Windsurfing Equipment Tests - American Windsurfer

Boards: Hi Fly @ Islamorada

Hifly Magnum

Power Rating: 75
Length: 10' 6"
Width: 28.6"
Volume: 187
Weight: 37
Planing: 8.0
Reaching: 5.0
Upwind: 8.0
Tight turns: 6.5
Wide turns: 7.5
Ding rating: 48+
Price: $988
Includes: rig, straps, fin

At 28.6 inches, the Magnum, Hifly’s flagship all-around board, is the widest board in its class. All that width makes it reasonably quick to plane and peppy on a reach. Like its smaller sibling the Maxx, it offers an incredibly smooth, controllable ride. It’s forgiving and predictable in the turns—not too loose, not too stiff—and a good board for learning how to carve a jibe. With centerboard down, it chugs upwind at a good pace and with good balance. It used to be that boards in this class would spear chop when their centerboards were down, but the Magnum shows no sign of wanting to do that. Non-skid, centerboard, straps and fin are all good. Novice lightweights and heavier intermediate and advanced riders looking for great value will love this board.
Both the Magnum and Maxx are sold complete with a 5.5-square-meter camless rig. The standard sail is made of monofilm, but we wanted to try the Dacron version. Dacron doesn’t puncture or rip as easily as monofilm, and ultra-violet radiation doesn’t make it crack. That makes it a good choice for novices, who tend to be harder on equipment. Another plus to consider with Dacron is that it’s highly visible to distracted boaters. As for the performance of this board, it has good power, good speed and good stability, all combined with easy rigging and handling. This rig isn’t light, so uphauling and waterstarting isn’t as easy as with some rigs, but it’s still an excellent value.

Hifly Maxx

Power Rating: 74
Length: 9' 11"
Width: 27.8"
Volume: 152
Weight: 28.2
Planing: 8.0
Reaching: 5.0
Upwind: 7.5
Tight turns: 7.0
Wide turns: 8.0
Ding rating: 48
Price: $988
Includes: rig, straps, fin

The Maxx is Hifly’s smallest widestyle board, but at nearly 28 inches it’s one of the widest boards on the market. It comes with or without a centerboard. We tried the version without the centerboard first. It rips! It’s quick to plane and fast on a reach, while being really smooth and controllable. It jibes beautifully, both wide and tight. The deck shape is comfortable and components are excellent. The fin is good, but the board can easily take a bigger one if needed. Forget for a moment that this is a durable, value-oriented board costing just $988 with rig. Remember that it has all the performance many windsurfers will ever need.
The other version of the Maxx, the one with the centerboard, planes nearly as well. It’s still fast and smooth, and its jibing ability isn’t diminished either. With the centerboard down, the Maxx trims out nicely and offers adequate upwind performance. Lightweight novices can learn to windsurf on this board and intermediate or advanced riders will enjoy its performance and versatility.

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