Light, comfortable and seemingly durable are all attributes that describe the Prologo Nago Evo Nack, all of which make it pretty good at its job.
Prologo take a fairly traditional approach to the base shape of their latest premier road saddle, with regards to its cut and width, but then give it a flat profile to keep it in step with modern trends. The result is a perch that seems almost universally acceptable.
Comfort along the nose was never an issue, though on long early season base rides we did find that its padding was firm, and that wore on our sit bones after a couple of hours. This is likely due to a combination of early season butt sensitivity and breaking in a new saddle. As we’ve ridden more, comfort has improved.
We’ve moved the Evo Nack around – adjustment range on the rails is on the short side at 60mm, which prompted us to swap posts – which has tested the rails' ability to handle clamping abuse, and they've held up well. We weren’t able to get the clear coat to crack, whether using a single bolt or dual-bolt micro-adjust post (not that we were trying), and riding on both beaten up tarmac and dirt roads.
The base and cover held up well over the course of our five-month test. While some may see the saddle’s slick microfibre cover as inferior to leather, it held up to daily abuse much better. We were able to scrub the saddle with dish soap and a sponge to bring it back to new after some particularly grimy rides. The graphics held up without fade and the cover’s lack of seams eliminated any additional chance of chafing.
The Evo Nack is compatible with Prologo’s U-Clip seat bag attachment. It measures 134mm wide and 280mm long. Without the U-Clip attachment, it weighs 158g on our scale.
Premium construction
Bells-and-whistles best describes the Nago Evo Nack’s construction. From the rails up, the saddle is high-tech. Its rails, in fact, are made of a combination of carbon fibre, Kevlar and aluminium filament reinforcement, specifically in the clamping area.
On top sits a carbon injection moulded base with a thinner engineered section along the nose for comfort. This section offers ample flex to cushion sensitive areas. The saddle is covered with Prologo’s thin but dense Active Density padding and a microfibre cover.
The only item that seemed missing was some sort of scuff guard on the tail sides. Though ours have yet to show any wear, one tip over at a coffee shop, get-off in a crit or slide-out in the rain will likely do damage.
Bottom line
Saddles are such a personal product, it’s near-impossible to recommend one to everyone, so the caveat 'try before you buy' is always in place. Our assessment, however, is that the Evo Nack will certainly work for those who enjoy Selle Italia’s SLR, plus users of the Fizik Aliante or Antares (it kind of splits the middle of these two shapes) and maybe Selle San Marco’s Aspide. Note that the Evo Nack is rounder from centre to edges than these examples.
As for the package, it’s pricey considering you can get a carbon railed Selle Italia SLR for under £120/$200, but it’s still in the ballpark when compared, feature wise, to a larger sample of competitors. The same can be said for its weight, which is slightly heavier; 150g is the magic weight for this comparison. In all, it’s a solid new saddle from manufacturers who've got ProTour cachet right now from their high-profile sponsorship of team Sky.