A bit of feedback regarding new lightwind boards –
Giuseppe, an Italian reader, recently purchased an RRD XFire
Lightwind and he tells me that it is probably the best windsurfing
purchase of his life.
The board is the
new version (V2) which has no video presentation on the site and no online reviews
which I can find right now.
Giuseppe recons that it does exactly what it says on
the tin – fast, effortless to plane, easy to gybe, very flexible regarding sail
and fin sizes etc and 120% fun. In fact,
from his comments it is likely that this board comes closest to my lightwind
ideal of everything on the market right now.
Giuseppe says that the largest fin size necessary for him was a 53 cm
Select Slalom (I think) and when he changed down to a 49cm size he was rewarded
with even more speed, better control and even more fun with a slightly smaller
sail. Very awesome! I would personally consider compliant fins
(Zulu of course) of 56, 50 and 46 depending on sail size and water condition.
I have to say that I am really disappointed with Fanatic’s
Lightwind Falcon. They have produced the
thing in a heavy construction and retained the short length. Not cool guys – I’m not angry, just extremely
disappointed. Actually, thinking about
it, I am angry. Very angry! (And very
disappointed)
The problem I have with Starboard’s Ultrasonic is the
extreme width. I have not ridden one but
I doubt that it will be comfortable with smaller sails. The 90ish width is, in my opinion, on the cusp
between slalom and formula, able to go either way. If you are tempted by a 95cm board, would it
not be better to buy Patrik’s hollow formula board and go the whole hog with
12m sail and 70cm fin etc. Just saying….
Here are two shots of Giuseppe’s new machine. In the second shot he places the XFire
against his Manta 85cm (a wide board in its own right) and you can see that
wonderful wide back shape of the XFire to provide the leverage we need. Very
nice ...
Talk to you soon. I will discuss some of Severne's new stuff and also mention some good stuff from Starboard.
Phil
