Looking to buy a 120 l slalom Board - Lots of guys in Sydeny on Fanatic Falcon boards and heard a rumour that JP Boards dont have as much carbon as fanatics - Any suggestions ? They are the same price.
A friend of mine has a couple of Exocets. They seem pretty good. I'd imagine slalom boards from Fanatic, the Tabou Mantas, Starboard and Carbon Art are all pretty good along with all the rest of the manufacturers. Unless you are a really great sailor then they are probably not the limiting factor when it comes to performance.
So perhaps it depends on which one you get a good deal on.
I suggest you try a few different types and see which suit your riding style.
I did this a couple of seasons ago and it was a revelation.
Some I didn't like at all, some were OK, and some just felt like home. 
Thanks Guys - Trying diferet boards would be ideal but often difficult to do. More concerned about construction however the reviews seem to say the Fanatic Falcon is more forgiving than the JP
Great blog site Tim.
Wish I had looked at it BEFORE some of my repairs/mods. Lots of gems.
If you're in Sydney go and see Sam at WSS, he sells Fanatic, JP & Starboard. He will give you an honest opinion on these boards and you should be able to organise a test ride.
Also speak to Remi from the Windsurfing shed to get a ride on a Exocet and AB+.
I wouldn't worry too much about the construction, they're all top notch boards albeit they will be a light build (they're performance boards) and more susceptible to knocks.
As per the previous post, they all ride differently so you need to find a board that suits your style and needs.
Alot of the evidence will point you towards an isonic
however..
keep a Starboard futura in mind
- many riders are able to easily extract 100% of the performance out of these (they are rated as matching and beating many competitor brand pure slalom boards for speed)
they gybe beautifully and arent quite as tuning critical as super hard edged slalom boards
Often they can be pushed harder in chop
if you sail flat and smooth water alot - or long period swell - go the isonic
+1 on the Futura, that board makes sailing chop fun, I have also sailed the JP Supersport which I thought was pretty good. Maybe these boards don't have
the " top gun" image of the slalom boards but probably more range and lots of satisfaction going past someone on the "real" slalom board as they struggle for control.
WTF with the red thumbs for Reflex, the Futura is a good choice for a lot of people. I own a Futura 111L which is a great board but not a full on slalom.
Most brands come from the same Asian factory, nothing wrong with that but I've had a couple of duds construction wise, maybe just unlucky who knows or cares.
I now have a Carbon Art, knocked together in New Zealand. Mines a 96L SL58, I absolutely love it, I sail 90% open ocean and have given it hell and she's still going strong. They are made to order and are the right price all things considered.
www.carbonartwindsurf.com/Boards/Slalom/
gotta try your mates boards, but gotta ask do i wanna go on the edge balls out fast ALL THE TIME??? if yes then really ask again do i wanna go fast aallllllll the time, otherwise might be worth considering the step down from what we call the F1 of racing boards... and go to the 'detuned' versions of these boards
HOWEVER
dont wanna be left wishing you bought the wrong board
and YEP!!!
speed is about control - if you feel out of control then you are doing it wrong
when you get locked in to a groove and are feeling secure and trimmed - thats when you blow other sailors off the water
the key is to get boom height , mast foot position , strap position (dont do the straps up too tight or you wont have any control - a very common mistake i have seen)
The board should feel neutral - ie in that balanced zone between tail walking (bad)and driving the rails into the water (also bad)
The board should feel like it is just dancing over the chop.
Chris Lockwood said an interesting thing a few years ago - windsurfing is flight - just mm above the water
This sort of tuning is critical and is what allows riders to get away with hard edged slalom board control
unfortunately this tuning perfection is hard for many sailors to achieve
you know lucdown it would be a good idea to stipulate your weight when your makeing these post's and if you would like to take a look at my GPS data you wont find any times where ive posted over 30 on my CA55, ok so now with all of that BS you can have your red thumb back
and if you would like to take a look at my GPS data you wont find any times where ive posted over 30 on my CA55, ok so now with all of that BS you can have your red thumb back
Sure it works, but it looks more like speed setup than anything else. I dont give you much of a chance in slalom with 90L and 8m out of a jybe or if need to pass upwind etc... initial subject is slalom.
