|
RRD MPE WAVE 248, 254, 258
MPE stands for Millennium Pro Edition. And the RR here could stand for “real ripper,” to use Ricci’s own words describing these boards, designed for advanced wave sailors. Again, the emphasis is on speed, because, “on a wave you really want to have all the speed you can.” In the mind of this fast Italian, is there ever a time that you don’t want all the speed you can get?
In pursuit of speed, the boards feature reduced rocker and a second, smaller fin. There are channels near the tail for better grip in tight turns. The angle of the footstrap position can be changed, and the straps have a wide position for wave maneuvers: different setups for sideshore or onshore conditions, bottom turns and bump-and-jump sailing. The noses have square tips to protect the sailor against injury. The rails are wafer thin on edges of the pintails, and round as the sides of a donut farther forward. The shapes of the boards are virtually identical, growing evenly; put the 63-liter 248 in a reproduction machine, blow up its volume by 16 and 32 percent, and you have the 254 and 258.
But graphics steal the attention, if not the show. None of our testers could figure them out, everyone agreed they were bizarre, the vast majority either hated them or thought they were simply silly to the point of being absurd, and we only heard one say she liked them, that they were “cool.”
When Roberto Ricci arrived, he explained and deciphered the hieroglyphic graphics—rows of numbers… reverse script… Real Board Juice! Great Fruit Taste! … and our personal, um, favorite: “For pool, bathtub or lake.”
They were his idea, of course. They are a hit in Europe, he said—that land where cool comes in peculiar strains (Jerry Lewis is huge in France; go figure). And the meaning of FRUIT CHEWS FRUIT CHEWS on the nose is…
Parody. Amateur advanced sailors, tweaking the pros and all their sponsorship. We don’t need no stinkin’ sponsorship, to have a good time.
Says Ricci, “For me today, is really important to communicate to the people that windsurfing is a lot of fun.”
 |
|
MPE WAVE 248
Length: 244 cm Width: 51.5 cm
Volume: 62 ltrs Weight: 13.5/6.1kg
Upwind: 3.78 Planing: 4.00
Speed: 4.11 Handling: 4.33
Jibe: 4.33 Overall: 4.11
Price: $1,495
Includes: Straps, Pads, Fin
|
Ahhh. Now we see. We still don’t get it, but we see.
MPE WAVE 248
SCORE: (9 ratings)
Upwind 3.78 Planing 4.0 Speed 4.11
Handling 4.33 Jibe 4.33 Overall 4.11
COMMENTS
“This board was great,” said the same dealer who was so unimpressed with the Freeride 286, which offers some comfort about his motives. “I was extremely overpowered, but it stuck to the water well. Handled great.” [Coach]
“Very light, felt very active and crisp turning in the waves. Easy to jump and loop.” [Alford]
“I loved this board,” said Nancy Johnson. “It held on the water so well, especially coming into a turn in chop, so tight. The deck was slippery between the straps.” She sailed with a Windwing 4.2 Catalyst, which is the middle of the range, and noted that the board had a 23 cm fin. The two fins that come with the board are 20 cm and 22 cm. [N Johnson]
Jackie Butzen never said she loved it, but she sailed it five days in a row. She rated it higher each day, finally giving it straight 5’s.
“I want to sail it more,” she said on the first day. “The chop disturbed the speed,” she said on the second. “With a 4.0 Windwing, it’s perfect in winds over 25 mph,” she said on the third. “Nobody smiled back at me on the water today,” she wrote on the fourth, the gnarliest day of the test, “but Nancy Johnson waved and said hello.”
On the fifth day, her final day before heading back home to her shop in Chicago, Windward Sports, she noted that there were big waves but the water was like glass inside the reef. Her farewell session was on the 248 with a Gaastra Manic 4.0.
“Cruising, jibing, jumping, and never falling off a plane until I limped in when the wind died at dusk. It felt as if it were my own equipment that I’d been sailing on forever. Thank yo
 |
|
MPE WAVE 254
Length: 248 cm Width: 53 cm
Volume: 72 ltrs Weight: 14/6.4kg
Upwind: 3.67 Planing: 3.67
Speed: 3.67 Handling: 4.67
Jibe: 4.67 Overall: 4.07
Price: $1,495 Includes: Straps, Pads, Fin
|
u all, including the sail designers and boardmakers, for one of the best weeks of windsurfing I’ve ever had.”
STAFF:
Upwind 3.67, Planing 4.33, Speed 4.33
Handling 4.67, Jibe 4.83, Overall 4.37
MPE WAVE 254
SCORE:
Upwind 3.67 Planing 3.67 Speed 3.67 Handling 4.67 Jibe 4.67 Overall 4.07
COMMENTS:
“Light and lively, just plain fun to be on in the waves,” said a woman who included the 248 in this comment. [Parkmann]
“Slower than the bigger 258, oriented more toward handling.” [Jardini]
“Slippery between the footstraps.” [N Johnson]
STAFF:
Upwind 3.0, Planing 3.5, Speed 3.0
Handling 4.0, Jibe 4.0, Overall 3.5
MPE WAVE 258
SCORE:
Upwind 3.22 Planing 3.44 Speed 3.78
Handling 4.0 Jibe 4.0 Overall 3.67
COMMENTS:
“Bravo Roberto! Excellent design!” [Jardini]
“Worked well for me with a Pryde 5.0 Zone, but it needs to be fully powered.” [Hirshberg]
 |
|
MPE WAVE 258
Length: 254 cm Width: 54.5 cm
Volume: 83 ltrs Weight: 14.5/6.6kg
Upwind: 3.22 Planing: 3.44
Speed: 3.78 Handling: 4.00
Jibe: 4.00 Overall: 3.67
Price: $1,495
Includes: Straps, Pads, Fin
|
“Very loose in waves, turns quick, responsive, but sluggish upwind. For advanced wave sailors.” [Taylor]
“Too much volume for my 150 pounds,” said one of our most efficient sailors, who likes really small stuff. He sailed with a 4.8 Sailworks Revo, but thinks the board would work better for him with a bigger sail in lighter wind. [Cicale]
“Great jumping bean of a board. But the fin is too small for my liking, and the non-skid is extremely slippery. The channels in the bottom contribute to great tracking.” This sailor also pointed out what many others suggested, that the graphics were “hideously ugly.” [Coach]
STAFF:
Upwind 3.67, Planing 3.33, Speed 3.33
Handling 4.0, Jibe 4.0, Overall 3.73
COMMENTS:
“I was disappointed with its acceleration and surprised that it was very sluggish to get on a plane, compared to other RRD boards,” said Nevin Sayre.
Maybe he and Mark Archer, who weigh about the same, should talk. “It planes up very easy,” said Mark. He added, “It’s very stable in a straight line, yet it turns with no problem, whatever the condition. I like this board a lot.”
|
