I thought I'd write a review as it wasn't quite the board I was expecting. I can't really compare with any other brand as I've been a pretty devoted fan of North and Sky since the 6' XSurf around 2013, other than a brief foray on a Naish Fish. Specifically this might be of help to anyone familiar with the North 2019 5'2" Pro CSC or the Duotone 2020 5'3" Pro Whip.
The new CSC shape in 2018 turned out to perfectly fit the Whip criteria, I found the 2019 an amazing board(revolutionary) at the time, from my very 1st ride I was hooked on how it maintained speed through manouvers.
The Duotone Pro Whip of 2020 was a much more all round board, it became 1" longer and 7/8" wider, so quite significantly larger planning surface, but with heaps more rocker. This is still an amazing board, it put the previous model to shame. The channels allowed it to hold it's line up the face, right up into the wind, and it would handle the tightest pocket. At this point I hung up my gun as this board just did it all so well.
Enter the Whip D/Lab, without looking too close it should be much the same board, both are 5'3" x 18 ?" x 2 ?", the D/Lab minutely more volume at 24.2, from Pro Whip 23.7, slightly more tucked in nose, and fractionally more concave from 1' to 4'. The fins have 1mm less toe in and 3deg vertically upright (so a tad faster). The D/Lab actually weighs fractionally more at 3385g, from my Pro Whip at 3267g , with front and rear pads and fins (and that's with a crease repair on the bottom between my feet) The channels to me look identical. But rocker line is radically flatter, and that's the most vital curve of all. Straight edge set at 2' from tail ( that's more or less the base section of your stance)
Pro Whip... tail-27..... 1'-7.5..... 2'-0 ....3'-7.5.... 4'-32.5..... 5'-92..... nose-116
D/Lab....... tail-23.5 .....1'-6....... 2'-0..... 3'-6 ......4'-29......... 5'-90 ......nose-114
3.5mm flatter from tail to 2' mark is a big deal! It's a much faster ride, amazingly it feels no less surfy, as far as I could tell it's responsive forgiving feel rail to rail is just the same! Don't ask me how they do that. To counter that flatter tail rocker from 4' to nose is a quite more aggressive curve. Still, I couldn't come to terms with it for a few sessions, pearling often, but I guess I just adjusted and now have no issues at all. It's a very early planning very fast board with a large wind range, it's very exciting to ride. It comes with a matching very high price tag. But the Pro Whip is still magic too. If you still have the old North Pro CSC you can still have loads of fun, but if you tried one of the later boards you just couldn't go back.

that's great info! Two questions;
1) does is have flex, if you have the board upside down on the floor and then press it at the center, does it flex noticeably?
2) what about the top deck secret sauce material, is it more dampened ride and do you feel your feet places are sort of "dented" during the ride (DT writes about the dents will bounce back over time)? It would be nice to have this feature so your feet find their places better, at least I like it when the board is molded to my feet.

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omg said..
that's great info! Two questions;
1) does is have flex, if you have the board upside down on the floor and then press it at the center, does it flex noticeably?
2) what about the top deck secret sauce material, is it more dampened ride and do you feel your feet places are sort of "dented" during the ride (DT writes about the dents will bounce back over time)? It would be nice to have this feature so your feet find their places better, at least I like it when the board is molded to my feet.

Yes, it does flex substantially, as does the previous model. Not so much the North CSC.
I can't really comment whether the deck feels more dampened, I didn't really notice anything. There are no impressions from my feet after say 8 sessions, I thought the expectations were that if there was a compression from a heavy impact, it might reflex back over time, not that it would mould to your feet.
Also, I just noticed, my fractions weren't recognised in my original post. Size of D/Lab and Pro Whip, both are 5' 3" x 18 3/4" x 2 1/4"

Sorry omg I was wrong. I thought my landings must have all been perfect , they did feel that way. Looking now , that deck material was probably doing a lot of work to make it feel that way, it's got quite a depression under the feet. Another point I'd add is that the tail is very loose, it'll slide with loads of control but early. That's fine in the waves, but at max speed gybes fully powered on the flats it just feels weird. Maybe that's helped them compensate for the flat rocker

love the outline, rocker and channels on these boards, but i dont really get the point of DLAB if it is 100g heavier than the SLS... Heavier and no double sandwich so presumably worse in terms of longevity from dents from hard landings that ultimately lead to a crack, water ingress and then the board is never the same after that.

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CJ2478 said..
love the outline, rocker and channels on these boards, but i dont really get the point of DLAB if it is 100g heavier than the SLS... Heavier and no double sandwich so presumably worse in terms of longevity from dents from hard landings that ultimately lead to a crack, water ingress and then the board is never the same after that.

Yeah, not sure about that, time will tell. My old board has substantial foot depressions also, not to mention a crease in the bottom and some nose repair. But it's still a good weight ( Its not the SLS if that's what you were thinking) and going strong

"If you land hard from your freestyle tricks and put a small dent in the deck, it will over time gradually push the dent out to its original shape and your board will stay looking like new for longer. Additionally, the superior vibration damping of the RMF makes it feel as if you're riding on a cushion of air by reducing the high frequency chatter through the chop.
This incredibly smooth ride inspires confidence in your riding when attacking the lip and landing airs because you know your board will absorb the shock and deliver top notch performance without sacrificing durability."

Challenge accepted, I've never met a board I couldn't break... Took the Whip D/LAB for a spin (thanks Action Sports WA) today. An hour of jumping and heel dent is now in place. Will report back on whether the "Reflex Memory Foam Shock Absorber" does its voodoo!

I'm sure I'm in the minority, but i do not love this board shape. I have come crawling back to it every year like a jilted lover after a bottle of cheap wine on valentine's day, any in much the same way I regret it. The old North Whip CSC with the flat bottom was a superlative stick and then they went and put this double channel in and its JUST NOT THE SAME.

Maybe in the 'right conditions' this board works, but for choppy wind-waves in cranking wind it just does not do it for me. Its too buoyant which makes it chatter across the surface, it won't release when it should and then holds when it shouldn't. Its too grabby for duck tacks and shove-its and releasing off the lip, and then too loose when you load into a face upwind.

To put this in context, I snapped a fin halfway through the session and enjoyed riding this board more afterwards when it finally loosened up a bit.

Anyway as I said I am probably in the minority, but I have ridden all of the Duotone shapes in the last few years and can't say I love them, other than the Fish, which has a bit too much buoyancy for my taste. I think i could enjoy the 4'9" Whip SLS maybe as a twin setup, but I am not entirely convinced that it will work for the money.

//end rant. Assuming the shape works for you, the material is noticeable. The deck has a nice soft feel to it without feeling like the board itself has too much flex. It definitely takes the edge of landing a hard jump and reduces the bite on chop.

I actually very much like the flex of the board, and esp. for strapless freestyle currently only using boards only a bit over an inch think (the rails are thicker), this thinness gives the ability to really flex when needed. They also give very nice pop for take-offs. I would also like the pure wave riding boards to have this character. And my boards don't have any dents under heels, which is amazing.
This is 2022 model, weighs 2kg, and the flex is really nice esp. for people who care for their joints :)
On 3:02 about the flex.
?t=85

Love the look of it, but I would still break it. And really don't want to spend $1700 on a board I'll snap in half.

Eat less pies

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CH3MTR4IL5 said..
Love the look of it, but I would still break it. And really don't want to spend $1700 on a board I'll snap in half.

so, did the voodoo happen or not? Looking at the pic, my guess is it didn't.

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Gazuki said..
Eat less pies

I'm 70kg and 6 ft 1, other than muscle wastage i don't have many options there..!

I don't think production boards are really designed for strapless jumps with a 5m, if its a little
bit gusty there are always occasions when you come down hard and can't always kill it before you land.

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omg said..

so, did the voodoo happen or not? Looking at the pic, my guess is it didn't.

i have dented it a bit further on yesterday's session, decided not to push my luck on it today. Its definitely not automagically regenerating overnight, but maybe with a month off it in winter it would do it.

Not convinced it is significantly better than the cork deck but maybe its good for resale ("there's a couple of heel dents from my last session but don't worry man they pop back out in a week, check it online")

yeh, jumping with a 5m is a bit of a killer. 6m is the smallest I'm jumping and had a few very tough landings due to missteering the kite. This is the reason I mainly do rodeos etc. jumps with loops coming down instead of the grabless higher (my scale :)) jumps as you can really fall down abruptly with the latter.

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omg said..

CH3MTR4IL5 said..
Love the look of it, but I would still break it. And really don't want to spend $1700 on a board I'll snap in half.

so, did the voodoo happen or not? Looking at the pic, my guess is it didn't.

That deck definitely softens the ride, but no, if it recovers at all over time it's not apparent.