The way to decide which board type is
best for you, is for you to ask yourself
a couple of key questions. First of all,
what is your ability and style of riding? This
will enable you to determine what type of
performance you are looking to get out of
the board. Are you an ambitious
intermediate looking for a stable and
comfortable platform on which to master the
initial planing techniques? Are you an
experienced sailor who is happiest blasting
around in a straight-line and hitting the odd
ramp; or are you a wave rider at heart,
looking for a large floaty board to enjoy the
lighter breeze, but are cautious of
wondering down the ‘pure freeride’ path?
These are just a handful of instances, of
which there are many more, but the great
thing is that there are plenty of board
styles available to match every rider
preference. By reading the reviews and
looking at the ‘Suitability Chart’ for each
board, you can determine exactly what
type of rider we believe the board is
appropriate for.
The second question to ask yourself is where
do you sail predominantly and what are your
aspirations? Are you looking for a board that
planes early and has the efficiency to handle
itself in a drag race in any environment? Do
you mainly windsurf on flat-water and have
aspirations to making inroads into newschool
freestyle; or are you a coastal sailor
that needs a board with the range and
manners to cope with severe chop? The six
boards under the spotlight this month
epitomize the blend of boards available on
the market in this category. You have the JP
that despite being a stunning freestyle
machine, has the versatility and ease to fulfil
a freemove/ freeride role. There’s then the
Vector – essentially an electric freeride board
with a sharp responsive nature that loves to
be loaded and driven off its fin, making bump
and jump sailing in coastal conditions a
dream. And then there are all-round boards
such as the Sumo from Angulo and the
Rocket from Tabou – real chameleon boards
that can put their hand to pretty much any
discipline, from light-wind wave riding,
through to freeride blasting. The choice is
yours, but remember there are several more
in store next month!
THE EXTENDED TEST TEAM
In addition to the established test team of Tris
Best, Mark Hosegood and Jim Collis, we
were joined in Egypt by several guest testers,
each offering feedback and a valuable insight
into the kit’s performance from their own
varied perspectives. Firstly there was Pete, a
veteran windsurfer having taken up the sport
during its pioneering days of the early
eighties. A very accomplished sailor, he is a
true speed fanatic at heart and rarely misses
a gybe at the end of each run. Committing
confidently into duck gybes towards the end
of the trip, he is self-confessed plug-and-play
sailor, rarely finding the time to windsurf in the
UK. Next up are Chris and Andy, both just
bridging the gap between competent and
advanced. Comfortable in the footstraps and
harness, they showed a impressive turn of
speed getting from A to B and by the end of
their stay were getting round most of their
carve gybes. Last but not least was Rachel, a
level three instructor having worked for the
last three summers out in Vassiliki. The first
women to participate on one of our tests, she
is also light at 55kg, providing feedback from
an altogether different perspective. A keen
freestyler capable of various intricate carving
manoeuvres such as upwind 360s and push
tacks, she is also at the stage of trying her
hand at some ‘new-school’ aerial trickery. Our
thanks to everyone involved for their support
and helpful feedback on the equipment.
NEXT MONTH
The second instalment of this 95-105L
board review will look at seven boards,
each with a definite leaning towards
freeride. That’s not to say they aren’t easy
to turn or inapplicable for new-school stunts
… far from it! The reason we have broken
the group into two is to help expose the
variety of board styles available in this
volume range, and to allow you to
determine which is most relevant for you.
Next month we will present the tests of the
following boards: AHD Fast Forward 106,
F2 Stoke 106, Fanatic Eagle 101, JP X-Cite
Ride 105, Mistral Screamer 105, Starboard
Carve 101 and the Tabou Rocket 105.
THANKS
The test in Egypt would not have been
possible without the help of a few people.
Thanks to Sportif for getting us to and from
Dahab safely with all the kit intact! Thanks
also to the Hilton in Dahab for putting us up
for the two weeks and Harry Nass for
putting up with our untidiness!
A big thank-you must go to Zero Gravity for
providing us with some excellent Amex
booms for the test. With an excellent arm
diameter, comfortable grip and large
extension range, they served us proud and
were a pleasure to use. Finally, thanks to
Simon Bassett of 2XS for supplying us with
Pro Sport sun cream so that we didn’t
frazzle in the sun!
