This glowing review just in from Windsurf UK magazine:
At a Glance
This is the third season for the Kombat in the Starboard line-up – their crossover series of boards designed for wave, freeride and freestyle sailing. Supplied with just one fin for the new season (a 28cm CNC milled G10 blade designed by Curtis), it comes in either Wood or D-RAM construction, and is finished to the brand’s usual high standard. With excellent supportive uni-directional deck-pads, an attractive livery and some of the best straps available on the market (being quick to adjust, light and comfortable…but with more padding than last year’s version), it is a very attractive looking product. Changes for the new season include thinner rails and what Starboard are calling a ‘spiralling vee’ bottom shape, whereby there is only a subtle amount of vee under the rider’s feet which then accentuates towards the tail and nose.
Ride and Handling
Cruising onto the plane early, the first thing you notice about the Kombat is its smooth nature, and the progressive manner in which it accelerates. Never doing anything untoward or raising any eyebrows, it cuts a clean predictable path through the water, providing ample stability for any nervous passenger to shift towards the straps when ready. The board’s width and flat deck around the mast-track also helped in this respect, furthering its secure feeling whilst at rest. Set with double back straps, the 97 can take a 6.2m sail with ease and releases further from the water with the provision of more power to reach an impressive speed. Feeling crisp and responsive underfoot, it is much smoother in nature than we recall its predecessor was, and whilst in heavy chop it does begin to demand more concentration to drive it convincingly, the rider can easily adopt a more relaxed stance to regain control. With inboard straps in place the 97 is a great board for coastal cruising and manoeuvring, responding predictably to any foot pressure change and enabling the rider to determine their path through the most hazardous environment.
Manoeuvres
This is one area that the Kombat has always excelled in, and we are glad to say that the 2007 version is no exception. Commit into the corner, be it a bottom turn on a wave or a carving gybe, and the 97 engages easily to hold its rail in beautifully. Once in this position, you can alter the pressure on your back-foot to determine the tightness of the turn without the worry of it stalling on the rail. But keep most of your weight on your back foot and the Kombat can be used to great effect in the close quarters of cross-on conditions such as those found in Cabezo, getting impressively vertical for a board of this size.
For: Smooth planing nature, control and carving finesse.
Against: Freestyle is not really this board’s forte.
Verdict
With more user appeal than its predecessor, the Kombat 97 is a fantastic wave/freeride crossover board, coming recommended by us as a light wind manoeuvre-oriented board for light-medium weights or for heavyweights as their one-only board.
A very clever invention that, much like running your hand over a fish's skin are slippery in one direction (to get your feet into the straps) but grip in the other direction (to keep your feet from coming out)
Its all about the details!
