Rider: 80 Kg
Style:Wake
Weather: 15-35 knots
Build Quality: 8/10
Satisfaction: 10/10
Disclosure: Pay for all my gear
My Comments:
About me:
I've been riding wakestyle now for over 12 years, but as Im now in my mid 40's it does not come as easy as it used to, I have to work hard on my fitness and flexibility, but I still just enjoy doing what I can do.
I've had my Pop now for 4 months now so thought Id try my hand at doing a review on it.
I needed another board, and when Tona announced they were doing a wakestyle board it immediately got me excited. It was in fact the most excited I've been about a board since LF built the Picklefork.
I picked it up from Jason at WOK and for the price it seamed like excellent value. The board comes without foot straps, as it is supposed to be ridden with boots, with or without fins.
When I first saw it I thought it looked quite chunky, with the thickness in the centre almost carrying through to the tips. The board feels noticeably stiffer and slightly heavier than most mass produced production boards. The weight in fact is about 500g more than other boards I looked at. It has big channels and small fins showing its wakestyle heritage. The deck is high gloss but scratches easily. The base is a very hard plastic and shells and small rocks don't even mark it ,even when running it up the beach. Perfect for rails and kickers (later this summer). Even though its called a 138 its actually 139.
The first few times out on it were in the middle of winter in gusty on shore conditions, with a big dumpy shore break. With it small fins and big rocker I was a bit worried about getting out through the shore break in onshore winds, but it got out just as easy as anything else Ive ever ridden. After about 5 mins it felt like I'd been sailing it for years.
Flat water unhooking is where this board really comes into its own. I could notice the difference when popping straight away. The stiffness really helps and I have changed my technique slightly now to take advantage of this, I have found I can pop more off the tail of the bored and I can feel the boared actually springing me off the water, kind of like doing an Ollie on a stiff snowboard. This also gives me more slack, and I need all the help I can get to make a pass.
Last time I went out I broke one of the fins trying a board slide along a bank of seaweed, so I took all the fins off. Without fins the bored certainly managed to go upwind just as well, and it even seemed slightly faster, although a bit more skateier. I recon I could also pop a bit harder, not too sure how that works though. So Im going to leave it finless.
The rocker and channels in the bottom really help cushion hard landings, believe me with a reconstructed knee I can feel the difference straight away.
I have not noticed the weight of the board at all, and really, if weight is an issue for you, then a wakestyle board is probably not what you are after.
A very forgiving board, faster than I expected it would be, and it goes upwind very well, but loading it up hard is where its at.
yep, needs to be ridden finless no doubt. three stage rocker works a treat. Only rode it for hour but it didn't feel like a new board, very comfortable/familiar feel to it. only thing that i struggled with was buttering as the tips sure are thick. Definitely worth a demo if you're looking for a boots board
Great review. Has anyone ridden it back to back to the LF DLX 2013? I'm in the market for a new board and unfortunately haven't been able to find a demo of the Tona in Melbourne...
Select to expand quote
Just though id add to the reviews
Tona Pop 138, my fav board by a mile!! Not so good for a learner, but intermediate to skilled kiter will love this, all the KP shop riders love it! I personally dont like riding a traditional twin tip build after riding this, Landings are so soft! id never felt such smooth soft landings riding anything else, Its a knee/back saver! lots of rocker, thick rails, big channels, stiff, made to be ridden aggressively and a base made for hitting, sliding, and grinding. I ride it finless, with Boots, this thing kains upwind, loads up great, makes riding all conditions smooth, i was riding the Airush FS 140 Park board before, which is great but my time has come to and end with them so Tona is my choice not just on value but as a whole new twin tip design, Been riding mine for a solid month and had ago on a conventional twin tip the other day, popped off some chop and knees, ankle, and back took the impact, rather than the Tona soaking it up, Iv pulled a few Mega's on this board too and still holds sweet for loading boosts in 40knots.
I am currently looking for a more suitable board to put boots on. Would a 70 kg rider be better off with the 133 or the 138?
Hey Brad, I'm 70kgs as well, how do you find the weight of the board when jumping and landing tricks? Word on the st is that they are heavier than the norm.
Hi there these boards sound sweet,just wondering if a 138 would be big enough for some one about 87kgs keen to grab one cheers.
Brad,
Do you know of anyone bringing them into NZ? If not, how much would it cost to send one over?
1.33 for you for sure, boards are well priced and easy to sell when/if you need a bigger one.
Does this board actually perform at the cable? Not looking for marketing blurbs, just opinions of people who have actually ridden it at the cable. I'm moving up to Singapore for a couple of months so ill be riding cable as much as possible. Happy to splash out on new hybrid board for this but my 2011 DLX is also getting pretty beat up so it'll get replaced this year as well. Buy a pop for kiting and something else for cable or take it up with me?
Money no object, not interested in compromise. Does this board perform as well as any dedicated cable board?
Thanks.
rowdy's the man to ask. All i know is that the base will hold up just fine in comparison to a dlx. I didn't have any issues with it a cable but i'm only a newb. If money is no object i'd get a dedicated cable board man and double up on the boots ;)
Rowdy designed his own signature board with Axis now. i checked it out at PKRA in Germany. it looks sic and a top choice for all wakestyle kids.
Our team go out to the cable park at Penrith frequently and they rate the Tona's for use out there, I'll get Elliot Drury to reply.
Rowdy is working with Axis on a new board called the Bootleg, its almost in production or has commenced production and we will have some in approx 3-4 weeks. Rowdy is on the Ozone Int'l team and is now supported for board by Axis, Elliot is Ozone Nat'l team and Kitepower, same for boards.
Does wolf'y still hit it up? My mate Jason Nicholas n his pez used to run n operate cable's at Penrith??
My Bro worked there too fun a bit of fun!
What's it like now it's all upgraded?
Had a few good session's there a few year's ago now!
Was sweet with two lake's and sick rider's ripping it up!
Just a quick question, does anyone know if this board works with the hyperlite process boots with system bindings?
it should do, hyperlite system bindings are no different from any other standard 6" bindings and should fit on any board that can fit standard bindings.
just got my POP yesterday, thanks kitepower!! i have old liquidforce cab boots and they are 7inch and they fit as well. the slackline you get with this board is amazing, love it.
the only time you notice the weight is after 4 hours solid of unhooking and try and carry the board back to your car when your arms and shoulders feel like jelly!
Select to expand quoteCharl dv said..
it should do, hyperlite system bindings are no different from any other standard 6" bindings and should fit on any board that can fit standard bindings.
Have to disagree. While the Hyperlites mightbe ok with the Tona, they are actually slighlty different to standard spacing. Works well on Axis boards. But does tend to pull sliding rails up (bend them on my Gambler). And on the Joke as well as LF boards I could only fit it at very straight angle but not duck stance. So definitely try it on the respective board before buying.
