Slick Sticks
Windsurf|Issue 376 - June 2018

In days past slalom boards used to be precocious beasts, demanding constant attention and input from the rider, and if they caught you off guard for a moment, they would buck and spit until you relented.

Slick Sticks

The more recent past has seen the trend to make slalom boards much more manageable, user-friendly even, to ensure control remains in place as the conditions turn on. It has, in turn, broadened the slalom boards user range and made them more accessible than ever before. They have easily been within reach of the weekend sailor for years now, which has improved their residual value and meant that slalom sailing on a local level can prosper. Plugging a powerful cambered sail into any of these highly refined thoroughbred boards on test this month cannot fail to get the pulse racing. Is it all good news then? We sent the test team in to find out and see what’s new for 2018.

FINDINGS

And the answer to that question is simple too - very little really! There isn’t a massive leap in advancements here in the mid-size slalom board group. Of the six boards on test here, only two are completely new, and a third sees a subtle refinement to its cutout shaping. So, as a result it would be false to make any sweeping statement about a new direction in the market. What we can say however is that the craftsmanship in these boards is always impressive.

This story is from the Issue 376 - June 2018 edition of Windsurf.

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This story is from the Issue 376 - June 2018 edition of Windsurf.

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