Has anybody tested this board?
Please, best wind range (for avg 80 kg expert sailor), control in the rough/wild, performance in the low range, gybe and acceleration ability, style needed to sail it (possibly compared to Isonic 63)
Thx
I own one. It's a great board. In answer to your questions:
- Wind range: I'm 89kgs and I use it from 18 to 28 kts with 7, 6.2 & 5.7 race sails. At 80kg you could go from 15 to 25 kts.
- Control in rough/wild: for me very good up to 23kts, above that I need to been pointing to windward for control. Bearing away In very rough water (1m confused wind waves) above 23kts it can be a handful. This is not a problem for me as I tend to sail in flat water.
- Low range: see notes on wind range
- It's a great board to gybe
- Acceleration is epic
I've not ridden an Isonic 63 but it compared well with an old (2014) Isonic 87 (57 wide) I owned a couple of years ago
I also own one. At 90 kg I pair it with sails from 5.4 to 7.0 m2 and fins 30-35 cm. Winds 19-28 knots.
It is a dedicated slalom design with all the thrills of blistering acceleration, loose feeling and good speed, but in chop/waves also much more physical to sail compared to wave/freewave boards. For going downwind in chop I have found it to be surprisingly safe. I used to be a bit worried about the nose catching and diving (potentially resulting in a catapult) while sailing fast downwind over steep chop, but non of these issues with this board. You can just power through and let the board to the work. Highly recommended for what is is - a fast, fun high wind slalom board with great control also in chop/waves as long as you put in the physical energy to control it.
Sometimes I start a session with the high wind slalom gear for an hour or so only to switch to a wave board to extend the session because I run out of energy to control the power of the slalom board and cam sails.
thx for your replies.
Ok. I've been competing in slalom for many seasons but, with Covid stuff, chances have been less and less. And strong wind sailing (in my spots and with my buddies) is going to happen more and more with fewer people in the water and mostly enjoying the GPS.
I already have quite a few medium/strong wind dedicated boards but wanted buy a sort of "sum-board", in which the good stuff of all of them blend and trying to avoind the contra...
...still not sure this is going to be possible...
Mistral SL 112 / 91 keep showing good performance under CL feet. i still enjoy them but when wind is not steady they aren't so solid like new designs. Or better, I feel new designs are easier to score high with less engagement in the conditions i said above. Off course it is also true the opposite (strong steady wind they stay down easier and don't eject you out when a strong gust hits).
I sail also a 65cm slalom board, which i got instead of the "classic small slalom size", because i wanted some "steak" to fight with during the pack action. But, I feel it's not so fast or controllable in the rough/wild GPS sessions...
I think the Falcon 97 (or isonic 63 and similar) could be nice (at my level) when wind is storng but water state is relatively easy. I'm keep thinking that when it's SOLID 5.5 i will need the M 91...
