RRD FSW 96 Test from Boards Mag March - Highly rated!

28th Apr 2010 @ 03:23:00 PM

RRD Freestyle-Wave V2 96 £1,325 Ltd / £1,175 X-tech

The Freestyle-Wave has been one of RRD’s most popular lines for some time now, and has always been praised by the BOARDS test team. Having been unchanged for the last two years, for 2010 Roberto Ricci and his team have completely redesigned many sizes in the range, and have also reduced the number of boards on offer. The new designs feature more vee, a more compact outline, and a new rockerline. They’re available in seven sizes: 75L (unchanged), 85L, 91L, 96L, 101L, 111L, and 120L (unchanged).

Design: The RRD has slimmed down ever so slightly, with a new max width of 60.1cm and a tail width of 37.5cm, making it one of the narrower boards in this test. It has virtually no tail rocker, measured at just 1mm (the lowest in this group), and has a longer than average planing flat with the 2cm point at 155cm. It features stacks of vee, and has a quoted volume of 96L.

On the water: The RRD was without doubt one of the quickest boards in the group to get planing, mainly due to its minimal amount of tail rocker, but also because it felt slightly bigger than the quoted volume. This made it not just an excellent weight carrier, but also a great choice for marginal conditions. It accelerated well and reached exciting speeds with ease, making it very good at boosting rocket airs and ideal for all bump-&-jump style sailing. It was a little bit bouncy in chop compared with many others on test, but was comfortable enough. It gave a lively and manoeuvrable ride, but it wasn’t quite as loose as many of the higher rockered boards. However, through the gybes it was easy to maintain speed around a fairly wide arc, and when riding it could carry enough speed around a tighter turn to hit the lip with some force. A smaller fin would obviously increase its wave performance, and would definitely help you to make the most of this size of board. The relatively long planing flat and 28cm fin helped it to track upwind nicely, and the compact planshape made it one of the favourites for freestyle. As for sail sizes, the RRD will happily accommodate a 6.5m for flat water or coastal blasting, and if you’re over 80kg you’ll be able to use it with your 4.7m.

Fittings: It comes with a 28cm G10 MFC fin which is quite tall and narrow, and has a nice flex throughout. The footstraps were very good and the pads nice and thick, making for a comfortable ride. The deck was fairly domed, but the pads actually made it feel quite flat. This didn’t suit everyone, but was preferred by the manoeuvre-orientated sailors.

Overall: An early planing, exciting and comfortable ‘do it all’ board for all manner of sea states and sailors. Instead of being excellent at just one individual aspect of freewave sailing, the RRD has the ability to do them all to a high standard. Experienced sailors over 80kg will find this the perfect partner to their waveboard for making the most of marginal conditions, while first-time sub-100L sailors will appreciate the ease and extra float the Freestyle-Wave offers

RRD FSW 96 V2 Boards test