The new Coronation boards were being demoed today at Pinnaroo Point. By RayQ ...

I've always been a bit skeptical of the frenetic hype and obsession associated with boards (and kites) in this sport, being pretty convinced that once you've got reasonably modern gear then the skill of the rider determines the bulk of the performance. Accordingly I've happily been riding 2 Addiction Boards (Cat 135 and Edge 128) since I started kiting.

BUT - conditions were very light today -12 knots perhaps at Pinnaroo to start with- and I was struggling to stay upwind. So I decided to do a little formal research and try some of these boards.

Taking each board for one in/out tack I was able to make some direct comparisons under reasonably steady conditions. Out of the 4 Coronation boards I tried 3 were clearly more efficient at planing and edging upwind than my Addiction CAT 135. One of them in particular tracked supremely well through the light chop. I took it out twice and was actually a bit sad to have to relinquish it due to others kiters wanting to have a go.

So in summary, these boards look good, comfortable to ride, well-built (Made in Germany) and based on what Ray was telling me uniquely priced.

Bo

Yes it was realy interesing to see that my own oppinion of whats good and bad in board design accounts for nothing, as 2 groups of riders had destinctive proferances based on their riding styl.
In general it seems that all the choice of new gear makes it madatory to try as much as you can when buying a new kite or board these days.
Most of the stuff is good but may not suit the indevidual.

Ray

I also just wanted to say thanks to Ray for letting me try a few boards.

My personal favourite out of the lot was the carbon fibre 128, it felt very lively with decent pop, and would probably suit a slightly more agressive rider. Very nice looking boards either way, the straps and pads were also very comfortable.

Thanks
Matt

yes i had a ride on the 126 or 128 something like that. the board is very nice in the chop, wen i rode it it was around 15 knots and i was on my 13m waroo. it felt like the board was trying to machine upwind but was being limited by my kite not wanting to go further forward in the window

the pop on these boards for how light the wind was, was brilliant! i got very nice height in some of my railies for the conditions. In kiteloops it felt like the landings were instantly absorbed by the board, clearly there wasnt alot of power but 13m waroos loop like pigs with massive constant pull so i thaught the baords wer very decent. it also had a very lively and responsive feel, it is in the same class as the protoy for pop and landings but is almos more comfortable to ride in choppy conditions.

excellent boards and would be a choice this season if i was in the market for new boards.

You know that great feeling when you try a new board for the first time and it just feels right. I tried 3 coro boards yesterday and they all felt like this.

The only problem that I have with these boards is which one to choose!

At the price that Ray is giving them away at , I might just take all 3!

yea excellent boards.. i was riding the larger carbon model of the two yesterday and it was sick.. it makes u feel like u dont have as much power as u actually do so when u edge up and pop u get FLUNG into the air!! haha it took a while to get used to that. they are alot better at staying upwind then my jaime pro is aswell, i was actually planing downwind at times to keep in line wif my bag!

the only thing that bothered me about these boards was teh offset foot pads that are positioned closer to the heelside edge. i think it helps u edge up better and that is probably what helped me generate so much pop yesterday but the problem is the boards were uncomfortable to ride switch and i can imagine the same goes for riding blind ( one day il get there). i guess with the freestyle pads you can probably move them closer to the centre.

yeah, Id like to say thanx to Ray for the use of the Coronation boards.
I had so much fun trying all the boards he had there that I didnt take notice of which I liked the best.They were all great and going on the fickle wind conditions he had a board to suit.
The only critisism I had was the comfort factor of the boards and I mean this is as a minor critisism (as I ride the Slingy sx which is comfort plus).
Pinnas is a pretty choppy spot to kite and the boards didnt absorb the chop as well as the SX.Im sure in flat water they would be a different story.
They all felt solid and looked the biz and response was awesome, and most trucked upwind with ease.
Im looking at getting another board and would definitely love to trial the Coronation boards again. cheers Ray