If you don't race what's the point of buying a full on slalom board my advice stick to a freerace or freeride! So much easier in the turns straights & general sailing.

PhilSWR said...

gavnwend said...
If you don't race what's the point of buying a full on slalom board my advice stick to a freerace or freeride! So much easier in the turns straights & general sailing.

Hey Gavnwend,

Could you recommend a nice, fast forgiving freeride around 110 litres or so? I've got the full-on slalom board and it's fun but challenging. A nice quick freeride that carves sweet would certainly be of interest.

Cheers mate.

A fanatic hawk 110 would fit the bill. I demoed one a couple of years ago and allway remember how forgiving it was in the jibe with great speed for not a lot of effort.

confirm for the futura, great board and still fast !

don't go for the RRD firerace, they sell it as a freerace but it's exactly the same shape as the Xfire minus carbon(do it's bloooody fast but not very forgiving )

Thanks guys for the heads up. And Stanly, checked out ya Youtube clips on the Fanatic Hawk. Sweet looking board mate, and definitly has some get up and go. Will check out the Futura reviews and specs and compare the two.

Thanks again.

stanly said...

Waiting4wind said...

A fanatic hawk 110 would fit the bill.... how forgiving it was in the jibe with great speed for not a lot of effort.

+1

+1 for Hawk

Hawk has quite a fast, loose and lively ride and gybes brilliantly for such a quick board (very similar feel to my 2006 JP FSW but quicker again). Not really built for going upwind but a larger raked fin than normal, relative to sail size, may help (tried a more upright fin in my Hawk and didn't really work that well).

Another board to consider would be a Tabou Rocket (I own a 95), though I think that the Hawk is a bit quicker and more lively (the Rocket is a more comfortable board to sail than the Hawk in rougher conditions).

When I was a beginner I went through a teething stage of back foot first, then front. That didn't last very long. The problem with then method is hitting the first ramp with no front foot in the strap. It's a guaranteed catapult. Probably okay on flat water, but best to fix this bad habit ASAP.

Sorry for pointing you in the wrong direction I take back my selection of a futura they are FREERACE. Stick to a hawk or tabou FREERIDE.