Windsurfing Equipment Tests - American Windsurfer

Boards: DROPS @ Maui

Control Bump Speed Style King Surf

DROPS Wave 8' 3"

Much like the slightly bigger Wave 8’5”, the Wave 8’3” is also a dedicated wave board, not entirely comfortable in chop, but smooth as silk on a wave. It’s not quite as extreme in rocker as its bigger sibling, but is even slightly more extreme in vee. We think this is the better combination, as the 8’3” is reasonably quick for its size to get on a plane while still quick and easy to turn on a wave. The board we tested scored the same as the 8’5” in ding resistance, but weighed 1.5 pounds more. We’re pretty sure that a crack in the rail caused the board to take on water and weigh in high.

Power Rating 50
Length 8’1”
Width 20.6”
Volume 70 Liters
Weight 15.3 lbs.
Planing 4.0
Reaching 8.5
Upwind 4.0
Tight turns 10.0
Wide turns 6.0
Ding rating 12
Price $1,495
Includes: Straps, Pads, Fin

Recommended sail: Wave 3.5 to 5.0

Control Bump Speed Style King Surf

DROPS Wave 8' 5"

The Wave 8’5” is the archetypal tight- and smooth-turning wave board. It’s an extreme design in that it has the most rocker and second-most vee of any board in the test, features which, in fact, cause it to rate surprisingly low on the power scale. That’s not a problem as long as it’s being sailed in powered up conditions and particularly if it’s riding the head-to mast-high surf that it thrives on. The big vee and rocker make it particularly responsive in small waves. Construction is solid and rather light while components are good.

Power Rating 46
Length 8’3”
Width 21.0”
Volume 80 Liters
Weight 13.9 lbs.
Planing 3.5
Reaching 8.5
Upwind 4.0
Tight turns 10.0
Wide turns 6.0
Ding rating 12
Price $1,495
Includes: Straps, Pads, Fin

Recommended sail: Wave 3.5 to 5.0

Control Bump Speed Style King Surf

DROPS Slash 107

The 107 is a true freestyle board, which is to say it's wide and flat-rockered, and the straps are positioned inboard. It's not supposed to be sailed in a straight line for any appreciable distance, but instead is supposed to be thrown into some sort of loop or jump jibe or 360 as soon as it gets up to planing speed. However, we found the inboard strap positions combined with an extremely flat deck to be uncomfortable for straight–line sailing. We also found ourselves spinning out constantly, owing to the extreme aft position of the fin. In other words, the Slash 107 is so extreme as to be pretty much unrideable for the average expert windsurfer. Drops has already put a much more accessible version of this board into production. With luck we’ll be able to try it out soon.

Power Rating 66
Length 8’6”
Width 24.6”
Volume 107 Liters
Weight 17.5 lbs.
Planing 8.0
Reaching 5.0
Upwind 7.0
Tight turns 6.5
Wide turns 7.0
Ding rating 12
Price $1,495
Includes: Straps, Pads, Fin

Recommended sail:
Wave & Freeride 5.5 to 7.0

Control Bump Speed Style King Surf

DROPS Freeride 269

The Freeride 269 offers excellent performance, nicely balanced between wave and flat-water conditions. It’s loose enough for surfing sideshore waves yet trims out nicely on a reach. Reaching speed is excellent, upwind speed is good and the ride is comfortably in the water - that is, not too lively. Some expert testers felt the 269 rode a little nose-high and had too much volume forward, however that’s a quality that helps less expert riders get onto a plane. Other expert riders thought the 269 wasn’t exciting enough for their taste. Again, if you’re not an expert, that’s a plus. In short, this 269 is a light, well-built board with excellent components and performance that suits advanced to expert riders.

Power Rating 58
Length 8’9”
Width 22.2”
Volume 96 Liters
Weight 16.3 lbs.
Planing 6.5
Reaching 9.0
Upwind 7.0
Tight turns 8.0
Wide turns 9.5
Ding rating 18
Price $1,395
Includes: Straps, Pads, Fin

Recommended sail:
Wave & Freeride 5.0 to 7.5

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