# Never Summer Proto Ct Sizing



## RidingSideWays (Apr 1, 2012)

Hello, 

I was given a Never Summer Proto CT as a bday gift and wanted to make sure I shouldnt size down. I am 5'10", 210lbs, and usually do all mountain riding but wanted to start hitting the rails and jumps. I was given a size 157 but don't know if I should go even smaller to the 154. Thoughts?


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## RidingSideWays (Apr 1, 2012)

I am Currently losing weight haha. I use to be 245 and have been riding a burton canyon 159 since 07. I am planning on getting down to 190.


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## BigmountainVMD (Oct 9, 2011)

I'm 195 and ride the 157 Proto and would NOT want to size down. I use that has my freestyle deck as well... so yeah if you want an all-mountain ride... DO NOT downsize.


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## RidingSideWays (Apr 1, 2012)

Perfect. Thank you!


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## david_z (Dec 14, 2009)

I'm a little bit taller than OP but about the same weight. I've ridden the 157 Proto that Leo has. I wouldn't go any smaller, even for park. I have some 156s that I ride in the park but 157/158 seems to be a sweet spot for me.


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## RidingSideWays (Apr 1, 2012)

Thank you very much! Do you recommend any specific bindings? I am currently looking at the Rome 390 boss.


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## SimonB (Oct 13, 2010)

RidingSideWays said:


> Thank you very much! Do you recommend any specific bindings? I am currently looking at the Rome 390 boss.


That, or Raiden Phantoms. 

I do have the Blackhawks on my Proto, but I'd go Phantoms if I were to change them. A bit more freestyle oriented and the air bag seems nice.


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

I ride a 154 park/all mountain at #175-80. Imo its the perfect size for me.


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## kctahoe (Nov 14, 2010)

RidingSideWays said:


> Thank you very much! Do you recommend any specific bindings? I am currently looking at the Rome 390 boss.


Burton malavita or cartel. Love my malavitas


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## Leo (Nov 24, 2009)

If you have money to burn, I'm McLovin my Burton Genesis on the Proto. I do miss the canted footbeds though.


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## snowklinger (Aug 30, 2011)

'Vitas doing nicely on mine.


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## jdang307 (Feb 6, 2011)

Leo said:


> If you have money to burn, I'm McLovin my Burton Genesis on the Proto. I do miss the canted footbeds though.


Can you feel the difference between the Genesis and the autocant on the Cartel/Malavita?

Or are you missing an actual canted binding?.


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## Rockpen (Dec 13, 2012)

I ride a 157 and weigh 180. I find the proto has no speed stability for anything outside the park. It's great when you want skate the mountain going from hit to hit when the hits are close to each other, however if there is a long stretch between hits and you want to put the hammer down the proto quickly turns into a chatter box.

The proto is great with 390s, you can tweak grabs like a MFer.


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## Rockpen (Dec 13, 2012)

Snowolf said:


> Hmmmm. That is interesting. I ride with Bear5001 and he has been on a Proto with Cartels for over a year and hauls ass (50 MPH range) and digs deep trenches carving with no chatter issues. I myself find it very quiet at speed.
> 
> I do agree on the 390/390 boss. A perfect flex binding for the Proto.


I read so many reviews about how well it held up at speed, which is why I bought it. But I just don't agree, I tried everything including moving my weight more forward, backwards, squat more, stand more etc, etc,. The only thing that really helped was detuning the tip and tale which I found to have too much bite causing extra chatter. Even though it helped a little it's still sketchy at high speeds unless your on perfectly smooth groomers. Any type of bump gets magnified on this board and I find myself popping off of small little bumps that I should be crushing through. I don't know how fast I go because I was never clocked and I don't really trust those GPS tracking apps for speed accuracy but my app says I ride around the 55-60 mph range. I have gone a lot faster on my premier, but the proto is not a free riding stick. But for me it's not really all mountain either. Although I will say its really fun in fresh pow. Again just not too fast.


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

I ride a 157 proto for all mountain and side country, I weigh 175. While there is some chatter at very high speed (I mean really maching) I find the proto carves well and is a stable all mountain ride.

I do get to ride in very good conditions though, to the previous poster do you ride lots of ice and chop?

I found that high speed mixed with a bumpy icy surface is what creates lots of chatter, other conditions were pretty stable even at high speeds.


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## Rockpen (Dec 13, 2012)

like I said I don't trust the accuracy of those apps, however I do like to Mach at breakneck speeds, and yes I was pushing the proto beyond it limits just to find those limits however I expected those limits to be little bit higher. But I didn't buy the proto to Mach, I bought it to skate the mountain and it skates like a champ. (I am actually scared now to do 180's as the proto automatically spins me into a 3, I have learned to be more subtle) I do agree it carves really nice with the vario sidecut. 
Here in the Alps we get a mix of everything from dry fluffy pow, to wet n heavy cement and in the course of the last three weeks we have had almost every condition imaginable including spring like slush to bullet proof ice. 
I have almost finished writing a review for the proto but there is already so many do people really want to read another one?


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## BigmountainVMD (Oct 9, 2011)

Rockpen said:


> I ride a 157 and weigh 180. I find the proto has no speed stability for anything outside the park. It's great when you want skate the mountain going from hit to hit when the hits are close to each other, however if there is a long stretch between hits and you want to put the hammer down the proto quickly turns into a chatter box.


I totally disagree. I'm amazed that this board can carve as well as it can. Deep trenches on black trails that were not perfectly groomed, and I'm 200 lbs on a 157. You will get chatter with all but the stiffest boards if you want to straight-line double blacks all day.

I bought a T. Rice for shredding fast, but the Proto handles itself so well I find myself only grabbing the T. Rice when it's a powder day cause it's 5 cm longer...


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## Leo (Nov 24, 2009)

jdang307 said:


> Can you feel the difference between the Genesis and the autocant on the Cartel/Malavita?
> 
> Or are you missing an actual canted binding?.


I do miss the canting to be very honest. I noticed bottom of my feet get fatigued easier now. That could just be subjective though as I've been on canted for the past two seasons so maybe it's just something that was always there prior to me riding canting and it's just noticeable to me now.

Good thing is, my knees aren't affected. Burton makes good cushioning on their bindings so that probably helps. Someone did tell me that you can get autocant beds to replace the stock beds with one caveat: you can't replace the heel pads. Not sure how much that would affect the canting.

I love canted footbeds and will continue to support bindings with it. However, I am thoroughly satisfied with my Genesis bindings. The highbacks are simply awesome and the binding overall is very comfortable and super light.



Rockpen said:


> I read so many reviews about how well it held up at speed, which is why I bought it. But I just don't agree, I tried everything including moving my weight more forward, backwards, squat more, stand more etc, etc,. The only thing that really helped was detuning the tip and tale which I found to have too much bite causing extra chatter. Even though it helped a little it's still sketchy at high speeds unless your on perfectly smooth groomers. Any type of bump gets magnified on this board and I find myself popping off of small little bumps that I should be crushing through. I don't know how fast I go because I was never clocked and I don't really trust those GPS tracking apps for speed accuracy but my app says I ride around the 55-60 mph range. I have gone a lot faster on my premier, but the proto is not a free riding stick. But for me it's not really all mountain either. Although I will say its really fun in fresh pow. Again just not too fast.


The Proto is definitely a lively board so those bumps you are feeling are spot on with what my review stated about the feel. Admittedly, I don't have any long stretches of steeps here in MI. But I will say that every steep run I did was quite fast in upwards of mid 40's according to my gps. 55-60 seems overkill to me. I've done several boarder cross runs with mine too.

I find it plenty stable even though you can feel all of the bumps (I actually like that). If pure big mountain freeriding is your thing, the Proto definitely is not the board to get.

Sorry if this is a tip you are already familiar with, but constantly transitioning from edge to edge helps a ton with stability. That's how I bomb runs on my Evo. I don't stay on one edge long enough for it to chatter and wash out.


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## Outbreak825 (Dec 28, 2012)

I just put in an order for a 152 proto CTX, I wanted a CT in 155 or 157 but couldn't find it in stock at my preferred retailers. I ride a arbor 156 right now that has a waist width of 251mm, I figure the 258mm waist width on the CTX won't be too much different, Im 5'10" 170lbs size 11 boot with no reduced footprint. 50% east coast mountain and 50% park. Think I made an okay decision?


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## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

Outbreak825 said:


> I just put in an order for a 152 proto CTX, I wanted a CT in 155 or 157 but couldn't find it in stock at my preferred retailers. I ride a arbor 156 right now that has a waist width of 251mm, I figure the 258mm waist width on the CTX won't be too much different, Im 5'10" 170lbs size 11 boot with no reduced footprint. 50% east coast mountain and 50% park. Think I made an okay decision?


I've been riding the Capita Stairmaster and Capita Midlife as my park boards. Both have a 25.5 waist width and I'm a 10.5. A 25.8 will be fine for an 11. 

Plus the extra waist width on a shorter board will add stability.


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## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

Rockpen said:


> I read so many reviews about how well it held up at speed, which is why I bought it. But I just don't agree, I tried everything including moving my weight more forward, backwards, squat more, stand more etc, etc,. The only thing that really helped was detuning the tip and tale which I found to have too much bite causing extra chatter. Even though it helped a little it's still sketchy at high speeds unless your on perfectly smooth groomers. Any type of bump gets magnified on this board and I find myself popping off of small little bumps that I should be crushing through. I don't know how fast I go because I was never clocked and I don't really trust those GPS tracking apps for speed accuracy but my app says I ride around the 55-60 mph range. I have gone a lot faster on my premier, but the proto is not a free riding stick. But for me it's not really all mountain either. Although I will say its really fun in fresh pow. Again just not too fast.


I made the same mistake. I expected the Proto to ride like camber, but I quickly realized it doesn't. It's a rocker and it rides like one. 

I typically ride my misfit (camber and on the stiffer side) at 50 +. I took out the proto on the same slopes to see how it compares and it doesn't come close. Where it does beat out the misfit is in the park. It's more playful and pressy and I have no problems at sub 30mph speeds, which is probably what the average snowboarder stays around. 

The main selling point of the NS hybrid profile is it adds edge stability that other rocker boards don't. Which I find to be precisely the case. 

I'd like to see how the more all mountain oriented boards in the line stand up to traditional camber, but I have yet to ride them.


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## Extremo (Nov 6, 2008)

Leo said:


> Sorry if this is a tip you are already familiar with, but constantly transitioning from edge to edge helps a ton with stability. That's how I bomb runs on my Evo. I don't stay on one edge long enough for it to chatter and wash out.


I'm finding this to be the case as well. The Proto rides like a rocker when flat base but rides like a camber board on edge. I find I'm riding my edges on it much more than I do my camber boards.


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## dreampow (Sep 26, 2011)

Extremo said:


> I made the same mistake. I expected the Proto to ride like camber, but I quickly realized it doesn't. It's a rocker and it rides like one.
> 
> I typically ride my misfit (camber and on the stiffer side) at 50 +. I took out the proto on the same slopes to see how it compares and it doesn't come close. Where it does beat out the misfit is in the park. It's more playful and pressy and I have no problems at sub 30mph speeds, which is probably what the average snowboarder stays around.
> 
> ...


I would say I ride in the 40+ range most of the time, and have taken it over 50 many times too (admittedly this gets a little hairy especially if its chopped up).

I ride the proto out of preference, yes you need to be up on edge to make use of the camber in the profile, and yes you need to adjust your style a little. 

I spent most of last season on stiffer posi camber and I find the proto is way more fun and can stay with it (close at least) when carving groomed runs at good speeds (not flat out bombing). It requires more angle and more fore aft movement for sure.

Obviously the other area where it shines is in powder where you get way better float and playfulness.

I don't do much park so I'll leave that to those who do.


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## StrattonRider (Sep 16, 2012)

RidingSideWays said:


> Hello,
> 
> I was given a Never Summer Proto CT as a bday gift and wanted to make sure I shouldnt size down. I am 5'10", 210lbs, and usually do all mountain riding but wanted to start hitting the rails and jumps. I was given a size 157 but don't know if I should go even smaller to the 154. Thoughts?


i am also 5'10" and i weigh like 200 lb. I ride a 157 GNU pickle for park and i feel like it is a great size. You should be fine


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