Rider: Weight,Level (advanced)
Style: Racing
Weather: 8-13 knots
Build Quality: 10/10
Satisfaction: 8.5/10
Disclosure: (I own the shop that sells these and other boards & Kites)

My Comments:

Hi guys, in preparation of the course racing approaching and having a new and untested race board at my disposal, Naturally I felt obliged to take it out and test if for you.

The Airush Monaro is a beautiful looking board. The graphics, pads and finish look amazing and it feels nice and light. I didn't like the assymetric footstraps that were on the board as they were a bit loose and felt kinda wrongish, but not in a big way. The board I have has the 15cm freeride/reaching fins in it which closely resemble the fins in the 2009 North Race LTD. Optional 18cm upwind race fins are available as an additional upgrade at $+

The Monaro is slightly longer than the Race LTD and the plan shape tucks toward the tail. A wide beveled transom looks great on the board and it has less cantilever on the fins than the North equivalent.

The wind had increased to around 12 knots when I grabbed the Monaro and coupled up with the Zephyr, there was no shortage of power. I dived the kite and jumped aboard. Straight away there was a noticeable difference in the boards ride to the Race LTD. It is smoother and more forgiving as it glides along through the water.

The Monaro is a much more stable board than the Race LTD and is much easier to ride and less work. Riding upwind, cross wind and also downwind is really easy and the board has an almost surfboard type feel to the way it rides.

I think it loses a little on the North counterpart in the early planing stakes and I'm sure it's not as fast as the North board, but it is much more comfortable and easy to ride whilst being less taxing to get it riding fast.

At the end of the day, the North is more of a racer but it takes technique and endurance to extract that performance from the board. The Airush board is much more user friendly and forgiving so gains made by the North board in speed will be whittled away in stability and handling by the Monaro. It's still fast and will definately be a great contender in the Pinnaroo race series, and will probably make the wiser choice as a first race board for people interested in racing.

To be fair though, I haven't tried the new 2010 North Race LTD which is reported to be more stable off the wind (where it lacks it). SO, jury is still out, the Monaro is fun and would be better for cruising IMHO, but if you have technique and stamina, the North will produce the goods, but with a measure of pain.

Cheers,

KH

Hi KH,

What are the length and width of the board?

Cheers,

Fred

Hi Fred,

The Monaro is 170cm x 46cm.

Cheers,

KH

Hi KH

Some of the early reviews I read on these types of boards stated they were prone to nose diving in certain conditions and more nose area might be more beneficial. Is this still the case

Hi Flying High,

So far as I can tell, there is no problem with either race board nose diving as the standing position of the footstraps is : Front foot, mid board, back foot, right on the tail.

There is ample nose lift in both boards and it is really only when running absolutely flat out at high speed directly downwind that this may be an issue, but like I said, I've not had it happen to me even when running fast downwind.

The Monaro especially is very easy to ride and much more stable at speed than the North, but there has been a trade off in top speed, it even mentions this in the dealer design brief.

I think that the added control at speed will potentially make up for the lack of ultimate top speed which will just make it easier to ride and be competitive. However, if you have the strength, stamina and technical know how, the north will be faster (keeping in mind I'm comparing the 2010 Monaro against the 2009 Race LTD!

Cheers,

KH