Free-Ride board choice

adywind · Joined: 08 Jan 2012 Posts: 665

Ive got myself a 2016 Kode Freewave 94 technora and this is by far the smoothest riding board I've owned! Its a complete opposite to my older 2012 Kode 86. Double concaves with thick "sponge" pads make the ride silky smooth even over the harsh Lake Michigan chop. You can use it as either single or tri fin-for speed or control respectively. The technora construction is surprisingly light and probably contributes to the soft feel also. At 234x61.5 it has rather classic dimensions for the category, the deck is quite flat with a little nose rocker and the tail is narrow with significantly thinner rails then the older Kodes. Yet it seems to start planing earlier without becoming crazy fast once planing. Overall a nicely balanced all around board with incredibly smooth riding. 109L 234x66.5 is the biggest size available.

NOVAAN · Joined: 28 Sep 1994 Posts: 1549

My 2017 Tabou 3s is on the way. I will post my thoughts on the new shape.
I talked with Matt about the one review about the harsh ride. he has used the 96 a bunch and said its just as smooth, a bit faster and turns better than the 2016. Tabou knows the 3s is loved because of the smooth easy ride. The online review of this board was that the focus of the redesign was to make it even smoother. lets hope they didn't mess it up.

acalhounguy · Joined: 25 May 2013 Posts: 57

I ordered today a Quatro Tetra 109L. It has the exact volume / length / width I was targeting. It has double concave into V with a fairly straight rocker through the tail (apparently it has a small tail kick which is not of any value here and will slow the board slightly but there are always compromises). I'm hoping the extra length will help with tacks and make the board a little less sensitive to foot pressure in up and down conditions (slogging). I think the thruster set-up will be fun to play with on our rare windy days when we can use smaller sails but there are also blanks for the thruster boxes.

I was sold on the 3S until they shortened it and I didn't find anyone with last year's model for sale in 116 (though I didn't look very hard - Pritchard didn't have any in any case). I was debating between the Goya One and the Quatro and I talked to someone who has extensive time with both and who felt that the Quatro would be better for my needs (they had both for sale so there was no incentive to push one or the other).

Anyway, I'm excited to try it out (3 months from now) - it will be different than any board I've ever used. Even in Bonaire I only had access to freeride boards because the wind was not really up when I was there.