Anyone riding 2021/2022 Futura.
Looking for real world feedback and comparison to Isonics.
Select to expand quotecol5555 said..
Anyone riding 2021/2022 Futura.
Looking for real world feedback and comparison to Isonics.
I have a Futura Carbon 71 2021. It is exceedingly easy to sail, seemingly impervious to chop, great construction. Seems fast although at its size I rarely sail overpowered (it is my light wind board), so never really crossed more than 29 knots.
Hard to find faults with the board. I would not mind having the straps 1-2 cm to the outside, and it turns out it is a bit smaller compared to my venerable Isonic 111 2008 that had bigger tail and easier uptake. It was however much more difficult to sail in the rough. The Futura is harder to tack, there is very little volume up front. Unfortunately boards last me a looong time so I have no comparison to offer with more recent Isonics. However compared to my now sold Patrik 100 slalom 2016 the board is way less nervous and just floats over things, despite the bigger volume and width.
Based on volume alone if I were to do it again I would go bigger. At 68 Kg this is my sub 15 knots board and a Futura 77, or Isonic 73 or a AV Modena 72.5, might work better. Or maybe I am being unreasonable and there is just that much I can do with my biggest sail, a 7.5, in very light winds. Both Futura and Isonic have a foil box, and that might be a plus for freeride sailing in little winds. In the conditions I sail in the foil does not buy much low end, if any.
I looked at the Futura 99 for a small slalom board, but ended up getting an AV Modena 88. I figured at that size everything sails easy and I wanted a smaller volume than 99. Not sure if I was correct. Maybe the 99 would have been fine. Volume, or width, seem to mater less and less given the outstanding range of these modern designs.
I had a Futura 111 from 2014, it was a nice board. I do not like the last years futuras. They are very narrow at the tail, straps too far inboard (for me). I like other freerace boards like Patrik F-race, JP Supersport, Tabou Rocket plus a lot more. These shapes have more similarities with Slalom shapes. The futura outlines look strange for me, but if it works .
Br
Alex
Funny how evolution changes within each brand.
I also had Futura and SS in mid teen years, the Futura feeling huge and clunky, the SS slim and nimble. 111 and 109.
Now, it's reversed.
Select to expand quotecad184 said..
I had a Futura 111 from 2014, it was a nice board. I do not like the last years futuras. They are very narrow at the tail, straps too far inboard (for me). I like other freerace boards like Patrik F-race, JP Supersport, Tabou Rocket plus a lot more. These shapes have more similarities with Slalom shapes. The futura outlines look strange for me, but if it works .
Br
Alex
The pinched in tail is a shape development. To quote Aurelio Verdi, modern slalom boards moved toward "parallel lines in the mid zone, narrow curve on the tail and wide curve toward the nose." RRD, and Starboard, won multiple slalom championships with that outline (look at RRD's 83 wide beast below). The width "one foot off" is not that different, what changed is the curve toward the tail. It is actually interesting to compare 12 years of evolution in the volume distribution. Compare the Isonic 111 2008 68x49 vs the Futura 2021 71x46. Same volume. Isonics 2020-2022 have the same outline, but with more volume in the tail, and rails. Not to mention the Toro inspired cut out! Very different, the result is huge range of use.
If You have a look at the 2022 model the futura 77 is 47,7 cm wide ofo, the 77wide Isonic is 54,6 cm. That is a huge difference at ofo. Thats why for me the futura shapes are more freeride oriented than in the past. Other freerace boards are wider at ofo, better upwind performance, planing through llulls, but maybe a little bit harder to control.
Select to expand quotecad184 said..
If You have a look at the 2022 model the futura 77 is 47,7 cm wide ofo, the 77wide Isonic is 54,6 cm. That is a huge difference at ofo. Thats why for me the futura shapes are more freeride oriented than in the past. Other freerace boards are wider at ofo, better upwind performance, planing through llulls, but maybe a little bit harder to control.
Can't push comparisons too much based just on width. The Futura 77 is 117L vs the 128L of the Isonic, that at least half a size up. Hard to tell if you should compare instead with the Isonic 73, because the Isonics are obviously a different line of boards. But, yes, for flat and light wind the Isonic 73 instead of my Futura 71 might have a little edge at pick up.
Also, the concept of Futura vs Isonic.
Futura for fast, wide range recreational sailing with more emphasis on straight line speed on a long run.
Isonic for expert sailors looking for the quickest acceleration out of planing jibes in dirty air and water, SHORT reaches, and ability to hold the biggest sails for the wind conditions
Me, I cannot tap the potential of an Isonic because I refuse to use max sail sizing...7.4 in 15-25 knots.
I's rather sail a fast freeride 15 liters smaller with a 5.5. And go almost as fast, jibe easier, do get stuck in dirty air, but seldom are two other sailors going nearly the same speed.
For competitive slalom vs 7 other peers, Isonic with 7.4.
For blazing around for 2 hours with 4 other fast windsurfers in a crowd od 30, Futura every time.
my thing with this topic is to use slalom board but with small race sails. so i would use 5.5 in 20 knots wind.
Select to expand quoteLeeD said..
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Me, I cannot tap the potential of an Isonic because I refuse to use max sail sizing...7.4 in 15-25 knots.
I's rather sail a fast freeride 15 liters smaller with a 5.5. And go almost as fast, jibe easier, do get stuck in dirty air, but seldom are two other sailors going nearly the same speed....
Yes, there is definitely that. At my weight and skill level I have no problem sailing overpowered with a 6.0-6.6 (b&J are out with 4.3-4.7). But I get in trouble with a 7.5-8.0 overpowered. Result is that my big slalom are mostly sailed in 5th gear. It is the main reason I went Futura for 7.5, but stick with slalom, the AV 60/88L, for the 6.0-6.6.
5.5 on 20 knots.
Now it comes down to sea state.
Choppy high tide backwash waters can favor a bump board or manageable freeride.
Dead flat might need a speed oriented board.
Short reaches, short sessions, favor slalom boards.
2 hour non stop no rest sessions favor fast freeride.
2021 and 2022 Futura boards are the same shape.
for "apples to apples" equivalent comparisons vs. iSonics look at the widths, not the volumes. Futuras will run a bit less volume at the same widths, and most of that differential will be behind the front strap (thinner narrower tails, less beefy rails, etc.). those differences are meant to make the Futura a less technical, more "user-friendly" ride.
i got a chance to do back-to-back same-width board comparisons on the small sizes in rather choppy conditions late last year. carbon construction on the Futuras, reflex carbon on the iSonics.
much to my surprise, i found the iSonics a preferable option at those sizes. the fault i found on the Futuras was that (at least on the hulls tested) the construction felt much too stiff in the chop. riding the board off the fin (decent stock fin, by the way) was absolutely necessary to soften the ride, but this proved difficult to accomplish always due to the footstrap positions (outboard settings are not outboard enough, as duzzi noted). as one might expect, acceleration was slower on the Futuras, and with the same sails and fins in back to back testing speeds, were about 1.5 kts slower on 10-sec.
on the larger side of boards, particularly if using sails on the smaller side of the boards' range and in smoother water, i suspect the Futuras might be preferable. it is also possible that the wood construction in the smaller sizes may be less stiff and more forgiving in the chop.
