I am considering purchasing a second hand Hypersonic 105. I have been told that they are difficulty to gybe. I am just beginning to learn gybes but can tack, waterstart and in the foot straps on my Mistral Explosion 144l. I have 5.5, 6.5 and 8.5 mtr sails. I am 84 kgs. It concerns me a large drop in ltrs. 105 - 144, difficulty to gybe and a short nose for tacking. The pros are its attitude to speed and stability( I assume due to its width) Any comments on suitability

I have a 111 and i don't think it's that hard to jybe...you just need to stand on the inside rail to get it to turn .Take a wider arc and you'll be fine.At 85kg's you will find the hypervomit will plane just as quick as the 144l board you have and plane through the lulls just as well.What will scare you is the speed and acceleration compared to the mistral.There isn't much nose and it tends to bury when your on the dog.You have to be wary of this and compensate when you drop off the plane.It's easier to tack than a waveboard
Very fun board indeed.Of coarse not everyones cup of tea.Try and have a sail before you buy.But you do need a few sails on these boards to get a real feel for them.
If it's the right price ..go for it you won't look back

I have owned Hyper 105 since day one, & I know i am a minority, but i love this board. She carries a huge sail range and preforms in great variety of condition. 5.5-8.5m is the ideal sail range for 10-22 knots. She sails both up and down wind, which means you can really enjoy your windsurfing when everyone else is sitting on the beach complaining.
105Ltrs is a deceptive also (i think), as I am 84kgs and can up haul a 7.2m sail with out getting wet? Tacking needs to be done quickly as there is reduced volume in front of the mast track. Gybing is a bit more challenging than a traditional board, but not such an issue once mastered.
I really have enjoyed this board. I think the reason it was not hugely popular, is it sails differently than a traditional board, but be patience and I think you will get alot out of it...Cheers and good luck

don't you guys find it a bit uncontrollable at powered up conditions even when fully sheeted in the front tends to lift up uncontrollably even with front feet really straight and hard

hypersonic 105 is in a class of its own.The acceleration is amazing both up wind and down wind.A smooth ride through rough chop and you can really lock down the rig and board when sailing to take advantage of a gust or hole area in the wind.A good quality weed fin works well.Sail size used 5.5m-6.5, great performance with race sails.Gybe as mentioned before is slighly wider than traditional freeride boards , but you still come out of the gybe on the plan and at speed.I would recommend the hypersonic 105 , more planning time on the water.I still have a narrow freeride board for conditions when winter storms are extreme.
A secondhand hypersonic 105 board is great value for money.

I had one for a while and loved it. The 105 will give you more TOW thas most boards. I think the sweet spot is around the 7m mark. They just truck upwind. I only sold mine as i wanted more top end. In a way i wish i had kept mine for those light days. Just buy it you wont regret it

I havnt ridden the 105 but the 111 Hypersonic didnt think it felt too bad.
bit more technical than other boards expecialy in the chop but if you lernt to control the trim it flys and the board just Glides through the lulls and gybing seemed ok.
Prob not a board for everyone you need to give it some time.

ta Vando

Dude's, read the post!
The guy is LEARNING to gybe. You all seem to be going on about performance, up and down wind ability and sail carrying capacity. All good things, but not going to help you LEARN to gybe.
My recomendation is to go for a "normal" board.
Starboard Carve, JP X-Cite etc about the same volume as you will progress quicker than on the Hyper.
They are a tecnical board to get planing and gybe (Yep, I'm not a fan) and their popularity is not the best generally, so resale could also be an issue.

Thanks for the input so far.
What about the board in choppy water. Does the chop knock the board around more because it is short.
Re : Gybes - I am a slow learner because the old brain, bod and feet do not operate at speed now I am over 50 but I am persistant. Happy to commit to something that is a bit touchy on gybes as long as it is not too hard to achieve and get the benefit of speed.
Some say it is a technical board to ride. Sorry but would anyone know what they would mean by technical

People say they are technical to ride. Put it this way. They are unlike a detuned freeride board that just cruises along. just like a sports car they need to be driven(powered up) to really get up and motor.

Hyper's are the sort of board that are physically demanding to ride in a good way, IE you always are trying to get them riding up off the fin so the board releases and really hits 5th gear.

As far as gybing they just need commitment (dont all gybes) and speed in the entry. If you do this planing exits are easy.

In chop they can be a handful(what board at 77cm wide isnt). Same again you need to load them up with a powerful sail and and get them flying off the fin. If you do this they just hover over the top of most chop just like the new manta's do. I believe this due to the large double concaves they have under the front foot straps.

Thats my 2cents

Quite enjoyed riding Benders one, bit different but fun

Since both you blokes are experienced windsurfers, would you pick the Hyper as the best board to learn to gybe on?
Technical in my book means difficult, and the hypre does require more commitment than most to get going.
Still reckon you should go for a freeride board in the same volume.

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Bender said...

I had one for a while and loved it. The 105 will give you more TOW thas most boards. I think the sweet spot is around the 7m mark. They just truck upwind. I only sold mine as i wanted more top end. In a way i wish i had kept mine for those light days. Just buy it you wont regret it

Sold it to ME!!
haha i love it never gonna sell it spent more time on that board than on any others.

i pretty much learnt to gybe on it and don't find it particularly difficult ,
i use it with a 7.5 mostly and it gets me planning in about 14 kts i weigh 68kgs tho
put a good fin in it and some nice n comfy footstraps and u will love it too!!

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MavericK040 said...

Bender said...

I had one for a while and loved it. The 105 will give you more TOW thas most boards. I think the sweet spot is around the 7m mark. They just truck upwind. I only sold mine as i wanted more top end. In a way i wish i had kept mine for those light days. Just buy it you wont regret it

Sold it to ME!!
haha i love it never gonna sell it spent more time on that board than on any others.

i pretty much learnt to gybe on it and don't find it particularly difficult ,
i use it with a 7.5 mostly and it gets me planning in about 14 kts i weigh 68kgs tho
put a good fin in it and some nice n comfy footstraps and u will love it too!!

I rest my case

I use a Hyper 105 now, and find it a tough board to ride. Was using a Starboard Diva 135 before I switched.

The Hyper's really fast, but I find that it tend to point upwind a lot. And it really flies when the wind picks up...maybe I'm not heavy enough to hold it down. It's good for improving though in a painful way...but hey I got mine at a good price, guess I just need more water time.

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fionzc said...

I use a Hyper 105 now, and find it a tough board to ride. Was using a Starboard Diva 135 before I switched.

The Hyper's really fast, but I find that it tend to point upwind a lot. And it really flies when the wind picks up...maybe I'm not heavy enough to hold it down. It's good for improving though in a painful way...but hey I got mine at a good price, guess I just need more water time.

more time on the water and you will learn to "drive" the board better , when i first got mine i didnt really like it that much , but a few sessions over powered with a 7.5 on it i soon learnt to just bite down and control the beast now the only thing that will scare me on it is really really choppy water then its nose diving time

some have described the hypersonic as like an apple mac, you never really use an apple mac, it's rather a case of "you are sharing in the mac experience"

some others have described it as - it's like you've been told you are having fun, but in reality you're not

flame suit on

either way, it has a cult following

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MavericK040 said...
more time on the water and you will learn to "drive" the board better , when i first got mine i didnt really like it that much , but a few sessions over powered with a 7.5 on it i soon learnt to just bite down and control the beast now the only thing that will scare me on it is really really choppy water then its nose diving time

Yes the nose dives when it's choppy! I'm slowly getting used to it...been using for a few months now. I just switched to a bigger 6.7m sail...so guess it'll help. Some people I know had great times on that board, others said I was mad when I bought it. Well to each his own!

I have never nose dived on the Hyper105. It is actually a very smooth ride in choppy conditions as it seems to ride over the chop instead of bouncing through it (up to 20knots). I come from a racing back ground, which might explain why i find it such a great board.
I have also done a good amount of jumping on this board, as it points so much closer to the wind making ramps super easy to find.

FYI, I have never used the stock fin....

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Brett Morris said...

I have never nose dived on the Hyper105. It is actually a very smooth ride in choppy conditions as it seems to ride over the chop instead of bouncing through it (up to 20knots). I come from a racing back ground, which might explain why i find it such a great board.
I have also done a good amount of jumping on this board, as it points so much closer to the wind making ramps super easy to find.

FYI, I have never used the stock fin....

I totally agree. The Brake(Drake) fins are crap. I used Techtonic Goldwings with mine.

As far as nose diving it was never a problem. Being a slalom board you need to load it up with a sail .5-1m bigger than you would normally sail with and use a a good slalom fin. If you do this the board just flys over just about anything and the double concaves give a hovercraft like ride over most sea states.

You'll never get over that uneasy super short board feeling . I've got a Naish Hybrid 109, at 214 it's 13cm shorter than the Hyper 105. Every now and then you think "this is it" , but after a second or two, the spray clears, and you see you're still on the planet. They punch through, I've never nose-dived.

Only test driven Hypers, I recall the 111 was a lot easier to sail than the 105 even though it's only 218.

You'll never get over that uneasy super short board feeling . I've got a Naish Hybrid 109, at 214 it's 13cm shorter than the Hyper 105. Every now and then you think "this is it" , but after a second or two, the spray clears, and you see you're still on the planet. They punch through, I've never nose-dived.

Only test driven Hypers, I recall the 111 was a lot easier to sail than the 105 even though it's only 218.

i've used a hypersonic as my main board for a year or so now & its given me plenty of good days on the water while my mates have been slogging along... That & a formula board are basically all i have used, i wouldn't say gybing it is difficult, just different

What fins work well in the hypersonics? The drake has a speed limiter set at 29knots...

I have done 33knts(2sec average) on one with a Goldwing 32cm and a 6.4m sail

The Cremaster crew have a fleet of Hyper 105's. Love mine in up to 15 knots with an 8.5 Koncept where you can easily clock 30 knots plus. We get a lot of fun drag racing with identical equipment so that you know its only your technique letting you down, amazed at how many times not a metre separates you after more than a nautical mile.

The Hypersonic:
A board so good, Starboard made them for 1 season only!

Was it because
a) they stopped making it because it was so good and they were afraid that no one would buy anythnig else.
or
b) it's a technical and challenging board to sail(Some might even say bl**dy awful),they did not sell many and hence has no second hand value

Actually made them for 3 years!

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seano said...



What fins work well in the hypersonics? The drake has a speed limiter set at 29knots...

I agree.

Well I just bought a brand new 105. Never been in the water even though its 5 years old! The guy who sold it to me bought 2 when they came out cos they were so good but gave up windsurfing a few years ago and this one was never used. Has all original paperwork, fins etc. Even threw in a 30cm Select weed fin and a flying objects board bag

Bring on tomorrow