The Never Summer Proto Type 3 a versatile, semi-aggressive ride that is particularly at home getting air, whether straight air or adding in rotations, etc, but it holds its own at speed and can lay down a pretty sick carve too.
In this review, I will take a look at the Proto Type 3 as an all-mountain-freestyle snowboard.
As per tradition here at SnowboardingProfiles.com I will give the Proto Type 3 a score out of 100 (based on several factors) and see how it compares with other all-mountain-freestyle snowboards.
Overall Rating
Board: Never Summer Proto Type 3 2026
Price: $699
Style: All-Mountain-Freestyle
Flex Rating: Medium (6/10)
Flex Feel on Snow: Medium (6.5/10)
Rating Score: 87.8/100
Compared to other Men’s All-Mountain-Freestyle Boards
Of the 33 current model all-mountain-freestyle snowboards that we tested:
❄️ The Proto Type 3 ranked 4th out of 33
Overview of the Proto Type 3’ Specs
Check out the tables for the Proto Type 3’s specs and available sizes.
STYLE:
All-Mountain-freestyle
PRICE:
$699 - BUYING OPTIONS
Ability Level:
flex:
feel:
DAMPNESS:
SMOOTH /SNAPPY:
Playful /aggressive:
Edge-hold:
camber profile:
Traditional Camber
TRAD CAMBer - Never Summer's "Recurve Traditional Camber"
SHAPE:
setback stance:
CENTERED
BASE:
Sintered- Never Summer's "Durasurf XT Sintered 5501 Base"
weight:
FELT Normal
Camber Height:
7mm
Sizing
LENGTH (cm) | Waist Width (mm) | Rec Rider Weight (lb) | Rec Rider Weight (kg) |
|---|---|---|---|
151 | 253 | tbd | tbd |
154 | 254 | tbd | tbd |
157 | 255 | tbd | tbd |
160 | 257 | tbd | tbd |
158X | 263 | tbd | tbd |
161X | 265 | tbd | tbd |
164X | 266 | tbd | tbd |
159DF | 279 | tbd | tbd |
162DF | 281 | tbd | tbd |
Who is the Proto Type 3 Most Suited To?
The Proto Type 3 is best suited to those who like to get air frequently and is partial to buttering around, but also want a board that's able to handle some speed and lay down some good carves.
Would make a great one-board-quiver for those who want a semi-aggressive freestyle oriented resort board and don't really end up in deep powder much, if at all. Would also be a great daily driver in a quiver, paired with a more powder oriented board and/or a softer, more playful freestyle/park board.
It requires a certain level of skill to ride, in my experience with it. It's not super technical or hard to ride or anything, but too much of a stretch to be good for a beginner or lower intermediate rider, IMO.
TEST/REVIEW DetailS FOR THE Proto Type 3
O.k. let’s take a more detailed look at what the Proto Type 3 is capable of.
Demo Info
Board: Never Summer Proto Type 3 2026, 157cm (255mm waist width)
Date: April 2, 2025
Carving
I had a blast carving on the Proto Type 3. Just heaps of fun to lean it over and dig that edge in. It held really well and all types of carves - short and long radius, higher and lower speeds - felt really good. It does have a limit in terms of high speed carves, but that limit is at a pretty high speed and won't bother most.
Turning
Ease of Turning/Slashing: Took a little bit of effort and technique to slash and initiate turns but nothing super hard or technical or anything.
Maneuverability at slow speeds: It's not lightning edge-to-edge or effortless turning at slower speeds, but it's also no slouch and doesn't make you work overly hard for it.
Catchiness: There was a little bit of a catch feel, particularly in the tail, at times, but nothing major at all.
Speed
While it's not an out and out bomber, it's really decently stable at speeds and only really started to get a little unstable feeling at higher speeds. Kept up speed well and felt pretty fast overall.
Uneven Terrain
Crud/Chunder: Did a really decent job in rough snow. Stayed nice and stable and took a lot to throw it off line. Not up there with the best crud crushers, but would never expect that of a mid to mid-stiff flexing board.
Trees/Bumps: Better in choppy snow than it was for weaving quickly between obstacles, but still wasn't bad. Wouldn't be great in powder in trees, but otherwise decent enough.
Powder
Nothing to test in on the day, but specs and feel suggest that it wouldn't be great. It's a centered true twin board with a full camber profile.
Jumps
So good!
Pop: Total pop real decent and quite easy to access too.
Approach: Great mix of stability and maneuverability for for the approach. While there is somewhat of a catch feel on speed checks, it's nothing major and so long as you're concentrating it's not an issue.
Landing: I found I could really stomp landings on the PT3 and it was also fairly easy to make adjustments after landing when necessary and relatively forgiving when my landing was off. Landed on uneven snow well too.
Switch
Felt good riding switch - no surprise with a centered true twin. Transitions did give the impression of some catch-risk, so not something you can be too lazy with when transitioning, but also nothing that was uber catchy feeling or anything on those transitions.
Spins
Again, some catch-risk on setup and landing, but it wasn't major and didn't make it feel uncomfortable for spinning. No over spin and while finishing on ground wasn't ultra easy, it was still certainly doable.
Jibbing
Probably the PT3's biggest weakness outside of powder. If you're a strong jibber, you'll be fine with it, but not ideal for it, in my experience.
Butters
It wasn't effortless to press the tip and tail, but it didn't take too much force either. And when they got going, the tip/tail locked in nicely.
Score Breakdown and Final Verdict
Check out the breakdown of the score in the table below.
| FACTOR | Rating (/5) | Weighted |
|---|---|---|
| Jumps | 4.5 | 18/20 |
| Carving | 4 | 8/10 |
| Turns | 3.5 | 7/10 |
| Switch | 4.5 | 9/10 |
| Speed | 4 | 8/10 |
| Spins | 4 | 8/10 |
| Butters | 4 | 8/10 |
| Jibbing | 3 | 3/5 |
| Crud etc | 4 | 4/5 |
| Trees | 3.5 | 3.5/5 |
| Pow | 2.5 | 2.5/5 |
| TOTAL (after normalizing): | 87.8/100 |
The Proto Type 3 loves to get air wherever it can, be it rollers, lips, park jumps or side-hits. It also likes to butter around and feels great riding switch. But it's also the kind of board that can carve pretty hard and remains nice and stable at speed, making this a really versatile board that likes to get its freestyle on, but can help you keep up with your buds when you're looking to bomb it down the hill.
More Info, Current Prices and Where to Buy Online
To learn more about the Proto Type 3, or if you're ready to buy, or if you just want to research prices and availability, check out the links below.
To check out some other all-mountain-freestyle snowboard options, or to see how the Proto Type 3 compares to others, check out our top rated all-mountain-freestyle snowboards by clicking the button below.
Hey Nate!
I am currently in the market for a new snowboard, I currently have a Lib Tech T. Rice Pro 153cm (2019 i think)
it was my first quality board so I don’t have too much experience with other boards as I have rode that LibTech for a few years.
I am 5’6″ around 155lbs boot size 9
I ride at Keystone Colorado most of the time, my friends and I really ride a bit of everything on the mountain, so I was thinking a one board do it all type of board. I would say I like a little more of a freestyle type of feel, love doing flat ground spins 180’s 360’s etc.
I was looking at this Never Summer Proto Type 3, as well as Jones Tweaker and the Jones Mountain Twin.
I’ve never rode a directional twin before but from the reviews it seems fairly easy to ride switch
Out of the 3 boards which do you think would suite me best?
Are these boards good for what I am looking for or is there some different options out there I should look into.
Thank You
Hi Dominic, thanks for your message.
The Tweaker is the most playful, easy-riding of the 3, in my experience, but won’t be as good for when you want to bomb it or do any deep, elbow dragging carves. But I would say you’d most likely prefer it over the other 2 for flat land tricks.
The Proto Type 3 is the best carver, best at speed and most aggressive of the 3, IMO, but still able to ride more playfully. More effort needed for ground tricks and the likes, but it can still go there, for sure. And great for jumps, side-hits, etc. It’s weakest point is powder, IMO.
The Mountain Twin is in between in terms of playfulness/aggressiveness. It’s one of the better balanced (balanced in terms of being at least decent at everything) one-board-quivers going around, IMO.
I would check out this list and this list for more options.
If you think you’d like something a little more on the playful side, but not quite as playful as the Tweaker, then something like the YES Greats XTRM or Capita Resort Twin from that first list would be good bets or something like the GNU Upgrade, Never Summer Trooper, Slash Brainstorm or Bataleon Goliath would be good bets. For something more right in the middle like the Mountain Twin, the YES Standard is hard to go past.
Hope this gives you more to go off for your decision
Nate! Thank you for the reply I appreciate it very much. I’m kind of leaning towards something right in the middle. Been debating between the Jones mountain twin and I checked your review of the YES standard and i think it’s between these two boards.
Being 5’6″ 155lbs boot size 9, what sizes would you recommend for both boards?
Hi Dominic
Apologies for the slow response. I would put your “typical all-mountain” length at around 154, so as a do-it-all length, I’d typically say 154 MT and 153 Standard. But given these two are both a little wider (at the inserts) than the average boards at these lengths, and because you want to err a little more freestyle, I would be leaning towards sizing down a touch – so 151 for either.
Hope this helps if it didn’t come too late.
Hi Nate,
Thank you so much for so many great new review before the beginning of the season. This is very helpful. Generally speaking I love your website and your content.
A quick question about the PT3, ON NS website they classify this board as a triple camber profile, you classified it as traditional camber.
Can you please say a few words about that?
I was considering this board but hesitant to use a traditional camber board as my one board quiver…
Thank you,
Jonathan
Hi Jonathan
Yeah, Never Summer rebranded this as “Recurve Triple Camber”, when initially it was “Recurve Traditional Camber” in their catalog. Same camber, but changed it’s name. So technically it’s a “triple camber” but the look and feel of it is closer to traditional camber than anything else. But yeah, some very subtle rocker sections in there. There is a brief section in the video in the review, near the start that shows a profile view of the camber. I can dig out some raw footage and put that up, if you’d like a more extended look at the camber profile from a visual perspective. But yeah based on ride it feels like trad camber. Nothing overly catchy and maybe those rocker sections help there. And maybe the rocker sections help in powder, but I can’t see them making a massive difference there.
Hope this helps, if it didn’t come too late (apologies, have been very busy preparing reviews, editing videos etc for the website)