Curated Snowboard Expert Spencer Storck tested the 2023 Never Summer Proto Slinger this spring at Powder Mountain in Utah. Check out how it performed in the carving, freestyle, and freeride categories, but consider the fact that each and every snowboarder is different. If you have any questions about the Proto Slinger or need recommendations on which snowboard would be best for you, reach out to a Snowboard Expert here on Curated.

One final point before we dive in: It's worth noting that Curated Experts are not sponsored by any brands. All of these reviews are completely unbiased.

Overall Impressions

What is your overall impression of this snowboard? So my first impression was that it is definitely more playful. It has a kind of rocker camber design. It was a buttery board and super fun.

What is your impression of the board’s graphics this year? The graphics this year are definitely pretty wild. You have a gothic space theme going on here and then a little retro Vans style. It’s pretty sweet.

Carving

How is the edge hold? So being that this board has a rocker design, it's really quick edge-to-edge. The camber in your foot helps you get that edge hold if you're looking for that easy-turning, quick-turning board.

How is the stability in turns? So in the turns, you do have decent stability, but not the best stability.

How is the dampness? Any chatter? Again, with this board having that rocker design, when going at higher speeds, it will have a little bit of chatter for sure.

How is it at speed? When you're going at higher speeds, with that rocker design, the nose just kind of wants to bounce up with that rocker.

Freestyle

How playful is it? Does it have any pop? Yeah. So this board would definitely be a great park board. It definitely has plenty of play in it. It has a decent amount of pop with that camber underfoot. It's going to spring you up. It’s a great little board to just ride everywhere, whether rails or jumps.

Freeride

How would this board be on a powder day? So on a powder day, it's a little bit soft. But with that rocker design in the middle, you can lean back on your back foot and then the rest of the board will lift and float up.

How is it on an uneven terrain? On uneven or variable terrain, it actually did really well. A lot of the Never Summers are pretty damp. The one thing, though, is it could use a little bit more stiffness if you were really trying to ride at speed through that stuff.

Recommendations

Who would you recommend this board to? For this board, I would recommend it to an intermediate or expert park rider. However, I will say that beginners who are jumping into that intermediate level will definitely find this to be a great board for park because of its rocker design. It's going to be great on the groomers for quick turns, and it’s going to be a little bit more forgiving than a camber board. It’s also going to be really playful as you get into more park and freestyle riding. I personally would buy this board strictly as a park board.

What else do you want to share about this board? So with Never Summers, you do get an amazing rippled topsheet that looks really nice. It's definitely one of the better topsheets for holding up from chips and stuff like that.

Snowboards work differently for different types of riders. If you want help finding the best snowboard for your needs, reach out to Spencer or any other Snowboard Expert here on Curated. They’ll help you find the right board for you. Note that the 2024 version of the Never Summer Proto Slinger is linked below - same tech, just different graphic: