I was in the market for a new board so demo'd a few from other manufacturers over a few weeks. Found a couple that I liked, but price was pretty high, so decided to give Cardboards a call and have a chat.
Dan is a great guy to speak to; took the time to explain how their boards are designed and what custom build would best suit me based on the feedback I gave him from riding other boards, plus conditions and my ability. You can talk to him for free using skype, nice and easy!
I went for a 133 x 40 Free ride, double-concave with standard flex and 50mm fins and got my own graphics put on the board (based on one of the original designs they had), much thanks go to Ran for all his efforts on getting the designs together. No additional cost for custom graphics and it's a great way to have a personalised board that is unique.
Super quick turn around from order to receiving the board, 7 days in total.
First day out and I had the biggest smile on my face. Board was exactly what I was after, very light, up on the plane quickly, eats chop and spits it out the back quick as you like, upwind performance is stunning. The ride is exceptionally smooth, even in rough conditions, with plenty of grip and just the right amount of flex to not smash your knees on every bump, but still keep contact with the water.
I've had the board for about 4 weeks now and ridden it in a variety of winds (12 - 28 knots) and in nasty chop and butter flat and it performs perfect all the time.
I've got an extra 2-3 knots bottom end out of my kites, compared to my old board (though that was getting on a bit) so a great result.
These boards absolutely rock, right up there with everyone else in terms of quality and performance, but for a much more reasonable price, bang for buck they are tops. Highly recommended!
BTW I have no connection with Cardboards, just a regular customer who paid full price for the board.
