just wondering if anyone had ridden the s-quad and what they think of it?

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sully_grom said...

just wondering if anyone had ridden the s-quad and what they think of it?

No I haven't; and No I don't think of it.

I test rode the 5'9" for about 4 1/2 hours. It's really good. Mostly flat, choppy water and in the surf in onshore slop.

It does everything well and carves super aggressively through turns. Great upwind etc etc etc.

The only criticism is that if you want to gybe it then you need to add some grip or wax between the straps. Then it is easy to gybe and ride strapless.

If I really wanted a kite surfboard I would definitely buy one. The only reason I'm not buying one is because I am not sure how much I would bother travelling to the surf to really use it. I might just ride my unstrapped surfboard and my twintips a bit more.

I have a 5'9'' s-quad. ( Other gear Best Waroos 9,13,17, Underground FLX 122, 142) I weigh 74kg and have been kiting nearly 5 yrs.

I love this board. Prior to this riding an old 6' glass surf board with straps in the surf. Still use this and a big (17M) kite if the wind is light (10-12K) but the s-quad is great once the wind picks up.
I can use the s-quad in the same wind/kite as my 122 TT.
On flat water it is very smooth and fast. Not as much "rooster tail"as a twin tip but the speed is just as fast and of course it points better.
Turns easily, especially as weight is moved further back. I often ride with the back foot out of the strap.
A bit harder to Gybe than my surfboard but good to have a new challenge! Its easy to lose your carve in the turn while gybing and start heading too far downwind. This cause a loss of power in the kite and soon you're hardly even moving. If power is a bit light I downloop the kite as I enter the gybe and power away. The board just feels great under powered turns.
I'm still getting the hang of surf in mainly 1-2metre waves on Victorias west coast but initial experience has also been great. The board is well balanced and turns easily on a wave. Board can be slowed right down but still under control when going out thru the break or riding a wave. Also jumps in a nicely balanced way making it easy to land, not much different to a TT.
The under surface seems to be easily scratched - haven't tried to polish these out.
Fins don't like rocks/reef (whoops) but seem to be well manufactured and stiff.

In summary a great board to ride but I can't compare it to anything but my SB and TTS.

Hi. I rode the 5,3 in Maui five weeks ago and I loved it! Excellent in waves (it really turns in a dime!) but still fun in flat water as light wind board just for cruising and hooked jumping. My weight is 70 Kg. and with the Revolver 12 I was able to stay upwind in 10 Knots. In order to jibe you have to put some wax on the deck or just use surfing booties. Respect the 2007 Cabrinha thruster surfboard the S/Quad is more nervous and overall a big step further. A big Ciao from a cold Italy and Merry Crhistmas to all!