120 LITRE

2013 FREERIDE BOARD TEST REVIEWS

Moving on from the March issue’s Slalom board test, we gave six of the very best Freeride shapes on the market a serious examination in blasting, carving and general use in a range of water states.

Report by Dan Newman 

Pics by Mark Kasprowicz

(This review originally appeared in the April 2013  issue of Windsurf Magazine. To read the latest features, print and digital subscriptions for readers worldwide are available HERE.)

Freeride boards are widely accessible to many levels of rider, from intermediates just getting into the footstraps and planing for the first time, right up to expert riders blasting flat-out in between high-speed carve gybes.

All of these boards are pure freeriders, some share their designs with more racing-style, slalom shapes while others are more manoeuvre-orientated. So whether you’re after comfortable high-speed blasting or smooth manoeuvrability there’s something here for you.

GREY LINES
The Freeride segment a bit blurry at times as you’ll also see ‘Freerace’ ‘Freemove’ and ‘Freecarve’ boards listed by several brands – including some from manufacturers on this test. So what’s the difference?

Freerace boards are generally a de-tuned and/or more comfortable version of a tried-and-tested, elite-level slalom racing board. (Although to confuse things you can get the occasional racing board that is excellent around the bends as well!)

Freecarve boards, as the name suggests, have their emphasis on gybing and turning and so, as extra rocker curve is inevitably involved, are often slower than a flatter, harder-to-carve racing rocker line.

‘Freemove’ is a category that encompasses Freeride, Freestyle and even light wind/small wave performance – so if entry level sliding moves in an all-round package is appealing, look in that direction.

If the best mix of carving and blasting is what you’re after, then the popular, broader Freeride segment is where you should start looking. Rails and rockers fast enough for fun, but forgiving enough to crank around some corners at high-speed – all in comfort with friendly stance (strap and pad) placement, controllable fins and a general ‘Grand Tourer’ feel.

Lots of Freeride boards also descend from proven race boards – but bear in mind some of those are also easier to sail than others – but are also generally more durable for day-to-day use, not to mention a little cheaper too and therefore potentially excellent value for entry-level GPS Speedsailing or amateur slalom racing.

THE TESTING
Much like testing Slalom or Freerace boards, but with added fun like the occasional jump, testing Freeriders is pretty simple. Using a variety of rigs we stick them head-to-head in flat water, chop and open swell, see how they are for straight-line speed, which ones plane early, accelerate well, how they handle around a range of carving turns and make notes on their comfort and ability to control.

TESTERS
On this trip we had two lightweights, (myself and Fraser Green) and two both taller and heavier riders (Toby Gibson and Brian McDowell) as well as a light-to-middle-weight expert, Kuba Gasiewski, to hand. This variety of body type delivers a good overview for customers of all abilities and sizes.

TEST LOCATION
Our regular destination in Dahab, Egypt, has reliable and constant winds that blow all year round, (yes, it can also sometimes be a little gusty like our ‘real world’ conditions at home too) and every type of water state close to hand, rest assured these boards have had a thorough going-over.

We base our test HQ at the Harry Nass centre 1 that has easy access to the lagoon, speed strip, some choppy water and both open water and breaking wind-swell areas. Harry Nass are incredibly accommodating to us during trips, allowing us full use of any of their 4 centres positioned around Dahab bay.

While on our trip we experienced some perfect conditions, although it wasn’t the windiest of fortnights we’ve ever spent in Dahab, we still scored excellent Freeride sailing – and more importantly less-then-perfect conditions, with winds ranging from around 15 to 30 knots to really push these boards to their limits.

SAILS
The 7.8 twin cam sails that also feature in this issue were the most used on these boards but we also had a range of 7.0 multi-cams from last month’s sail test and some smaller 6.0 Crossover rotational sails for when the wind really picked up.

TRENDS
One feature you’ll notice creeping into many brands’ programs for Wave, Freestyle-Wave, Freemove, Freecarve and Freeride models is the ‘thin-railed compact’ shape. Boards are growing wider, which brings benefits regarding low-end and stability and at the same time are growing shorter and thinner too.

This shift of volume placement means thinner, easier to carve rails, smoother rides through chop, tighter turning arcs due to the shorter board length and a noticeable feel of ‘more volume than you actually have’. It’s a welcome swing that seems only to bring benefits and widen the range of use.

THE RESULTS
Well that depends on what tickles your fancy doesn’t it? Some of these boards you’ll notice are very manoevre-oriented or more forgiving to sail than others and others offer a balanced mix of speed and control – there’s even a clear lighter wind performer.

Before you go shopping, define where and what type of sailing you plan on doing the most of and try to match this to both your current ability and short-to-medium term ambitions. Enjoy.

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TEST OVERVIEW PAGE