Freeride board - which model year to get?

Hi there,

I've been looking for some new equipment and I keep coming back to this forum. It seems there is very little relevant information out there but this forum, seriously.

Years back there was the BOARDS magazin. My all major buying decisions were success. They were based on reviews by Ian and his team. But obviously they were too honest for the industry ...

Last year I was replacing my wife's board. We bought a new one based on the magazine reviews (JP Magic 1192018), sold it a few weeks later. Bought another one from 2014 which I sold now. She is taking my board JP X-Cite 110 2008 :-( These new boards are so strange, wide and difficult to get planing. At least that is our impression.

ADVICE NEEDED:
I am 72 kg and need a board to replace JP X-Cite 110 2008, which I use to plane in 12.5+ knots with 7.3 freeride rig (Naish Sprint 2008). This combo is fine, but it feels a tiny bit big sometimes and I want faster gybes. I think I could use slightly smaller board, and also the sail, with not too big loss in terms of knots. I am pretty good at early planing, often the only one planing in a bay full of sails. I change down to JP FSW 85 2007 and 5.7 Gaastra Manic 2008. My smallest sail is 3.3 to go with a wave board of 78 and I mostly sail in the Mediterranean.

Based on information here I am now looking for a Tabou Rocket 105. The question is which year model should I be looking for? I am also considering JP Supersport 100, but I might lose some knots ...As for the sail, which is due to be replaced, I would go for Duotone E_type 2019, but not sure yet whether to go for a 7.3 or 6.6 (see PS below). If I go for 6.6, I will change down to 5.0 then.

The thing is, the magazines compare performance of boards /sails in the same year. There is no comparison across the years.

To offer something in return for you valuable inputs I can direct you to a set of equipment DIY articles that I wrote
for BOARDS a few years ago: www.mtbslovenia.net/an/windsurfing/

Cheers!

Marjan


PS
What also bugs me is the biggest sail size for the Rocket 105 and Supersport 100. According to the specs they cannot take 7.3. But they are wider than Mistral Flow 105 2001 (at 58.5 cm, that I had before X-Cite 100) and the Naish 7.3 was not too big at all for the Flow. Official range for Flow was 5.0-7.5, while the BOARDS suggested 6.0-7.0. The Rockets get wider year by year, yet the range remains the same. Similarly with the JP boards.

PS 2
I kept the Flow in the attic and sold it just now. I tried it again in a few sessions, but it is a bit too narrow for non planing **** and the straps are a bit too much to the back. So, the design sweet spot for me is around year 2008 and I am only sure it does not stretch all the way to 2001 and not all the way to 2014. Or it depends on brands, models?

Thanks. Not very likely, but still, it gives me some guidance.
Maybe I should rephrase the question - is the current Rocket 105 very much different in feel comparing to, say, Rocket 105 2009?

Magics are superior over X-Cites in every way except price.
Why sell Magics?
Rockets are smoother and slightly faster, but don't plane thru jibes nearly as well nor plane up as early or Glide thru lulls. Hence...Ro let Wides.
Used market, you buy what you find.
New market, boards are shorter and wider.

Thank you guys!

Magics are cumbersome over X-Cites. I couldn't notice any benefit. I did test 119 Magic against 110 X-Cite though.
As I can read on other threads, there are others with similar experience.

Good point. I wanted to give enough info.
But I am sure there are many, and some of them here on this forum, who have sailed old Rockets and then replaced them by new models OR other brand/model. They must have noticed the difference and should be able to answer that question.

Thanks, much appreciated.
I was thinking along the same lines. Custom Flikka, they are here in Ljubljana, 10 min away. But they are not giving them away either ;-)
It seems I am going for the JP SS 100 2010, based on discussions here, the BOARDS test of previous shape and the actual German Surf test.
It's in mint condition, pro version.

I think you may have compare the wrong boards when you compared a 118 Magic Ride with a 110 xcite ride. The board you should have tried was the 111 Magic Ride because that's closer in size.

I have had the 111 Magic Ride and I also have a 2016 Tabou Rocket 105. For me (70kgs), I found the Magic Ride was a fantastic board, especially for gybing. It look me from 2 out of 10 gybe completed to around 8 out of 10 and increased my skill level to the point where I stepped up to full slalom boards.

The Rocket 105 is a nice board, very comfortable in chop and reasonably fast, but I find now that I'm wanting something faster when the wind picks up. I usually run race sails from 7m down to 5.4 on that board with no issues.

I guess it depends what you want the board to do as to which way you go.

Tardy, thank you so much. Some valuable info.
What sails do you use your 105 2017 Rocket with? What would be the biggest sail that one can use it for marginal planing in you opinion?

That JP SS is gone, so I am back to searching ...