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AMERICAN WINDSURFER MAGAZINE
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RRD AVANTRIDE 70
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AVANTRIDE 70
Length: 273 cm Width: 71 cm
Volume: 120 ltrs Weight: 16.5/7.4kg
Upwind: 4.50 Planing: 4.75
Speed: 3.75 Handling: 4.13
Jibe: 4.00 Overall: 4.28
Price: $1,450 I
ncludes: Straps, Pads, Fin
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Ricci loves all his children, but this one might be his special baby, so named because he sees it as avantgarde. The RRD brochure calls it “the concept of the new millennium.” It’s the board for everything. It’s nothing like the Starboard Carve 99 in shape, and not much like it in performance, but its direction is similar because it’s RRD’s version of the freeride/freestyle hybrid (and like the Carve 99, wasn’t sailed a lot because that hybrid notion appears to be concept needing more press). And it too is a category of one.
“There’s a little bit of everything inside this board,” says Ricci. “To me, it represents real innovation.”
Yes, and the same could be said of Frankenstein, which is what we started calling this board—purely for its chemistry, mind you, not its behavior. It never threw any little girls in the water, at least not that we know of.
The Avantride 70 is wide and floaty for its length of 270 centimeters (8’ 10”), but at 70 cm wide and 120 liters, it’s not hugely so. It’s not as thick as it might be. It weighs 16.3 pounds (16.0 claimed), so it’s not as light as the other RRDs, as the heavier-duty construction is something called Duraglass, not carbon-sandwich under epoxy. Its outline resembles that of the Freeride 296, squeezed in from the ends so it expands in the middle. Its rails are tucked almost exactly the same as the Wave Cult 250. Its rocker is identical to the rapid Freeride 266. It doesn’t have much nose kick. It has nine rear and six front positions for each strap, a pretty clear indication of its confidence and willingness to handle most anything.
It planes very quickly—its average score of 4.75 in Planing was tops among boards with at least 5 ratings. It moves upwind like a bull. It jumps. It works in the waves. It’s a big steady platform in a jibe. It’s the kind of board that can grow on you, especially as you learn to turn it. Turning takes a conscious commitment.
It’s not a shapely board, not very exciting to look at, so maybe this one shouldn’t be wearing red. But as Ricci says, “It’s really hard to judge a board by look. A lot of boards are looking good on land, but what matters is in the water.”
SCORE:
Upwind 4.5 Planing 4.75 Speed 3.75 Handling 4.13 Jibe 4.0 Overall 4.28
COMMENTS:
“Planes early but a very bouncy ride.” [Miller]
“Great, easy planing, easy jibing board in light conditions.” [Watson]
“A VERY fun light wind board.” [Burnight]
“A great board. It’s the board for me,” said Rutledje Young, who sailed it in gentle waves, and found the Kinetic El Nino 61 “too loose” on the same day. Rutledje was a very important sailor to our test—and this is a valuable comment—because he may have been struggling the most. But he always came back smiling.
“A sluggish board, not lively at all. Most likely because of the plastic fin. Very stable, though. Good long carving jibes. Poor straps.” That’s our dealer who had a hard time liking RRD’s in general, with an exception or two. We might suggest that the Avantride is not lively because of 70 things: centimeters in its width. And that it’s a tradeoff.
“This board would be great in our Midwest conditions,” said one intermediate. “Easy to jibe for such a wide board. It worked great with a 6.5 Tushingham, so quick to plane in marginal
conditions that I bet it would work up to 9.5 sail size.”
STAFF: Mark Archer gave it straight 4’s with a 3.5 in Planing. And we think he’s a master at the art of planing. At least he teaches people how to plane quickly. Go figure. He said the ride felt nice and light, but it needed more wind than other boards of its class. But… what is that class?
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