Rider: 88kg, Advanced
Style: Freeriding, Surf, Wake, Freestyle and Race
Weather: 10-18 knots
Build Quality: 10/10
Satisfaction: 12/10
Disclosure: I work at a shop and am team rider for Airush
My Comments:
Recently I was lucky enough to go to Thailand where I was able to try the new Sector V3's. I had 1½ days on the water chopping and changing between all 3 Sectors but on the same kite (2013 Airush 16m Lithium One) the water was choppy with very small waves breaking. The wind was constantly up and down with small rain squalls coming through.
Sector 66: This board fits perfectly between the Sector 60 (a very fast and fun free ride board) and the Monaro (a balls to the wall full race winning machine). The 66 points really well up wind has good board speed and is still moderately easy to ride. It only wants to be ridden flat but didn't like to “Fly shadow” (when the windward rail lifts so you are ridding off the fins and toe side edge like the Monaro does). It is easy to tack and gybe because it is nice and stable but it is more a race board than a free ride board. This board is a perfect board for a 1st time racer who is only interested in racing but doesn't want to make the big commitment of learning the huge amounts of technique required for a full race board. I believe that most people in their first season of racing will be quicker around the course on the 66 or even the 60 than they will on a full race board and you can still get the ball rolling in terms of learning the required technique for the full race boards like the Monaro. The 66 would also suit the heavier person (105kg or more) in light wind.
Sector 60: The 60 is still my favourite Sector. The V3 60 feels much quicker than the V2 60 but having said that I didn't have a V2 there to test against. It is supper quick but doesn't point as high as the 66 does. But I felt that it is quicker than the 66 on a reach. It can be set up with 1 or 2 foot straps at the back depending on your preference. I liked it set up with the 2 straps at the back but mostly because I didn't like the way the centre foot strap had to be screwed into the fin at one end. It still has the great throw around fun factor that the 60 always had but this year it seems to have stepped up a notch in performance. It had great bottom end but also seems to hang onto more power (possibly due to the new tail shape?) This board will suit anyone that wants to get out in light wind and blast around playing on the water when everyone else is still sitting on the beach. And it will still suit people wanting to get into their first season of racing. It is a really fun early planning free ride/race board. As I said before I believe that most people will be quicker around a course in their first year of racing on something like this or the 66 than they will on a full race board and because it can be ridden flat you can start learning the technique required for the full race boards while you are learning to race on this board.
Sector 54: This board was an insane amount of FUN! It is so playful you just don't want to come back into the beach. It boosts well and is so easy to throw around that I found myself smashing lips, carving turns and doing board offs and all sorts of transitions with it. It is a huge step forward from the V2 52 as it has much more performance but also feels easier to ride. Like the 60 you can ride this board flat or edge it heel side so anyone that can kite can just jump on and ride away (just like the 60). It doesn't have the bottom end of the 60 or 66 but it will still smash any twin tip or surf board in terms of bottom end. This board is really fast too so it will make an ideal downwind slalom race board but just doesn't point as high as the 60 or 66 (I'm looking at getting one for the next Rotto race)
Sector Fins: I got to try the quad and tri fin setups and also the new swept carving fins and I like all of them! The boards do feel different with the different set ups. They all seem to be faster and more “racey” with the tri fin set up but more stable and easier to ride in the quad set up. As for the Carving fins it definitely loosens up the board and it does carve a lot better but it will not turn your Sector into a surfboard. The carving fins will satisfy your average free rider that wants to play in the waves and smash a few lips here and there but I don't think we will see people on the KSP wave tour riding Sectors.
Overall: Airush have done a fantastic job again this year and have brought some great offerings to the table with the sector line up. I couldn't fault the build quality and finish on any of the boards and i really like what they have done with the fin options. They are great boards for people that just want to get out and blast around having huge amounts of fun or for people that want to get into racing the Sector range is impossible to go past!
Writing this makes me want to go for a kite so bad now
Damo
> 9 months ago, 9 May 2012
Any model v1 v1.5 v2 v3 ??
