Positives
- Excellent Grip
- Good Base
- Forgiving
Negatives
- Feels a bit Hooky
- Not as much pop as most NS Camber Profiles
- Pretty Centered For A Freeride Board
Summary
The Never Summer Proto T3 Fr has a little softer flex and a different carbon mapping throughout the board in 2026. The three contact points of this Fusion Tripple Camber often make the board feel a little hooky, it doesn't track super well, and it's harder for me to access these camber points. But I will say once you get used to it, it is forgiving. It's easy to ride, it has excellent grip, so a lot of people who just like a board that they can cruise with really enjoy the Never Summer Proto T3 Fr.Where To Buy
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| Riding Style | Freeride |
| Riding Level | Advanced - Expert |
| Fits Boot size (US) | 8-10, 10-12 |
| Manufactured in | USA by Never Summer |
| Shape | Tapered Directional |
| Camber Profile | Hybrid Rocker |
| Stance | Setback -20mm |
| Approx. Weight | Feels Normal |
| Split | No |
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An Un-Biased Breakdown Of How the Never Summer Proto T3 Fr Rides Review by The Good Ride
How The Never Summer Proto T3 Fr Was Tested:
I borrowed the Never Summer Proto T3 Fr for an extended demo and will be sending it back.
Size: 156 and 160 in past models
Days: 4 This year For James and 5-6 For Davey
Conditions: and an early morning slackountry time with Drift Boards & Union Rovers
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10”, 185-195lbs). I’ve tested and compared 800+ boards and close to 1,000 if you count different versions of the same Model over the years.
Davey (Size 12, 240lbs, 6’4”)
Davey’s tested and compared 30+ Wide / Bigger Guy boards which isn’t easy to do.
Boots: Nitro Team TLS, Burton Ion
Insoles: Footprint Kingfoam Orthotic Elite
Bindings: Union Force
Redundancy: Strapins in case boots or bindings break.
Jacket: Skyline Fuse 3L Jacket, Skyline Fuse Light 3L Jacket, Jones Mtn Surf Anorak
Pant: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant, Skyline Faze Pant, Jones Mountain Surf Pant
Helmet: Smith Method, Smith Scout
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Clutch Mitt, Burton AK Tech Leather Glove, Drop Tahoma Mitt,
James’s Set Up
21-21.5” Wide. Stance Angles +18/-3, +18/+3, +18/-9. Close to Reference on groomers and Set all the way back in powder.
Davey’s Set Up:
23” Wide. Stance Angles +18/-3, +18/0, +18/-9. Close to Reference on groomers and Set all the way back in powder.
Similar Boards We Like (but not the same):
Amplid Souly Grail, K2 Alchemist, United Shapes Cadet, Burton Gril Master, Jones Flagship Pro, Stranda Descender, YES Pick Your Line, Korua Otto, Ride Algorythm, Ride Shadowban, Salomon Highpath, Yes Standard Uninc, Capita Black Snowboard Of Death, Cardiff Crane, Cardiff Lynx, Nitro Alternator, United Shapes Horizon, Gnu Antigravity, Lib Tech Dynamo
Ethics Statement
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Construction / Durability / Weight
Never Summer makes great boards and the Proto T3 Fr is right in line. The top sheet is super durable and their boards last a long time. They are a great balance between being on the light side of medium while still being very durable. That’s a hard balance to achieve. (We don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores, there is no consistency in a board’s weight)
Sizing
James’ Take On Sizing
I rode 160 in the past and while that was great for my height and my weight, if I was a size ten, that would have been perfect. However, at a nine it felt challenging to turn mid-day when conditions got tracked upor when I was in tight spots. The 160 was the best in the mornings. The 56 feels much better for my boot size and has much better control, but it just felt a little small for me for what this board is supposed to be. I feel a little bit in between sizes here, and sizing is subjective.
Never Summer is pretty liberal with their boot sizes but sometimes conservative with their recommended weight.
Sizing is all about balancing what fits your boot size (most important), weight (second most important) and height (third most important) for how you like to ride. Too wide and it’s hard to turn. Too narrow and you might boot out which often slams you into the ground.
The Good Ride’s Conservative / Safe Sizing Boot Guid
152: 8.5-9.5
156: 8-9
160: 9.5-10.5
164: 10-11
157x: 10.5-11.5
161x:11-12
165x:11.5-12.5
170x:12-13
162DF: 13-14 or mid-wides that carve super hard.
166DF:13-14 or mid-wides that carve super hard.
There are often up to 2 or 3 sizes that will work for your specs. Size down for more control and size up for more speed/stability/carving power. Most Brands, Including are very conservative with recommended weight and very liberal with recommended boot sizing Here are some ideal US boot sizes for these boards. If it comes down to boot size or weight, I would ensure it fits your boot first and then your weight a close second.
Never Summer Proto T3 Fr Review
In Depth Comparisons
Over the years, I got this in a wide variety of conditions and compared it against a bunch of different boards. I’ve been riding this even a few years before it came out in a tester model. I know this board very well.
Shape / Setback
This Never Summer Proto T3 Fr is tapered and directional, but with only five millimeters of taper. It’s also very centered on board for this shape. You do have a much bigger nose than the tail. When tset all the way back there is only a 2″ setback on board at a 22.25″ stance width. In comparison to most freeride boards out there, which are more around 3.5 inches or more, this is actually less than most all-mountain boards.This really sits right in between what we define as All mountain and Freeride.
Camber / On Snow Feel
This small camber between the inserts is almost flat. Then it goes to rocker, a mellow camber, and then out to rocker again with early rise before the nose/tail. It doesn’t feel as stable as you would think for having camber between the feet because it’s so small. These passive camber profiles seem to fight each other, giving it a semi-catchy feel. It never truly catches, but gives the illusion that it might. It doesn’t take long to get used to it. Beginner intermediates on up to experts can ride this; it just takes a little time.
Edge Hold
When it comes to edge hold, the Never Summer Proto T3 Fr grips like a champ. The combination of the multi-radius sidecut along with three camber profiles really presses in and grips well. It’s up there with old school aggressive magnetraction but doesn’t grab in softer snow. If you want a hard to icy conditions, cruiser this could be a great choice.
Flex Personality
The Never Summer Proto T3 Fr has a medium to medium-stiff flex. Most of the flex happens down near the tip and tail, but it’s stiffer over the outer camber points and there is a good bit of stiffness between the feet. It’s not the traditional easy flex that a lot of Never Summer boards with various forms of rocker and camber have or had in the past, but overall, it has an easy pop to it.
New Carbon Mapping
They upgraded the flex pattern this year, making it just a touch softer than previous years. They also redid the carbon mapping, giving it a more spread-out, web-like design in the nose, tail and in the waist like you see above. This makes it easier to butter the tip and tail while providing more evenly distributed pop.
Butters / Air / Switch
It’s doable for a butter but it did take some work.
The Never Summer Proto T3 Fr doesn’t have that easy rocker/camber pop of the past, but it still pops well enough. It feels a little hooky on edge, but it tracks well into side hits and has enough dampness to go big.It feels like a slightly more mellow version of the first rendetion of rocker and camber but it’s harder to access it because the camber is further away from your feet as you can see in this pic. You have to have a very wide stance and press your knees out really wide to access the camber on both feet. The mini camber between the feet doesn’t have the pop of the rocker in Rocker & Camber or the pop of Recurve.
It lands switch no problem and rides switch a lot better than you would think for something with “freeride” in its name.
Uneven Snow
In uneven snow, this Never Summer Proto T3 Fr handles it like a champ. There isn’t a lot of chatter for this kind of multi-camber profile with the nose / tail so far off the snow. Never Summer’s dampening tech really helps quiet down the ride and it handles hard micro bumpy and soft uneven snow pretty well. Never Summer’s dampening rating is understated compared to the rest of the industry as well. I will say the slightly less damp Eclipse did a better job in uneven snow and I felt less chatter underfoot with Recurve Camber.
Turning / Carving
Turning on the Proto T3 Fr is quick edge to edge. However, I wasn’t able to really engage the camber for that fun spring out of the turn. The best way to turn is to put most of your weight right between the feet into the center camber zones. However. the spring out of the turn is a lot less compared to Never Summer’s Recurve Camber and Rocker & Camber boards. it carves well enough, but it’s not the most dynamic turning board
The turn initiation and radius are balanced to a little turny and it can make all kinds of radius turns and you can weight your turn any way you want without it feeling washy.
Speed
If you want to flat-base straight line at high speeds, the Never Summer Proto T3 Fr can feel a little unsettling with chatter and instability. It’s better for semi-straight lines with edges engaged rather than full-on bombing.
Base Glide
When well waxed, the base glide is upper tier. It can get thirsty, but overall, it holds wax long enough and rides fast. Despite the die cut, it rides smooth without being noticeable.
Powder
In powder, the Never Summer Proto T3 Fr has decent float despite not being set far back for a Freeride board. The tail sinks and the nose holds up, but it favors steeper angle powder over low angle. In low angle, I felt rear leg burn and had to work harder. I can’t find the footage but I tested this against the Eclipse and Benchmark. Both floated better. After riding the Benchmark it made me want setback inserts.
James’ Final Thoughts
Overall, the Never Summer Proto T3 Fr with Triple Camber Fusion tech isn’t really for me. I prefer the new Eclipse and the now discontinued Never Summer Cougar more, but if you want a mellow board that grips well and is forgiving, the Proto T3 Fr could work for you.
Never Summer Proto T3 Fr Past Reviews
Never Summer Proto Fr 2022-2025 Review
Ethics Statement: We don’t get paid by the manufacturer to write these reviews and this is our unfiltered opinion. We do make money from the “Where To Buy” links, but this is our best attempt at an honest and objective review from an average riders’ perspective.
Never Summer Proto Fr
How This Review Happened:
Borrowed this for an extended demo and sent it back.
Size: 160
Days: 3
Conditions: Pretty good spring conditions. It shut off last year late feb/early march when I got this.
Riders: James (Size 9, 5’10” 185-190lbs)
Boots: Burton Kendo
Insoles: F.I.T. Gamechangers
Bindings: Union Atlas
Jacket: Volcom Coaches Jacket
Pant: Burton AK Gore-Tex Pro 3L Hover Pant, Burton AK Gore-Tex 2L Swash Pant, Burton Gore-Tex Ballast Pant
Helmet: Smith Maze
Goggle: Smith 4D Mag
Gloves: Burton AK Tech Leather Glove, Burton AK Tech Glove
Similar Boards (but not the same): Yes Pick Your Line, Burton Flight Attendant, Jones Flagship, Rossignol XV, Lib Tech BRD, Weston Backwoods, Burton Cartographer, Burton Instigator, Korua Otto, Yes Typo, Jones Frontier,
Set-Up: 21.5” Wide. Stance Angles +18/-3, +18/+3. Close to Reference.
How it was tested
I took this out for most of the day and then at the end took out the Lib Tech Quiver Killer for a run and then the Never Summer Hammer for a run. Then I would often ride it the same day as the NS Hammer and switch back and fourth to get a feel of it. One day I rode the Proto Ultra as well to compare it to shockwave camber. Wasn’t a perfect comparison due to the different shapes of the boards but was super curious.
Approximate Weight:
The Never Summer Proto Fr is a pretty middle ground board. Not to heavy and not too light but the dampness is just right.
(We don’t put in the exact weight because with wood cores there is no consistency in a boards weight)
Sizing
I really liked the sizing of the NS Hammer in a 156 which has the same specs as the Never Summer Proto Fr when it comes to sizing, shape and width so I think I might like the 156 a little better. Still the 160 fit well and I think it all depends on what you are going for. If you want speed and better float go bigger. If you want maneuverability go one size smaller.
Here are some ideal US boot sizes for the Never Summer Proto Fr boards. You can of course go bigger or smaller but these work best for not turning the board slower than it should be and not having the dreaded Toe & Heel Drag.
156: 8.5-9.5
160: 9-10
164: 9.5-10.5
157x: 10.5-11
161x- 11-12
165x- 11.5-12.5
Shape/Camber/On Snow Feel/Ability Level
The Never Summer Proto Fr has 5mm of taper which isn’t a lot compared to many freeride boards, but enough to feel different than your standard double ender all mountain board. It needs a little back foot weight but not much.
The camber profile is complex and very different than anything I tried. The short micro camber between the feet transitioning into rocker at the bindings, to camber and then a mellow rocker before the nose/tail took some getting used to. It didn’t have that learning curve like Triple Base Technology had for me that took a few days. This only took me the morning to understand. The take away was it is more locked in than most hybrid camber boards and definitely more locked in than Never Summers Shockwave, Ripsaw and Rocker & Camber. It wasn’t quite there with the directional camber of the Hammer or other mostly camber rides but it wasn’t super easy to skid a turn.
One footing and flat basing were almost like other hybrid camber boards but had just a little different feel. Not sure if it was more loose or something else but it felt in between Shock Wave camber and hybrid camber.
What took some getting used to is the small camber section combined with the tip/tail off the snow felt a touch hooky. It felt like the edges were going to catch but then they didn’t do it as easy as you thought. Once I got used to that it was business as usual with NS.
Flex Personality
The Never Summer Proto Fr doesn’t break in the middle on a flex like most of their hybrid rocker boards do but it was doable on a butter for sure. For being so damp this has good pop. I felt it popped the same way other hybrid rocker Never Summer boards did by loading it up in the camber area in the tip or tail and it popped well.
Uneven Terrain
The Never Summer Proto Fr has that legendary NS flex personality that can handle just about any kind of uneven snow. Very competent powering over or through it but also great for just slowing down and turning through it as well. This is an excellent all day resort ride. If crowded Saturdays from first to last chair are what you ride this is a good friend.
Speed/Base Glide
This is a pretty stiff board and it can point it well. The Never Summer Proto Fr is more stable than Shock Wave straight lining, but I wasn’t 100% confident flat basing at speed with this little camber. I liked to still keep it on edge a little bit.
Base glide is easy and I love Never Summer bases. When well waxed they are up there with the best of them.
Edge Hold
So here is one distinct advantage with Triple Camber Tech. That mellow camber well between the feet really grips well. NS boards already did well in hard snow but the Never Summer Proto Fr and Triple Camber Twin have more icy snow grip.
Turn Initiation
The 160 turned pretty quick even though it felt a touch wide for me.
Turning Experience/Carving
Once I got this on edge there was a very balanced and fun turning experience. I think it would feel a bit more turny if you were a size 10 instead of a size 9 but it would still be pretty balanced. I liked the pop out of the turn with the Proto Ultra’s Shock Wave Camber Profile and the Directional Camber Hammer better but this was no slouch. Especially in harder snow it came alive.
Powder
No powder so hard to say. With a -2” set back from center of board at a 22.25” stance width, a little taper, and then combined with the nose/tail being off the snow this seems like a competent floater but it seems far from being a pow specialist. The Hammer has a little more set back on board but it has less overall early rise so that might be why. Maybe next time around I’ll get it in some deep snow.
Switch/Pipe/Jumps
Very doable switch. The Never Summer Proto Fr was fun tracking into small bumps on the hill but I think this has the potential to go big. The grip and semi quick turn initiation in pipe would be appreciated too.
Conclusion
So for me Never Summer Proto Fr was a fun board once I got used to it and I’m glad it didn’t take that long for it to happen. I felt a stronger connection to the Hammer and other Shockwave Camber Profile boards but this by no means a bad board. Just different than your usual Never Summer ride.
Never Summer Proto T3 Fr Specs
Never Summer Proto T3 Fr Images
We try to get as many images of the Never Summer Proto T3 Fr, but forgive us if they're not all there.
Never Summer Proto T3 Fr User Reviews
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