John Skye and the X-Fire

13th Jul 2009 @ 11:29:41 AM

sSs and RRD International Team Rider, John Skye, is no newcomer to racing and so it was a return to his roots when he took delivery of the new RRD X-Fire. John tells all:

I have been after a slalom board for years but for one reason or another I could never quite get one. That all changed last month when I got hold of the already legendary X-FIRE 112. I had heard so many great things about this board that it gave me the extra motivation to make sure I got one before they sold out!

I wanted a board to use with an 8.2 and 7.0 which would cover me for most slalom / cruising conditions and Finian Maynard said the 112 would be the perfect size. So far I have used it in light winds with 8.2 all the way through to mega overpowered on the 7.0 and the board feels amazing in everything. I had expected it to feel pretty big and boring, but once planing it felt small and exciting. Still controllable but a fun feeling. When the wind drops however there is plenty of width and volume to still get around and get up and planing quickly.

What was most impressive was the gybing. Again I expected it to be a nightmare around the corners, but it was actually great. With commitment the board bites into the turn and I found myself laying into full speed gybes with ease, coming out as fast as I went in.

I played around a bit with the set up, taking advice from Finian and a few different (smaller) racers. I am relatively small so i wanted to get the most speed possible out of the board. I put both the straps right to the back and in the outside position. The mast track went around a quarter position from the back. Like this the board was pretty balanced and trimmed well for me. The board comes with a 40cm fin which worked pretty good with both the 8.2 and 7.0. However I did get a 42cm MFC RC2 to give it a bit more upwind ability in really light 8.2 weather.

At the moment Finian is lying 3rd overall (but actually equal 2nd with Bjorn) on the PWA slalom tour thanks mainly to the 112 and the 135, so they obviously have the potential to do VERY well!

So overall I am super happy. I even took the board to Rhosneigr to compete in the slalom. Day 2 was really light and although we did no races I could see I was going fast against most of the rest. Jamie Hawkins still overtook me, but at least I gave him a good run for his money first!