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SAXO 270 RT
Length: 267cm Width: 56cm
Volume: 97 Weight: 14.5/6.6kg
Upwind: 4.31 Planing: 4.23
Speed: 4.15 Handling: 4.46
Jibe: 4.33 Overall: 4.30
Price: $1,499 Includes: Straps, Pads, Fin
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BIC SAXO 270 ROBERT TERIITEHAU
“I love this board!” shouted more than one tester. Sailors of all ability levels found its delivery of high performance wonderfully smooth and simple. Some wondered where this board had been all their lives. The 270 RT was almost too popular, as sailors kept returning to it because it was so
comfortable, instead of their trying new things.
The RT is proof that the revolution in windsurfing, the march toward new board shapes, is merely an expansion of possibilities, not a replacement of old virtues. It received the highest overall rating of any board in the test. There’s nothing new in the shape, but the combination of elements, including the14.5-pound double sandwich epoxy construction, makes this bright yellow board with red flower graphics work like a charm and a champ. Fabien Vollenweider does indeed know what he’s doing.
Ironically, amusingly, Robert Teriitehau, the charismatic Bic-sponsored pro from New Caledonia who lives on Maui, dropped by our test site a couple of times. (His beautiful French girlfriend, just learning to sail, was there more often, and when guys saw Robert’s Hummer in the parking area they started looking around for her, just for the pleasure of the gaze.) We asked him if the shape was truly his, or if Bic just borrowed his name. He answered the question with a sly grin and a roll of his eyes.
But no matter. Who’ll twist their tongue to say their board is a row-BEAR TEAR-a-tuh-hoe special anyhow? It’s so much more fun to say, “Fabienvollenveeder.”
SCORE: (13 ratings)
Upwind 4.31 Planing 4.23 Speed 4.15 Handling 4.46 Jibe 4.33 Overall 4.30
COMMENTS:
On our one day of wicked, erratic Kona offshore winds—“a day for experts and idiots,” said Mark Archer—only a few sailors ventured out, and only one stayed out: Dealer-tester Randy Johnson, owner of The House in St. Paul, Minnesota. He chose the 270 RT with a Neil Pryde 5.0 NR sail, and gave both straight 5’s. “It’s truly a testament to this amazing equipment to handle such brutal, disorganized wind,” he said. “Just a few years ago it would have been impossible.” In more stable
conditions, he gave the RT straight 5’s a second time.
“Got me upwind quickly,” said one woman. Another said, “A sweet ride. It’s fun, and easy to control even when overpowered. It wasn’t fast enough for great loft on jumps, but it did fly.”
“Good upwind, fast, easy to turn, user friendly,” said one guy, and another echoed, “Light and lively, very user friendly.”
This user-friendly quality was confirmed by the experience of the next sailor, who said, “It was my first time on the water in months, and my first day in breaking waves in 10 years. Jumping was great, and the speed reaches were fun. A great freeride board. With a Sailworks 5.2 Revo, this combo rocked!”
STAFF:
Upwind 4.0, Planing 4.0, Speed 4.0 Handling 4.0, Jibe 4.5, Overall 4.1
We had some light-wind boards and sails over 7 meters in the test, despite the fact that Maui is by no means the best place to test them. But we had to be prepared for light wind. Had we known that it was going to blow 6.5 or better for 30 of 35 days (and all but a couple of those days were probably 5.7 or better), we might have been able to leave the big stuff home. As it was, we should have requested 4.0 meter sails. A few times our best women got blown off the water, although we were quickly saved by 3.7s from Windwing, Hot Sails Maui and Simmer, and 4.0s from Windwing and Gaastra.
In addition, there's a unique problem on Maui. Mornings are the time of light wind and relatively flat water, but there's no windsurfing allowed before 11 a.m., for the safety of divers and snorkelers. But in the final week of the test, the wind did lose some of its kick. We gathered all the big stuff up, and for a couple of days Mark Archer, Glenn Fuller and John Chao hit the water at 11 a.m. and raced to get some testing in, maybe an hour's worth inside the reef, before they were blown sky-high. Nevin Sayre got on a couple of the big boards, too.
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