Been waiting patiently for some ride reviews from the boys down under, but so far I've just been teased with some pretty pics. Any reports on the Turtle Bay, Freeride and/or the new Sandwich Glass construction? Ok, I'm just not that patient...

Sandwich glass construction appears to be a really good improvement on the old AST. It's lighter and now fairly close to carbon in weight. It also looks exactly the same. We had 3 All Stars on the beach this morning - a carbon and 2 glass sandwich constructions - and the only way to tell the difference is in the serial number.

I haven't had a chance to jump on a Turtle Bay yet, but friends who have are raving about it.

The Freeride is a fun little board. Very stable and picks up the bumps well. Personally, I would prefer an All Star, but the Freeride is still very good.

Hi BadDog, I haven't seen one of the new glass construction race boards, so I'll go with PTWoody's comments in that respect, but I have ridden both the Freeride and the Turtle Bay. Here's a quick review of the Freeride... & I'll post a review of the Turtle Bay when I've got some more time later tonight or tomorrow.

Rider: Alicat
Height: 171cm
Weight: 69kg
Sex: female
Experience: 5-6 years both sup surfing and sup racing
Ability: Advanced (but I wouldn't say Elite)
Affiliation: team rider for Starboard Australia

FREERIDE 12'2" x 30" Wood
I got a chance to demo a Freeride in the wood construction a couple of months back... I paddled it in the ocean, with small swell (0.5-1ft) and light winds (not sheet glass, but not bumpy either). Paddling along the beach, behind the break, with the wind (~5kt) from the side, the board was very stable, speed was good (though not as quick as a narrower 12'6" race board) and it tracks very well.

There was a small breaking wave at the bar and it was easy to turn to paddle into a wave and picked up even the smallest of 'waves' (maybe better to call them ripples) with ease, and with a few quick taps where the wave fattened up/stopped breaking, it wasn't too hard to push over the section and continue riding the bump (maybe 3") towards the shore. On the bigger waves (about hip high), it was easy to control through a few small turns (obviously not getting it vertical or anything like that) and plenty of speed to get through small close out sections.

I've surfed a lot of different 12'6" race boards in similar conditions and to me this board felt smoother and a little bit more comfortable on a wave (not to say race boards are uncomfortable, but it just felt like it belonged on a wave a bit more, if that makes sense?). Although I didn't get to try it downwind, the way it picked up small waves makes me think it would go pretty well.

The weight was pretty good (didn't put it on scales), however being used to riding carbon boards (surf & race) I did notice the little bit of extra weight while carrying it and accelerating from zero speed, though once moving it held it speed well (probably no more difference than between the 2013 AST and carbon race boards).

All-in-all, the Freeride was a lot of fun and I think it will be a fantastic all around board for someone intending to do more paddling (say 60-70%) than surfing and/or wanting to have a go at downwind paddling but not interested in racing competitively (whereas I would be recomminding the blend or drive for someone looking at 60-70% surf, 30-40% flatwater cruising/paddling). The size and stability of the Freeride would also make it a good option for putting the kid(s) or the dog up front.

Thanks for the reports. The SG weight sounds great, but I'm still worried about the durability. My AST 12'6" x 26" Allstar is just bulletproof. Waiting patiently for that Turtle Bay report Ali:)

To my knowledge, none of the Vicco sandwich glass boards have sustained any damage yet so they seem to be as bullet proof as the old AST.