hi all, following on from a recent post about power and edging, i'm still keen to hear from folks who've ridden the lunacy, nobile 666, and other flatter and wide-tipped twintips.
i'm about 80kg, ride with straps, don't bother if its less than 15-16 knots or more than 35, and am mainly on port phillip bay, from altona butter to brighton chop.
currently riding a cardboard tempo, 135x41, but considering something less wake-oriented and faster.
keen to demo when seabreezes kick in a bit more reliably, but meantime would appreciate comments on these and other high-end freestyle boards with straps (not boots), including your weight, board size and conditions.
cheers, djdojo
Hey Dojo,
I reckon you'll be doing well to find a nicer board than the Jaime 132 from North. Good in choppy water, heaps of pop, smooth, comfortable, good holding power and fun to ride. I'm 88 kilos and ride free.
Cheers,
KH
I don't think thats the type of board he is after though Darren. Maybe the North Team
Jas
hey, i have ridden both the 08 lunacy in the 129 and the 09 in the 132, loved both of them, fairly aggressive boards to get the most out of, but love to pop and go big when you do. Not the most comfortable cruiser out there but thats not why you buy a lunacy :) they excell in flat water but also do well in short chop. I am 100kg, 6'4
I deffinatly aggree with Max, you dont buy a lunacy to cruse it is fairly much a hard core wake/freestyle board, has a super aggresive fast hard pop lands nice and smooth, but take your eyes off the watter while cruising for a second and bang you are gulping down salt watter. out of 10 i would give the lunacy 8 as it rules for flat watter.
The nobile 666 is one amazing board, you can ride a slightly bigger board than normal and it doesnt feel like you are. This board is a great allround performance board that will handle any conditions from waves to chop or flat. I went from a 129 lunacy to the 134 666 and havent looked back since, the board gives a softer ride overall, it doesnt feel as skaty as the lunacy but isnt grippy enougth to cause problems landing tricks. The pop is great but unlike the lunacy you have to wind it up and let it go with a bit better use of a progressive edge, it feels softer to land than the lunacy even with the bigger board due to the amount of flex through the whole board. It has verry little spray in the face compared to the lunacy and with the odd shape of the board landing and ridding toeside has never been easyer. id give the 666 9 out of 10.
But with all that said i really love the lunacy it is one tougth bombproof board that you will not be able to kill and if you ride it and abuse it like you stole it you will allways come back grinning. Im going to be keeping mine for slider and other general acts that would kill a normal board because i know the lunacy will live through it not a problem.[}:)]
Rider:95kgs
Conditions: 12-35kts
Love flat water and ridding wakestyle/freestyle.
Current boards:137 555, 134 666, 129 lunacy, nobile skim, 5'10 fish. M8 DEK w/boots.
Following on from waxmans comments of the 666 make sure you give an 09+ Nobile 555 a go too.
I ride a 134x41 (83kg mostly flatish water) and love it as do most that try it.
dont make the mistake of buying something to stiff, if your going to ride mostly at brighton you will regret it! i did
I ride an '09 666 (134x42) and absolutely can't get enough of it. I'm 6'3" and ~80kg.
I demo'd a few boards before i narrowed it down to either the Flexifoil Omega or the Nobile 666. Obviously the 666 won, but it was Nobile's 'unbreakable' 3 year warranty that swayed me towards it. I've got it fitted with Cab Sync's as i found the stock Nobile pads to be very VERY hard.
It's definitely a flat water board. If you ride Brighton mostly then i'd be hesitant to go for it or any dedicated stiff freestyle/wake board. As was suggested the 555 might be a better all rounder given it's got a bit more flex and is more forgiving on the knee's. Since swapping over to the 666 i've actually had a few knee problems, but that's also because i'm pushing and crashing harder than i was before.
The pop from the 666 is absolutely phenomenal. Not sure about it requiring more of a progressive edge as i can simply slam a heel in and go flying. Really highly recommended board.
The new nobile boards are in and should have one toonight, not sure weather to grab a 50 fifty or a new 666 i will check them out and hopefully let you know what they are like. The new bottom profile will be the real testing point looks cool. I hope it hasnt lost to much of the NHP 666 feel.
When i mentioned progressive edge, that was only compared to the lunacy which really is a stomp and fly board where as if you use proper technique on the 666 you will absolutely fly. the 555 i find a bit to soft and you dont get a lot out of it when you load it right up but it is one of the crusiest boards ive ridden, the thing doesnt even have to be up on a plane and will hapily go under waves etc without dumping you, great for learners.
hi all and thanks for the responses.
i just got back from two hours of 25-30 knots at brighton (vic), fully lit on my 8m switchy, and played with a few different popping/edge-loading techniques. i found that with my current skill/technique, i struggled to really load up much unless i slowed down more than i wanted to.
i also just jumped on the scales, and was surprised to see i'm only 75kg now (dehydrated post-session perhaps but still lighter than i thought). whilst i'm still in the earlier stages of learning to pop solidly, after this session, i wonder if at a lanky 6'3" 75-78kg i'm lacking the strength to really load up my current board (tempo135x41)? thoughts on this?
the lunacy is probably too dedicated both for my current skill level and the chop that i often deal with. perhaps the 131x40cm 666 (noticed the '09s on sale at kitepower) would be a good compromise between speed/pop and ease of use in chop. i tend to be at altona in seabreezes so chop is a lot less of an issue then. (how are the straps on the nobiles?)
seems like all of you who've responded so far are a fair bit bigger than me so i guess i'll be looking at a size or two down from what you've mentioned.
further comments much appreciated, and other boards to consider too,
thanks, dojo
and i should say the tempo does have some great qualities:
it's super smooth in chop. i could practically read the newspaper while cruising about if i just wanted to cruise.
it's very light and easy to throw around.
landings are very soft and forgiving of off-axis errors.
i guess i'm ready and wanting to work a bit harder at my kiting and am happy to lose a knot or two of bottom end to get some more control when jumping at speed.
ciao, dojo
www.seabreeze.com.au/Classifieds/Kitesurfing/Boards/~r6pfj/2009-Nobile-666-NHP-131-cm.aspx?search=JIFAOSlMixHWdiopLvCzVQ%3d%3d
this is what you need ,I'm over 100kg and am on the 134x42 in 14kts on a 12m rhino.these boards kick ass .very quick ,dry no more water spraying in your face like the older models .
Stick with the Tempo and learn to ride it properly, its easily as good as all the boards mentioned, avoid the Jaime though, I had one for a couple of months and it snapped with no warranty.
I have the '09 Lunacy 132x41 and and shorter (5'11") and approx 76kg.
Love the board, ride a lot at Brighton, sometimes at St Kilda and Altona. It's harder in the chop than boards with a more curved outline but you get used to it. Also it's harder to carve and requires more back foot pressure when turning to keep the nose out. Great for landing hard and fast. Standard fins are too grippy for me. I was worried about the width coming off a 129x39 Lunacy and have no regrets. Can hold it in as much wind and get better low end.
PM me if you want to meet to try it out.
James
I just got back from the beach after hanging around waiting for wind all arvo, it finaly kicked in just after sunset. so we quickly pumped up and chucked some foot straps on a new nobile 50 fifty. bright yellow looks cool. we also had black but i like yellow.
All the pads for the 555, Nhp and 50 fifty were the same. They are a vast improvment over the standard pads from last year they feel a lot softer and have a better contured shape. They have a little buckle to adjust the strap this year instead of the vellcro which was quick and easy to use. They feel great when ridding and take the shock of landings verry well.
I was a bit lucky to also have the new 555 kite thanks Bastian, to demo. Only complaint was the light faded quickly and there wasnt any pockets for glow sticks.lol but the board with the yellow foot pads stuck out like dogs balls even in the dark.
The finish on the new NHP and 50 fifty were out standing. The Nhp cmpared to the 666 last year seems to have a bit more rocker and with the new bottom shape on the NHP if its anything like the 50 fifty will ride even better than last years.
Will do a bit more of a board review with pics latter but so far are verry impressed.
I think with a bit more rocker in the board this year you could easily ride a size bigger than what you are used to the 140cm 50 fifty felt like a much smaller board.
I got my new 2010 666 134cm last week. Only had a short go on it as I haven't had much wind but it's hands down the best board I've ever ridden. The board has more rocker than the 2009. It also has a lot of flex, more than the 2009. The first thing I noticed when I got out on the water was how smooth it felt. The flex helped with the chop, but what really surprised me was that I got no spray at all. The rocker seems to keep the tip out of the water just enough to prevent spray.
The board still tracked up wind easy and felt so nice when landing jumps etc. The 666 all come with the IFS pads/straps which are by far the most comfortable pads/straps I've used. The only criticism I have of the board is that it does have a bit of a duck stance and this can't be changed with the standard pads. This isn't a real problem for me though as there is enough flexibilty in the straps to move my feet around a bit.
The finish on the board is very cool. Definitely try one of these before you buy a board this summer.
mattress, yeah the nobile stance does look duckish in the pics. waxman, how did you go with the stance? and yes i'd like to hear your thoughts once you've ridden the 2010 nhp.
plenty of food for thought here and yes, whatever board i ride i know my technique will be a big factor. i also know that whatever my skill level, some boards will suit my style, physique and local conditions better than others and therefore support faster improvement in my technique.
who's selling/ demoing nobile in melbourne? no detailed nobile info on kite republic's or shq's websites at the moment. i guess i can pick up the phone in the morning too.
axis, i'm guessing the lunacy will be too dedicated to lentenesque madness for me but still, i'd sure be up for giving it a ride if we're at the same beach sometime soon. i'm away for a while now but if conditions are good later next week i'll be in touch.
i'm still grinning from today's session and more excited about this sport than ever.
great info, thanks again, dojo
I ordered my Nobile ( Shinn Twin ) through Kite Republic in Melbourne. Took about 2 weeks to arrive so I am sure you can get a 666 through them.
The shinn is a bit more $ than the 666 but it is by far and away the best board i have ridden for all round performance ( In the bay I ride at Ricketts, Port Melb, Altona, Rye ) . I also have a 129 LUnacy which is great for the flat water at Altona but not so great when things get a little choppier of for hitting the lip on waves.
I am about 83kg 5'9 .
My Nobile Shinn is 128 x 39 with liquid force luxury foot beds/pads and Cabrinha Sync straps ( slight mod to the luxury footbeds).
for those who've been looking at the new nobile info (and for those who do nobile's proof-reading), bear in mind that when they say they've increased the radius of certain curves they mean decreased and vice versa. increasing the radius gives you a flatter curve, decreasing it makes the rocker/outline/whatever more curved. took me a little while to clarify this by cross-referencing with pics and other info but each time they use this expression they mean they increased or decreased the amount of curve (by respectively decreasing or increasing the radius of curvature).
hope to demo a 666 soon. over and out from nerd central.
Yeah go for it man the 666 or NHP as its called this year will be sick,just got back from another session on the 140 50 fifty with the pro pads ridding a bandit 3 and wind was around 25+ mark and the board felt great definatly no spray in the face and the pads feel really natural to ride in i had them set to the inside setting as i have tried the outside one on other nobile boards and didnt like it. But these pads are definatly the most comfortable i have ever ridden they seem to just mold to your feet as the top layer is so soft and they take the impact out of landing really well.
Definatly try a board bigger than what you would normally ride as the 140 never felt to big in the gusty conditions.
HARRY POTTER- glad you love your schinn twin there is no signature board from him this year as mark schinn has left nobile and is starting his own board company. Will be interesting to see what he comes up with as his input into the nobile boards have made them one of the best in the market.
The nobile distributor in aus has a few demo boards floating around at the moment but it may be hard to get your hands on one to try. Best bet find a kite shop that sells them and see if they have a demo available. If not dont worry as im sure you are going to see a lot of these boards around this season and im sure that someone will give you a ride.
ok melbourne pimps, come out of the woodwork and tell me who's got a 2010 nhp 131 or 134 for me to demo. feel free to pm me if you'd like to be discreet.
cheers for the comments, i'll post my impressions when i get a ride on one,
dojo
No need to wait for a pimp, just find your local dealer.
For those who ride older NHP/666 and are looking to upgrade to the 2010 model, go a size bigger this year as the rocker is increased considerably.
I also had the opportunity to try the 134x42 2010 NHP... very impressive board and as Waxy has said the footpads are an improvement in my opinion. I have been riding the 2009 666NHP 134x42... I am also over 100kg. The 2009 does have a slight advantage of being a bit better in upwind performance but of course the rocker on the new boards (especially the 50fifty) is aiming more towards the wakestyle/free riding style giving you that extra pop quite easily. I have also ridden the 50 fifty briefly and was immediately comfortable with the longer size board, awesome finish on the boards as has been mentioned... no spray on either board and softer landings.... I recommend having a demo ride on one!
Waxman, the T5 10m kite that you have is one that I have had out a few times now(I have had it out in 17-18kts through to 30-35kts... no problems at all) ... another significant improvement on the previous model... I will be getting one soon hopefully, very impressed with the turning and safety/relaunch of the kite! You will love it... if you have the chance to get out again, do it!!!
Cheers,
Dave
I will definatly be taking it out again, absolutly loved the kite it wont do everything that my bandit 3 will do but man i can see this being one popular kite once people start to give it a go.
I saw a lot of last years cab sincs break, if you like that style pad check out the liquid force version, or the new sling shot ones that are on the lunacy this year.
But i dont think there is much wrong with the new nobile pro pads they are the most comfortable pads i have used so far, feel verry soft and soak up hard landings well, plus they feel like they mold to your foot and you dont get that feeling that you are about to slip out of them.
I have now had few goes on my 2010 134 NHP and I strongly agree with some of the other comments about going up a size from last years board. Last season I had the 131 and this years 134 would be about the same as far as upwind ability etc. The extra rocker definitely makes a difference.
Had another great day out on the new 50fifty and i am lovinng it, it does everything that that style board isnt ment to do whith that much rocker it shouldnt go up wind but i am going upwind harder than ever, it shouldnt ride well fast but it does, and being 140cm you should get blown off your edge in strong gusts but it doesnt it just holds the water and goes. un believable!
Had it out from 10-25kts yesterday with my 13m bandit 3, and never had any problems was expecting to loos my edge but it never happened. For such a big board it just blows my mind how good it is, I did buy it to put bindings on but now i may just use it for everything and bolt the bindings or straps on as needed.
