Rider: 78 kg, Intermediate looking to progress
Style: Freestyle
Weather: Been using this board 3 months, so 12-40 knots, chop, flat, small waves.
Build Quality: 9/10
Satisfaction: 9/10
Disclosure: No commercial affiliations to brand or any shops.
I've been riding the Hadlow board for three months now, in most conditions. I originally had a demo of the board as it was advertised as having top level performance combined with a smooth ride and ease of use for ambitious intermediates. I've done the review in bullet-point form to try and keep it easy to read and informative.
- This board has amazing Pop. As an Intermediate looking to learn the powered un-hooked style of tricks, I found my level of 'Pop' improved instantly and I now have my Raley and S-bend down well. I think the 'pop' is due to there being a lot of rocker rather than the board being very stiff.
- In the chop the board is smooth and gives a lot of control, even in strong gusty wind. For a board in it's category it has a lot of flex in the tips, which makes it a forgiving board. I've found this great in the strong wind, when all you want to do is boost, and you need a board that just holds it's edge well in the chop.
- The stance settings on this board are noticeably wider than any board I have used before. This took me a little bit of time to get used to, but I have found that I am sticking more landings, especially the 50/50's. I'm 5 ft 9 inches, any shorter and you may find the stance too wide as my girlfriend has.
- Despite the high rocker line, I have not found this board to be slow and 'power hungry'. Even at the lighter end of the wind scale the board is quick on the plane and easy to get your speed up when needed.
- The small fins and high rocker do make this board slightly trickier to go up wind, but this does make you maintain a good stance and use your rail. Also the small fins do give the board a 'skatey' feel when riding the board flat. This has helped me greatly whilst I've been learning the surface handle-pass.
- For a freestyle twin-tip, this is a lovely board for carving turns, which did surprise me.
- The board is sold complete with fins ONLY. You will have to pick your pads/straps separately. I found this to be a positive as I could choose straps that fit me best from any other brand. There is also no grab-handle option, which is no disappointment to me, but may be to others.
- There is only a 138*40 cm size option. This is a slightly longer board than I previously would of chosen, but it has proven to work well for me. I have heard there will be smaller sizes released this year.
- "The board is unsuitable for Bindings and is Designed for straps only" This was a response from Hadlow's website and is my only real disappointment with the board, as I feel this board could cover the 3 (freestyle/freeride/wakestyle) bases well. Hadlow is releasing a wakestyle board shortly though, so those dedicated to wakestyle will be looking to that board.
To sum it up, I'm extremely happy with the Hadlow board, and feel this board has helped my freestyle progress, has all the performance I need but will not hinder me when conditions get challenging just for cruising and boosting. I would definitly recommend this board to any intermidiate looking to push their freestyle level, but sill easy to use when the conditions get rough. Those with short-legs may struggle with the stance, and I cannot comment on how this board would work for heavy riders. I would like to hear from any top-end advanced riders (apart from Hadlow 
) on what they think of the boards performance.
Ben
I have several friends who love that board. Need to test one to see if it suits my 93 kg
ive had the board aswell for around 3 months, absolutely love it.
comin off a smaller, flatter board.shinn player. i wanted a bigger board to soak up heavy landings better.and easyer in choppy crap, wasnt sure though about 138 being only 5 ft 9 and 70kg.
so tried a demo for a week,
had to buy it. amazin pop, easy ride in chop,landings so much easyer, quick to plane, superb grip powered up, carves well considering.
probably say opposite to tenberri about power hungry, definatley needs a bit more puff in the sail to get it to go upwind and shine, me thinks.
if your into freestyle you gotta try one.
