Post number : #1 Topic :  Boards UK - wave board reviews Date :  10/17/2006 12:11:12 PM Author : BC What's up with their reviews? I just got the latest mag which reviews the Exo 75 (they did the 85 in the previous edition). I know not to spend too much time on reviews as they are subjective but it's human nature to read them. Anyway, their take on these boards were to call them "fast tail" high wind b&j boards and not true wave boards. I could not disagree more. I have the Exo 95 Pro and think it’s an outstanding wave board. I used to have an Evo 92 and think the Exo is much better for me in the conditions I sail in.   Post number : #2 Date :  10/17/2006 2:16:00 PM Author : over-the-hill What conditions are those BC? and where are you sailing? I have a 95 on order and i got to say the Boards test has me worried! Im 93-95 KG, dont know if any of the test team is that heavy... Ive sen the pics of wardog in dtl and he seems to be making it work, allthough it looks a little stiff in the turn... Guess ill find out when it turns up wont i!   Post number : #3 Date :  10/17/2006 4:04:59 PM Author : BC Long Island, New York. Onshore conditions, sometimes bad shorebreak. Sometimes nice waves and sometimes just good old B&J. I'm 165 bls and use it with a 5.7 and a 6.2. I think this board rocks. It's perfect with a 6.0 and I've had fun with it with a 5.0 If this is not a wave board then I'm lost as to what is? My other boards include an Evo 80, AHD Bill Foote 8'2 (old school 75 liter) and I have a “Hippo” (my affectionate name for the Cross 117).   Post number : #4 Date :  10/17/2006 4:57:19 PM Author : WARDOG over-the-hill wrote: "Im 93-95 KG, dont know if any of the test team is that heavy... Ive sen the pics of wardog in dtl and he seems to be making it work, allthough it looks a little stiff in the turn... Guess ill find out when it turns up wont i!" Hey OTH... Yeppers...I'm barely making my ExoWave Pro 95/105 work in our crumbly little onshore mushburgers 'round here...but, I'm just a mere 90kgs... Please share some pics when you get yours, and we'll let you know whether it l@@ks stiff in the turns...or not, like my pics...;-) http://www.surfingsports.com/jalama_goes_off/slides/jalama_wd_btmtrn.jpg http://www.surfingsports.com/cali_summer_06/cali_june_wd.jpg http://www.surfingsports.com/cali_summer_06/cali_june_wd3.jpg http://www.surfingsports.com/cali_summer_06/cali_june_wd2.jpg http://www.surfingsports.com/cali_summer_06/cali_june_wd7.jpg http://www.surfingsports.com/cali_may_06/slides/wardog_backloop2.jpg http://www.surfingsports.com/cali_may_06/slides/wardog_lipgouge.jpg http://www.surfingsports.com/jalama_goes_off/slides/jalama_wd_airtime4.jpg http://www.surfingsports.com/jalama_may/slides/jalama_wd1.jpg http://www.surfingsports.com/jalama_may/slides/jalama_wd_airtime1.jpg http://www.surfingsports.com/maui_nalu_octoberfest/maui_nalu3.jpg http://www.surfingsports.com/maui_nalu_octoberfest/maui_nalu19.jpg http://www.surfingsports.com/santa_barbara_windsurf/slides/sb_wd11.jpg http://www.surfingsports.com/santa_barbara_spring/slides/sb_spring06_wd_randy1.jpg I kind of gave up on trying to turn the bloody thang...damn blowboards...they are all way too stiff...although, the new USurf 84 turns a tad bit better... http://www.surfingsports.com/exocet_usurf84/index.html http://www.surfingsports.com/maui_island_octoberfest/maui_octoberfest33.jpg Still trying to learn to jibe it... http://www.surfingsports.com/maui_winds/maui_winds23.jpg http://www.surfingsports.com/maui_winds/maui_winds36.jpg It's prolly just me...honestly, I'm still trying to figure out how to get my surfboards to turn...;-) http://www.surfingsports.com/images/wardog_baja_surf.jpg http://www.surfingsports.com/images/wardog_mexisurf.jpg Maybe my new epoxy stick might help... I know it's the gear that's holding me back...;-) http://www.surfingsports.com/images/sos_610_1.jpg http://www.surfingsports.com/images/sos_610_4.jpg Your order is not a total loss...the EW 95 seems to be able to go back & forth OK...and it passed the float test...;-) Here's a 98mb (20 min) helmetcam vid clip of the EW 95 Pro... ~3:30 min download on broadband...Windows Media... http://www.surfingsports.com/vidstream/wind/maui_peaceout.wmv Hope you have better luck getting it to turn than I did... Back to the drawing board on fin designs... Warm winds and waves...{:~) WARDOG http://surfingsports.com   Post number : #5 Date :  10/17/2006 6:12:24 PM Author : John I Tongue 'n' cheek anyone? Although the EW's do well as bump and jump boards, I still seem to be able to turn on the wave, smack the lip, bottom turn, etc............ Having been a part of a few mag tests, some times the edits just get the wrong wording? Some one gets a little too much voice, by accident? No one on tap to do some techy tweaking? All kinds of complications. No worries OTH dude.   Post number : #6 Date :  10/17/2006 6:35:04 PM Author : Ben van der Steen Hello BC, I have to disagree with the boards mag , I have never had beter waveboards then my EXO WAVE 85 and 95 . They maybe set the boards up wrong . This is actually one of the best turning boards in bad conditions and also in good conditions the boards work insane .I am 98 kg and I use the 95 from 6.0 down to 4.7 and I use the 85 from 5.3 down to 4.0 and I never had problems . I have my back strap all the way in the back and my front strap in the middle, with my mast track slightly back from middle and the fin pretty much always on with the srew at the onshore sign . I even got dutch champ on the 95 ( http://www.exocet-original.com/news/newsdetail.asp?Number=150 ) . So the boards are most deffenetly wave boards . Hope this anwers your Question Ben van der Steen Exo Team   Post number : #7 Date :  10/17/2006 8:28:17 PM Author : John I Agreed, Ben. My concern with the thoughts about where to go with the 2008's they may become, at these early stages, too skatey? But, I'm a small tadpole in a very big ocean. That's why I try to use the Socratic Method quite often... BTW, most of those clips in the gorge video are the Charge 5.0 on a EW 95. Tried to get blown off the water with it, and couldn't. Even had a day where I used a 4.2 AirX and the 95 with wind doing 28-48mph. Guys with pencil boards and tiny rags couldn't get planing much. Gusts? Send it straight down wind.   Post number : #8 Date :  10/17/2006 9:09:44 PM Author : over-the-hill LOl wardog, did you take that to heart? please dont mistake my lack of posting pictures with an inability to surf, like i said all those pics make the board look a little stiff in the turn, but im quite happy to accept that thats your style and that the stills dont do you justice. If you look back through the posts you will se that i have actually ordered an exo 95 on the strength of your recommendation........................ so dont be offended! ( i sail similar conditions by the looks of it) The guys at boards arent really known for testing properly or in pproper wave sailing conditions, nor do they weigh over 90 kg, but like i said when they describe something as " not really a true wave board" and you have shelled out a stack of cash, its gonna worry you ( well it is me anyway). My main concern is that i live in a location with reasonably fast ground swell waves, and like to sail 6-8 foot faces, as such i wonder if i should have gone for one of the U-surf's, (bet you dont look stiff on one of them wardog.... :-) ) too late now though got the exowave winging its way to me! Ben i had noticed you had won the dutch champs on exo waves, kinda makes the boards mag description even more inexplicable!   Post number : #9 Date :  10/17/2006 9:23:37 PM Author : Koen B-12 Can't agree more with Ben, I 'm riding also the EXO WAVE PRO 95 and use it as a one waveboard option with 6.2 down to 4.2. The surf is great and the jumps are high , what more do you want from a waveboard.   Post number : #10 Date :  10/18/2006 2:33:51 AM Author : WARDOG Hola OTH... Insert a couple of grains of salt 'tween yer' cheek & gum...;-) "like i said all those pics make the board look a little stiff in the turn, but im quite happy to accept that thats your style and that the stills dont do you justice." I'm not offended by your perception of my "stiff" style...thanks for noticing...;-) I yam whats I yam... Can't teach an old (OTH) wave dog new tricks, huh?...;-) http://surfingsports.com/images/wardog_wave_mural.jpg http://surfingsports.com/images/wardog_jalama_surf.jpg http://surfingsports.com/images/wardog_surf_mr-t.jpg I'm just REALLY farkin' curious about what a *real* wavesailor l@@ks like riding a *real* waveboard... "like i said all those pics make the board look a little stiff in the turn"... "all those pics"...all as in EVERY single one?!?! Dang dawg...that hurts...;-) Funny thang is...and maybe you can break the tradition of EVERY anonymous, armchair, wavesailing "coach" that I have ever tried to communicate with over the internet...not one guy...not 1...who has ever offered me "advice" or criticism about my waveriding style...when challenged to present pics or video of themselves, has taken me up on it...NOT ONE...EVER...WTF over?!?! I'm just an average wave dood trying to share the stoke... I just want one person who talks the talk...to back up their act...and walk the walk... This is particularly baffling in these days of free content hosting accounts like Flickr and You Tube... Furthermore...it sure seems like people are quick to wave windsurf rag board reviews at each other on the internet, about what a *real* waveboard is...or ISN'T...where BTW, seems everyone is 10' tall and bulletproof behind their keyboards... Riddle me this...how many sailors worldwide, *actually* regularly ride *real* DTL , sideoff waves more than 1/2 of their sailing season? I'd be surprised if it was much higher than 1000...certainly not more than 10000... I'm begging you dood...help me out here...you must have at least ONE pic of you totally shredding the sh*t out of one of those "6-8 foot faces" on a *real* waveboard... I want to learn how to be loose on the waveface...not that it will do me any good at this point...;-) but, it seems like there is hardly anyone around when it gets 6'-8' at the "J"... http://www.surfingsports.com/cali_november/slides/jalama_november_wardog1.jpg http://www.surfingsports.com/images/da_j.jpg Anyways...no big thang...I'll prolly keep on keepin' on...hope you can coax your new EW 95 into some kind of a turn...try Ben's suggestions...and maybe the stock fin will work for you at 93-95 KG... I've tweaked the fins enough to bust the tail loose, but apparently not enough...here's my current setup: http://surfingsports.com/images/exowave_95_925.jpg http://surfingsports.com/images/exowave_95_925b.jpg Here is my 23cm WARDOG Wave fin compared to the Select 23cm wave fin: http://surfingsports.com/images/wdwave90_select23.jpg Here's my 23cm wave fin compared to my 25cm wave fin and the Select 23cm... http://surfingsports.com/images/wdwave9_975_select23.jpg Here's the stock Select 23cm that comes with the ExoWave 95 compared to my 9.75" (24.8cm) WARDOG Wave... http://www.surfingsports.com/images/wdwave975_select23_compare1.jpg http://www.surfingsports.com/images/wdwave975_select23_compare2.jpg the USurf 84 seems pretty loose to me on the waveface...BUT, do the mags think it's a "real" waveboard? </tongue_in_cheek> Warm winds and waves...{:~) WARDOG http://surfingsports.com   Post number : #11 Date :  10/18/2006 8:44:48 AM Author : over-the-hill :-) you did take it to heart! lol you werent meant to! I have purchased the exo wave 95 largely due to your recommendation earlier this year( if it ever turns up), surely that should massage your ego a little? The pics of you on the exo wave make the board look stiffer in the turn than the pics of you on some of the other kit. Thats how it looks- you seem to want me to say it looks like something else? nah dog i call it how i see it and thats how i see it. http://surfingsports.com/images/wardog_wave_mural.jpg that rather proves the point. Go take another look at the exo pics, and compare them with you sailing the other kit. Now like i said before it might well be the stills dont do the board(or you) justice, (and even with those reservations about the pics), i listened to what you said before in the previous thread, that the exo was a good dtl board and i ordered it. Send your photographer over to Europe and you can have a good laugh at my "style" :-)   Post number : #12 Date :  10/18/2006 9:08:10 AM Author : Rooster I haven't read the review in the mag yet but if there was a "Mistral" or Tushingham in it gauranteed it would of rated highly. I sail in west oz in good conditions and no one uses that gear! The poms are a little bit bias I think!!!! Anything that is not *board, JP, Mistral of F2 is not mainstream enough for them. Dont worry bout the review its only cause of Exocets French connection :)   Post number : #13 Date :  10/18/2006 4:42:28 PM Author : Brian M. I don't think Ben enjoyed riding the EW 95 & 85 in this wave contest. :-) Which he won! The EW looks like a wave board to me! Bri   Post number : #14 Date :  10/18/2006 4:42:57 PM Author : Brian M. Oops, forgot to post the video http://www.submitavid.com/windsurf.php?itemid=147   Post number : #15 Date :  10/18/2006 8:41:38 PM Author : PG It seems as most people in this thread have never actually read the articles in Board, nor checked out the rocker line measurements of the boards. It should be obvious why they don't classify the ExoWave as a traditional waveboard. A totally different issue is "what is the best board in the waves at a specific location". Exo Wave 75: 2mm (tail), 147cm (2 cm point) Fanatic New Wave 74: 9mm, 136cm Tabou DaCurve 79: 10mm, 134cm Exo Wave 85: 4mm, 149.5cm Fanatic Freewave 77: 5mm, 150cm Fanatic Allwave 75: 10mm, 130.5cm RRD Cult 77: 8mm, 140,5cm The Exo 75 has almost idential measurements compared to some waveoriented fasttails like RRD FSW and Fanatic Freewave. The Exo 85 has a bit more rocker, but still significantly less than the pure wave boards at about 10 mm. The flat is also much longer. Exo Wave 75: Due to its fast planning rocket it behaves much more like a small fast-tail allrounder than a conventional Waveboard. Excellent for blasting and jumping, though still quite capable in the waves too. "jumps very well and gybes fast and predictably". "Works best with 4.5-5.5" (others with more rocker typically were comfortable with 4.2-5.0). "it is clearly less loose than its rivals, not having quite the same fluency of turn and feeling a shade more stiff on a wave, but it is still highly manouverable due to its small size and will carve hard, turn tight, and can be thrown around in the air just like any similarly sized waveboard." Exo Wave 85: "It isn't a true waveboard, but rather a slightly wave-biased fast-tail alrounder, which for many people will actually be much better option." "Given the flat rocket is it inevitably a bit stiffer on the wave but still very functional." Boards in general are very fond of the type of shape representd by the Exo Wave. They claim that it for most surfers who actually don't have access to perfect sideshore conditions often is a better choise. Easier to get upwind and into position, jumps like a rocket, and feels stiff on a wave only when directly compared to a more heavily rockered board. I think BC hit the nail when he in teh initial post in this subject said "the Exo is much better for me in the conditions I sail in". That is the key. Not everyone has the conditions, or the style, where the "real" waveboards excel. It would be odd if the difference in rocker, both tail and flat, wouldn't be felt on the water. And, I for one, have selected a fast-tail (RRD FSW 94) as my allround highwind and waveboard... And, go to www.boards.co.uk, and purchase the editions you want using the ezine. Many of you already now a lot, and may not have much to learn, but Boards does have a very different approach to wave baord tests and analyses compared to any other magazines (especially US magazines, but also German ones). They really try to figure out how the new breed of waveboards work. Do they get any closer to the truth? Maybe... If you are allergic to test then don't care about the test results, just enjoy their analytical approach! regards PG   Post number : #16 Date :  10/18/2006 9:50:36 PM Author : John I Yeah, it's too bad people don't aggressively (in a polite way) ask for demos more often. Quite a few get the wrong board for all the best intentions in the world. Meanwhile, the mags, including the one I've helped, never have enough copy space to fully explain all the features and benefits of each board they test. Mix in some self delusions and get.... Sailed the Exo-Waves 85 and 105 in everything from perfect sideoff and big to onshore upchuck. No Maui specific attributes gone missing in my boards. Dunno the benefits of a super rockered board that the Pro's use in Hookipa. Not sure anyone does. BTW, all the turningness in any given board ain't worth a hill of fecal matter if one is not planing.   Post number : #17 Date :  10/19/2006 8:24:29 AM Author : over-the-hill not sure about all this ! wardog is convinced ( and has the pics to back it up) that the exo is a dtl waveboard just fine. Boards are saying it isnt but rather a good "coastal board" allthough they tested in onshore mushy confused egyptian conditions, rather than dtl, so how would they know? its no wonder they have a different "approach to wave baord tests and analyses compared to any other magazines " they dont seem to test in waves. ah well enough of this, ill just sail it and find out for myself!   Post number : #18 Date :  10/19/2006 2:45:01 PM Author : WARDOG "go to www.boards.co.uk, and purchase the editions you want using the ezine...just enjoy their analytical approach"... "It isn't a true waveboard" "their take on these boards were to call them "fast tail" high wind b&j boards and not true wave boards." "It seems as most people in this thread have never actually read the articles in Board, nor checked out the rocker line measurements of the boards. It should be obvious why they don't classify the ExoWave as a traditional waveboard." Geezus H. Murphy!!! Somebody needs to take the measuring stick out of their arse...and just go surfing...;-) Measure this...measure that...this is a "true" waveboard...that isn't...paralysis by analysis...WHATEVERS... I thought the sport was called windSURFING...but, some people still want to keep it as sailBOARDING...the high priest's mags proclaim that the only way to wavesailing heaven is to ride board model XXX from brand XYZ... Bloody hell, mate! Jah is too big for just one brand...certainly not just one board... Surfing is in a renaissance period...everything goes right now... I think Exocet is trying to tap into that...with "real world" waveboards...and most certainly with the introduction of the retro longboard Kona lineup...sailboarding mag editors need to wake up... Who is going to standup and tell George Greenough (the father of shortboard surfing and inventor of skinny masts and booms...fin flex...etc) that he's not a *real* surfer because he rides a kneelo or a mat... http://www.surfline.com/surfaz/surfaz.cfm?id=821 http://surfmuseum.org/html/george_greenough.html or Tom Wegener that his boards aren't *true* surfboards because they aren't made in a gargantuan factory in Thailand...and some are 16' long... http://www.surf4thesoul.com/tomwegener.htm http://www.tomwegenersurfboards.com/woodboards_page.htm or Laird's, Sean Ordonez's, and Dave Kalama's standup boards don't have *true* waveboard rocker... http://surfingsports.com/images/kalama_standup.jpg http://surfingsports.com/images/laird_spanish_standup.jpg http://www.surfingsports.com/sean_ordonez/slides/sean_ordonez_hookipa1.html I am working with Sean Ordonez building a number of boards...and the same parabolic curves that go into his 5'6" Fish are extrapolated into the 14' surf canoe... http://surfingsports.com/hope_ranch_standup/index.html but, I'm sure that they wouldn't like his waveboard rocker either...particularly as we aren't paying into their advertising budget...;-) http://surfingsports.com/sos_waveboards/index.html http://surfingsports.com/images/sos_waveboards1.jpg http://surfingsports.com/images/sos_waveboards2.jpg http://surfingsports.com/images/sos_waveboards3.jpg anyways...whatevers...march to your own drum on the wave face... http://surfingsports.com/banners/nomatter_468.gif I could go on and on with examples from the surfing world of the whole spectrum of waveriding crafts and styles... I'd like to see the magazines travel back in time and review King Kamehameha's ancient Hawaiian "olo" boards...and tell him that they aren't *true* surfboards because they don't adhere to their rocker parameters...;-) Seared haole anyone?...;-) WARDOG http://surfingsports.com (remove triple X in email addie to respond directly)   Post number : #19 Date :  10/21/2006 11:08:03 PM Author : John R Should anyone suggest the purchase of an Exo 95 over a Cross 90 for "do-it-all' purposes (flat water-b&j-onshore lightwind-fs) ? I have sailed the C-90 several times and it was sooooo sweeeet.Even my granma can gybe it. My weight is 75-80kgr   Post number : #20 Date :  10/28/2006 4:01:25 AM Author : Rooster Well managed to get my new Exo 105 christened last week at Margies main break and have to say I couldnt disagree more with the boards mag review. Anyone familiar with margs will tell you that it is pure down the line stuff and the 105 came through with flying colours and just blew me away to how a board that big could be so loose. At 105 kgs I had no probs turning the thing. What makes me laugh is how many poms are world class surfers or windsurfers for that matter to make a judgement on wave gear. They wouldnt know a wave board if it smacked em in the head!   Post number : #21 Date :  11/5/2006 1:46:03 AM Author : brad xyz is actualy a small surfboard company. with boards made by Xon Yule Zane xyzsurfboards.com   Post number : #22 Date :  11/24/2006 10:27:19 AM Author : Zots Wardog... Maybe you where a little stiff in the turns because you had a hard-on from the good waves? :)   Post number : #23 Date :  11/25/2006 11:26:36 AM Author : RT Hello!! I've read your pronouncement on exocet site.Not long ago I've bought exo-wave 95 pro,sails also 6.1-4.2.What is your configuration for the strong winds?I'll be gratefull for the tip.   Post number : #24 Date :  11/7/2008 12:20:41 PM Author : loop master i have sailed my exowave 95 hardcore in extreme cond love it snapped it in half repaired it and its still goin stong owned alot of boards over twenty yrs and the only other board i liked was a 90 ltr pocket tabou, owned a u surf 76 when they first came out found it to plane well and too fat i like exocete but what is the best im 80kg and a pretty radical sailor do alot of moves competitive we have big waves and wind love goin fast so my choice is either the xwave 73 or 68 usurf which one will go as good as the new wanky twin fins im keen to promote exocete but need the best head turner?   Post number : #25 Date :  11/7/2008 7:13:13 PM Author : jr Wardog You've got nothing to complain about. Your waveriding looks good in the pictures. How about a video? Then we can really brake down your form. BTW, if I may make one critical observation from the pictures. If you oversheet when going into your jibes and bottom turns, you might get rid of that stiff feeling you keep talking about. The board will whip around a lot quicker if you sheet in instead of out in the turns. Just my 2 cents. Sail On JR   *Name : Email : *Message :