Never Summer Proto FR Review

Board: Never Summer Proto FR 2024

Price: $679 (USD recommended retail)

Style: Freeride

Flex Rating: Stiff (8/10)

Flex Feel: Stiff (8/10)

Rating Score: 84.8/100

Compared to other Men’s Freeride Boards

Out of the 40 Men’s Freeride snowboards that I rated:

Overview of the Proto FR’s Specs

Check out the tables for the Proto FR’s specs and available sizes.

Specs

* the 2024 model has dropped the 164 size that the 2023 model had

Who is the Proto FR Most Suited To?

The Proto FR is best suited to someone who wants to optimize performance for speed, carving and smashing through crud on the groomers and wants something with a stiffer flex and a damp/smooth feel. 

And then when you get the opportunity you want the board to be able to handle storm days, so you can get out in the powder, without too much back leg burn. 

Certainly not for beginners and even most intermediates will likely struggle to control it - unless you're a particularly big and/or athletic intermediate. 

THE Proto FR IN MORE DETAIL

Bindings angles: +15/-15

Stance width: 21.5″ (545mm)

Stance Setback: Not sure about setback on effective edge but setback 1" (25mm) on overall length of board.

Width at Inserts: 10.6" (268mm) at front insert and 10.5" (267mm) at back insert.   

Rider Height: 6'0"

Rider Weight: 180lbs

Rider Boot Size: US9.5 Adidas Response ADV

Bindings Used: Burton Malavita, M

Weight: 7lbs 4oz (3300grams) 

Weight per cm: 20.63 grams/cm

Average Weight per cm: 18.71 grams/cm*

*based on a sample size of around 250 models that I’ve weighed in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 & 2024 models. The Proto FR was noticeably heavier than normal on the scales and it felt a little heavier on snow than normal too. Stiffer/damper boards tend to feel heavier anyway, which this board is. 

Powder

Nothing significant to test in on the day, but based on specs and feel it should be good in powder. It's got a tapered directional shape, is set back a little and has rocker in the profile, which will all help in powder. 

Carving

I found I could lay down a good carve on this board. You can lock in the edges and let it rip.  

Turning

Ease of Turns/Slashing: It takes some effort to initiate turns on this board and certainly prefers a carve over a slash. 

Maneuverability at slow speeds (nimbleness): It can be decent in terms of edge-to-edge speed at slow speeds, but you've got to put the effort in to get it going. Turns better/easier at faster speeds. 

Catchiness: It's not catch free but it's not super catchy either.

Speed

I found I could bomb this board and it could take whatever I could throw at it and remained stable the whole time. Being as damp as it is and with a bit of extra weight helped with this, no doubt. 

Uneven Terrain

Crud: The dampness and the extra weight of this board made it practically unmovable in crud/chunder. Pretty much as stable and chatter free as it gets in messy snow. Not so easy to correct if you were to get bumped off your line, but would take a lot to throw this board off. Powers through everything. 

Trees/Bumps: You'll want to be awake when heading into trees and ready to put in an effort and concentrate. It can move edge-to-edge reasonably well and when you put the effort in, it can navigate trees OK, but it takes a fair bit of effort, so could become fatiguing if you were in the trees for long periods. 

Jumps

It's OK for jumps that give you assistance but a little harder to manage when you're trying to extract extra air. The flex, dampness and weight of this board feel like it prefers to remain on the snow than in the air. 

Pop: While there is a reasonable amount of it in there, when you really wind it up, it's quite hard to access. You've really got to put in to get it out. And there's still not (at least not that I could extract) oodles of pop when you do really wind it up. 

Approach: Nice and stable for when you pick a line and don't have to adjust but not as easy to adjust/speed check. 

Landing: From what you've read so far, it should come as no surprise that the board felt solid on landings. Certainly didn't get bounced around or anything. You want a good bit of runway after landing to smoothly check your speed with a carve as abruptly speed checking not super easy with this board. 

Side-hits: It's OK, but again, more easy maneuverability, easy access pop, being a little lighter would make it quite a bit better. 

Small jumps/Big jumps: Can handle bigger jumps well, given all its stability. Smaller jumps, particularly if you're looking to get extra air on them with a bit of pop aren't as suited. 

Switch

I actually found this not too bad riding switch. Certainly not a switch master, but given everything about it, I was pleasantly surprised with how it felt switch. I mean it's not super directional, but it's still quite directional. But it transitioned better than I thought and was actually OK. 

Butters

The tip and tail press easier than you'd expect, given the overall flex-feel. Still gotta put some weight into it and muscle it a bit to get it to press, but more buttery than you'd think. 

The Proto FR is a damp, smooth ride that can mow through anything in its path with minimal chatter. It excels mostly at speed and prefers speed under it.

It's an advanced level board and takes some effort to turn at slower speeds. It prefers to be ridden more aggressively and that's when it's at its best. I found I could ride it as aggressively as I could and there wasn't anything it couldn't handle and it never felt overwhelmed.