference. If all you've been on is a camber twin, or a Proto twin or whatever, then... not so much.
Also sorry, I feel like due to the ridiculous nonsensical profile and marketing behind this board frankly requires anyone claiming this board is good to back themselves up more.
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15 Posts
I can't say I have, obviously not being a professional board tester or demo person. I can only attest to my experiences, having ridden 60 days last year mainly on my Maverix and just hit day 11 yesterday and living part time in Steamboat. I have only ridden here in CO and started out learning on a Burton Twin and then have ridden/owned a NS SL (which I sold), then a Snowtrooper, Maverix and now the FR. Having spent the last 4 days on the FR in conditions ranging from windblown ice, groomers, trees and deep pow, sold me on this board, I really like what I bought. In no way am I suggesting anything except my own experience. I can honestly say that the FR will be my main ride for the rest of the season, as it excels in my opinion. I suggest before putting the FR down that you demo one for a day and see what you think. It may not be your cup of tea or it might, I am just giving you the benefit of my experience.
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3,521 Posts
Neversummer is the Nas of snowboarding...
Camber is dead! Wait, jk... We invented it again so its alive again thanks to us!
Camber is dead! Wait, jk... We invented it again so its alive again thanks to us!
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308 Posts
Has Never Summer ever considered hiring someone with a graphic design degree?
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25 Posts
The Proto FR is an interesting board. I can't say it's completely what you are looking for, but I also can't say that it's not. I bought mine without demoing and couldn't find more than a couple sub par reviews at the time. I've ridden it 8 or 10 times now. In good snow it is an amazing carving board. The tip and tail are torsionally softer than expected. I think this is because it doesn't have the carbon x outside the feet. However the rubber and carbon strip in the center front and rear do definitely work and there is absolutely no tip chatter at any speed or conditions. It is the most stable board I've ridden. The triple camber thing feels like a combination of camber and magnetraction compared to their usual Ripsaw type profile with just a single reverse camber spot between the feet. It takes some getting used to. The board doesn't rotate around the middle like their standard rockers do. There is so much grip in the center camber section that it kind of wants to rotate outside of either end of it if you can figure out what I'm talking about. It's not a beginner board that wants to slide turns, that's for sure. It has crazy hold between the feet. The FR really want's to be ridden aggressively and prefers to be on edge. It's happy place is full carving. It's a little different. There are days when it's my favorite board ever and days when it's almost too much. I can nose and tail butter it just fine despite it's stiffness rating. It's much softer than the Ripsaw I had. I have ridden lots of boards over the years but at the moment have a good variety of NS shapes. I have ridden most of their stuff. I hate to hear people say that they "hate rocker boards", etc. Everything has it's place. There are good and bad for sure. The NS decks all have good edge hold. I tend to like the forgiveness of a rockered board and you can still get the performance out of it if you know what you are doing. The dampness, general quality, extreme durability and USA made bit appeals to me. I went through a phase where I broke a few decks from other makers and had them stiff me on warranty, etc. I started riding NS decks back before rocker was a thing and everything was camber. They continue to improve. Every shape rides differently. I currently have a Heritage, Funslinger, Proto Type 2, Swift and Proto FR. My FR is custom. I'm sure there will be some hate but give the FR a shot if you can find a demo. It took me a couple of days to adjust to how different it was than anything I've ever ridden but now I prefer it in just about any decent snow condition to most of my other boards. There's tons of good boards out there. No matter how dumb and vague their promotional video is on this thing it's definitely worth a ride. I'm not sure I have explained it any better than they have. Oh, and my Proto FR is a custom. I did the graphics and chose the colors and base design. The base is orange with the Colorado flag logo on the bottom.
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35 Posts
On first glance, my mind went to "marketing" when I came across this board in 2021. Interesting review, I'd certainly like to demo one.
Hello,
I'm a little bit late, im new in this forum and write the first impressions. I'm german Snowboarder, riding mostly groomers or sometimes pow, allways like to go really fast. Coming from Never Summer Titan 169 riding a lot of years i was a little bit sceptical on Hybrids after testing a few Boards, i has contact with Vince in Colorado and i bought a NS Chairman 169x and a proto fr 164. And i must say this are the best Boards i have ever ridden. Stable any speed, nimble, easy to ride, carve like a dream and dampe like nothing else. The Proto FR is a Icemachine, nimble like a Skateboard, stable flatbase and fun to ride. The Chairman mackes a smooth ride, dampe, also stable flat and a lot of fun for big radius turns.
I was sure most guys writing that Hybrids can get auto-spinny sometimes but that isn't the case with this Boards. I Broke my speed recordes from NS Titan with this Decks!
Florian
I'm a little bit late, im new in this forum and write the first impressions. I'm german Snowboarder, riding mostly groomers or sometimes pow, allways like to go really fast. Coming from Never Summer Titan 169 riding a lot of years i was a little bit sceptical on Hybrids after testing a few Boards, i has contact with Vince in Colorado and i bought a NS Chairman 169x and a proto fr 164. And i must say this are the best Boards i have ever ridden. Stable any speed, nimble, easy to ride, carve like a dream and dampe like nothing else. The Proto FR is a Icemachine, nimble like a Skateboard, stable flatbase and fun to ride. The Chairman mackes a smooth ride, dampe, also stable flat and a lot of fun for big radius turns.
I was sure most guys writing that Hybrids can get auto-spinny sometimes but that isn't the case with this Boards. I Broke my speed recordes from NS Titan with this Decks!
Florian
So that you can put it in perspective my top speed was 115 kph with the Proto FR and 120 kph with the Chairman, I was able to improve the top speeds of my old NS Titan in every area and when the conditions got worse in the afternoon it was also much easier to ride there. I was really amazed. Also you can relax at highest Speed and fo so fast if you want. I had also tested hybrids from other manufacturers in the past, but I have to say they didn't do it nearly as well.
Florian
Florian
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