Rider: 89kg intermediate
Style: Surf, strapped
Build Quality: 10/10
Satisfaction: 10/10
I am have been kiting since 2000 and have no association with any brand or retailer I just enjoy kiting.
I was given a demo 2011 WAM by SOS Kite shop to take up to Exmouth on a recent trip.
The conditions were small surf on both days using a 7m RRD Religion in 18-22knots gusting a bit highter condition were very similar all week. On the first day I used the board in the 3 fin arrangement and found the board was very stable on the wave and easy to turn without being to loose as what you would expect from a Thruster. The board tracked very easily up wind in the choppy conditions than other boards I have used.
The second day I changed the fin arrangement to the Quad fin and the character board changed when on the wave. It was more maneuverable and was very sharp in the turns. Once again tracking up wind was not a problem and felt the same as the 3 fin set up. The Quad fin is the set up I feel for smaller waves and choppy conditions and the Thruster configeration is the go in the bigger surf.
I really did enjoy riding the WAM so I purchased the 5 10" version on returning to Perth.
This board is worth a demo and ensure you try the 3 fin and quad fin set ups to see and feel the difference in the performance of this board.
Hey Nick,
I'm taking the new WAM for a spin in the waves today, should go well from all reports. Damn good looking board this year and the ability to change from 3 to 4 fins is a great option. I hope to do a brief write up after a good wave thrashing.
Sorry we didn't catch up before I left. I was literally sitting in the ute with the engine running fully loaded and waiting for the courier to bring the board before I left.
See you in under a week.
Cheers,
DM
Got the 2011 5'8" after riding the 5'9" Kontact last year. So far really impressed with the board. Looks are one thing but performance is fantastic. Probably not as easy to keep a big carve in the water (as the Kontact) due to the boards outline and squash tail but after a couple of sessions now it is just what I hoped it would be. Haven't ridden as a quad yet. Demo available a Gero Surf and Sail.
Hi Peeps,
The wind and swell gods joined forces today to make a perfect WAM testing ground. I rode the board for almost 4 hours in two sessions. Wind was 20-25 knots, kite was Ozone Catalyst 2011, 6m on 25m lines, waves ranged from 3 to 6-7 feet fast down the line cross to cross off conditions
First session was unstrapped and setup as a thruster. The wave had a few bits of chop on it at times which made the speed down the line a bit hard to cope with unstrapped but at other times it was perfect.
The WAM 6' handled it all in it's stride, very smooth with great control at higher speeds. Long drawn out high speed turns were easy and comfortable even unstrapped, control was not an issues. Upwind was good and rail to rail changes were too easy. The board held speed through the turns with a little more front foot pressure and there was just enough nose lift to keep it from submarining in the more sucky sections after a big top turn. Pretty happy but felt I could do more with the wave with straps so went in for a change.
The second session was much better, waves became more consistent and became bigger, steps and back wash on the lower sections vanished and left textured skae bowl like walls which ran on for hundreds of metres. Pretty much perfect down the line conditions. When I changed the straps up, I changed the fins as well to gain a comparison and to try and get more snap from the board and a more vertical ascent up the face.
The fins did the trick and made the board carve a lot tighter but they didn't like the speed of bigger walls. I strugg;led a little at first but got used to the setup and changed my approach, slowing down before the turns a bit and then cranking straight up the face and making tight turns, this was a much more top to bottom style of riding made possible by the tight grip of the quad fins and also the confidence of the board on my feet allowed me to get away with some pretty aggressive attacks.
I think considering the size of the surf and type of wave, I should have stuck to the thruster as the board was much easier to control in the high speeds from rocketing down the line on bigger waves and the drawn out turns would have better suited a deeper take off and a racing assualt. The snappy turns wouldn't have quite been there (or would they with the straps?) but the board was absolutely excellent and allowed me to pull off just about everything I had the nuts to have a shot at.
I'm stoked with the board, the ability to change the fins from 3 to 4 makes the board totally different and more or less suitable for different styles of surfing or different size of waves, you have the choice!
Quad for the small stuff, a la, Scarborough/Perth beaches and such and the thruster for more serious waves where speed is more critical.
Glad I got mine 
DM
Got my 2011 WAM 5'10" a couple of days ago and have played with it a bit. I ride strapped-normally on a Delta 6' and was looking for something for the beachies.
This board is nice and small fitting into little sucky sections and is quick in the turns - great for scarbs for when its there and then its gone. The wider outline 18" compensates for the length - I'm 86kg.
Conditions yesterday were great and I tried it out as a quad set up. Really interesting to have such a direct comparison between fin setups - and the quad is very manoeuvrable. Twitchier in the chop out the back, goes upwind better - my guess is it is the setup for on shore conditions.
Beautiful looking board. very happy!
Thanks very much for your reviews guys. I ordered one yonks ago but shipment has got held up in SE Asia. The importer has given me last years Kontact to play with in the meantime but I'm finding it slow to plane in light winds. It sounds as if quad is the way to go in my local on-shore soft wave conditions.
I'm stoked too. I have tried the 5'8 in 25-30knts and it was sweet. I elected to go for the 5'10 to give me that float on the lighter days. I'm 85 kg 185cm. Did a 20 k downwinder in 30knts last week and it was sweet. Held a reasonably big turn on some of the bombies and very comfortable overall. I have come from a 6ft 2010 Kontact which was a top board too, but I like the less grippy feel of the WAM. Would ideally love a 5'8 contact to cover the nuking waves and wind days ..
Have just put the quad setup into play as have never tried a quad setup so will see how that goes.
I think North have the wave board range nicely placed. ..
Select to expand quote
What other boards have you tried in comparison??
I was very keen to buy a directional this winter. I wanted to get a Wainman 5'9" but couldn't afford an new board and didn't like my chances finding one second hand. So I picked up a 2010 wam 5'8" and a month later saw a w/man 5'9" used and cheap. 'There are some things in life you have to do' I thought and so picked up the w/man too. It is so so much better the wam. I have alot of surf boards that i use a lot and have tried them all kiting. The w/man is so refined. I cannot beleive how well it sticks to my feet. I've only used the staps once. The wam's straps are better btw. I think you can tell the wam is a bobber from its plan shape and volume distribution. Wam = Cork compared to w/man. It was a beatiful thing (scratches easy) but it is so much fun awesome to ride. Astounding!
Got my 5'10" yesterday and jumped straight on it in a 15 knot sea breeze and a tiny wind swell. Very very easy board to use (yes it is corky). In the quad setup it carves very tight and I couldn't get the fins to slide out. Flys upwind, the outward sloping fins are probably helping here. It would be interesting to do a head to head with the course racing guys just to see how good it actually is. There's a slight V in the rocker in the middle of the board which is something I haven't seen before.
I found the best board trim was when my feet were right in the middle of the deckpads.
Bamboo veneer is very nice but I find the black and pink WAM logo a bit distracting so covered it with lots of surf wax.
My initial impression is that this board is superb for less than perfect waves, it might feel a bit big in waves with real power.
Select to expand quotegeeksnieks said...
What other boards have you tried in comparison??
I was very keen to buy a directional this winter. I wanted to get a Wainman 5'9" but couldn't afford an new board and didn't like my chances finding one second hand. So I picked up a 2010 wam 5'8" and a month later saw a w/man 5'9" used and cheap. 'There are some things in life you have to do' I thought and so picked up the w/man too. It is so so much better the wam. I have alot of surf boards that i use a lot and have tried them all kiting. The w/man is so refined. I cannot beleive how well it sticks to my feet. I've only used the staps once. The wam's straps are better btw. I think you can tell the wam is a bobber from its plan shape and volume distribution. Wam = Cork compared to w/man. It was a beatiful thing (scratches easy) but it is so much fun awesome to ride. Astounding!
Yeh most crew I've talked to and ridden both concur with your observations, the w/man is the bomb!
