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Four flat water boards, ranging from freemove to freerace, which at first glance appeared to be roughly the same size, travelled with the surf team to Tobago for testing. A pair of waveboards and freemoveboards were then ready for testing at home in the North Sea. In this test, the most important board groups in the volume class from 110 to 115 litres compete against each other. The boards with the largest volume seemed subjectively the smallest on the water. With a width of only 64 and 65 centimetres and a much narrower tail (photos on the right), the 70 centimetre wide freerace board is so much more stable in the water when catching up, planing and planing despite its smaller volume - as if it were a whole size bigger. However, nobody in the shop is likely to choose between a wave board and a freerace board. We therefore tested the competing, neighbouring boards against each other in a match race.
Heat 1 - Freeride (wide) vs Freerace
Don't be afraid of freerace - that's the rough summary. The Super Sport as a freerace representative is not only just as stable in the water and glides very controlled, but also jibes very similarly to the wide freerider Magic Ride. We give the Magic Ride one more point for stability in turns, but the Super Sport is half a school mark more lively, although it is nowhere near the top level of the narrow freerider Super Ride. Plenty of - also dynamic - lift in the tail carries even heavy surfers particularly well through the jibe. Subjectively, the Super Sport could be described as a slightly sportier Magic Ride, the planing position is super free and stable around the longitudinal axis. With the legs in blocked mode, pressure on the fin, the Super Sport shoots over the Tobago chop as if it didn't exist. But then it also flows
Adrenalin, and the speedometer needle is even further to the right than on the freeriders. In terms of tipping stability when turning or in slow jibes, these two are the winners - and are two to three grades ahead of the Freestyle Wave. If you get on well with four straps, you can surf a freerace board like the Super Sport just as well as a freeride board.
Heat 2 - Freeride (wide) vs Freeride
Here it's all about narrow versus wide. Of course, the two centimetres that the Super Ride is slimmer around the hips count, but above all the significantly narrower tail. The straps are closer together and the board reacts more quickly to foot control on the straight. The Magic Ride rides like it's on rails, whereas the Super Ride is almost like a go-kart. In the gliding duel, the Super Ride is slightly more wobbly in the water and sprints off just after the Magic Ride. In a later comparison with the Freestyle Wave, the Magic Ride has a sporty, free feel and exerts good pressure on the 36 cm fin - the Super Ride with the slightly larger fin (38 cm) can noticeably outperform this. With body tension - but only then - the board glides high above the water and hardly touches down. The Magic Ride, on the other hand, also forgives a somewhat lazier riding style, occasionally touching a choppy wave, but without letting it upset it. The narrower freerider can thus gain half a point in top speed, i.e. about one kilometre per hour more speed. However, the riding characteristics should be more decisive than these small differences in measurable performance.
The narrower Super Ride goes into the jibe with less foot pressure, can be placed in tighter radii and is therefore positioned between the Magic Ride and Freestyle Wave, which represents a very successful middle ground for sporty and light flat water surfers. Compared to the Freestyle Wave, the board carries much more speed through the turn, even with less pressure in the sail. In fast power jibes and carving jibes, this is the winner in this field - for surfers with solid jibing technique and a high dry ratio. The Super Ride is therefore the slightly sportier version of the Magic Ride, which will also make fast, tight power jibes and duck jibes much easier for lighter surfers and offers experienced freeriders maximum riding fun straight ahead and in fast jibes. The wider Magic Ride offers almost the same performance, but is easier to call up - and is a good choice for intermediates and heavy surfers.
Heat 3 - Freemove vs Freeride
Although the Magic Ride would be categorised as smaller in terms of volume, it not only glides one point earlier on our scale, but also shows who is the top dog in flat water, especially in the acceleration phase. At least when the focus is on performance. The freerider picks up pressure very early on the fin, the board frees itself from the water and pulls forwards smoothly. Meanwhile, the narrower freemove board with its slim tail rocks comparatively smoothly into full planing. But even in the speed duel, the Freestyle Wave lets its competitor take the lead and follows at around three or four kilometres per hour less on the speedometer. Subjectively, this hardly seems slower. However, if you like to accept every match that presents itself, the Freestyle Wave is not the right choice. A distance of 50 metres quickly accumulates over a 500 metre stroke. This is because the Magic Ride can be edged with pressure on the fin and then flies like a very controllable slalom board, with maximum riding stability and very easy to control.
The narrow Freestyle Wave, on the other hand, is agile and reacts very directly to load changes with small changes in direction - which can be a big advantage for lighter surfers, as the board also glides into the jibe with much less foot pressure and in much tighter radii. The Magic Ride, on the other hand, is stable once you put a lot of pressure on the edge and then glides through the jibe in a tight radius, offering a lot of safety and lift on the wide tail and keeps the track as stable as if an assistance system had been installed. The Freemoveboard, on the other hand, wants to be actively steered through the turn, offers more options for small turns, can be jibed very agilely through choppy waves, but also requires more riding skill to keep it on course and to pick up speed again stably at the jibe exit. On the other hand, 360s can be done with real gusto and tight turning at the end, which requires energetic effort on the Magic Ride even at over 80 kilos. On the other hand, the board does not overshoot the radius in the jibe, does not tip over and you will always finish the jibe well, even with too much or too little foot pressure.
With a smaller fin set-up, the Freestyle Wave also surfs decent turns in moderate waves, something a Magic Ride cannot do. The Freemoveboard is therefore a very good choice on flat water for advanced manoeuvre surfers who want to do more than just race jibes and is also a good all-round board for lighter surfers. However, they should also consider the Super Ride if they mainly surf flat water. When launching and planing, the Freestyle Wave feels much smaller and more wobbly despite having more volume. There is very little room for your feet on the rounded deck when turning, whereas the Magic Ride offers a flat dance floor. The wide freeride board offers climbers and heavy surfers a lot of planing potential, both straight ahead and in the jibe, and always offers a lot of riding stability - for the fastest learning success guaranteed.
Heat 4 - Waveboard vs. freestyle wave
On the North Sea, the wheat is separated from the chaff, and not just among surfers. The Freestyle Wave planes a little better and can withstand more pressure on the fin, but both are easy to control. The Freemoveboard is particularly advantageous with larger sails of six square metres or more on flat water. It not only glides through jibes more stably, but also somewhat more smoothly - and this also applies to wide bottom turns in one and a half metre waves in light winds. As the wind increases, the Freestyle Wave becomes stiffer, even with an optional 25 centre fin, and when powered up with a 4.8 or 5.4 sail, it can no longer be steered really close and vertically to the wave lip. Admittedly, we have now moved into the serious wave riding department.
The Magic Wave, on the other hand, continues to hit the tightest hooks, just like at the lower wind limit, can be steered vertically up to the lip despite a lot of volume and hits tight hooks from the ankle, where the Freetstyle Wave is more of a bumpy ride. If you often want to surf 6.0 and higher - and also a lot in bump & jump conditions - a freestyle wave is the right choice. Even with 5.5, moderate turns are possible in unpressurised waves. If you expect wave performance in the 115-litre class, perhaps weigh a few kilos more than a marathon runner and surf no larger than 6.2, you should choose the pure wave board: Measured by the turning qualities, it also glides superbly.
