I've decided to hosh off my slalom gear for some freestyle kit. My only concern is the speed of the current freestyle boards. I don't want or expect it to be anywhere near as fast as slalom gear of course but I am concerned that it will feel overly 'sluggish'.

Anyone who is into freestyle, I would appreciate some guidance 'cos I'm keen to have some fun on my gear this summer (for a change) and I would like to get the right kit first go. Ta

Judging from what I've read in magazines lately, freestyle boards from 2006 onwards are much less "allround" than previous years. The advice seems to be if you're not going to be spinning and popping the whole sesh then you probably want to go for something else.

I've got a Starboard Freesex 108ltr board from 2004/2005. It's pretty fast (seemed ok yesterday) and can handle a 5.3 to 7.3m sail. It carves really well, pops very well (it's wide and very short) and it's quite loose (could use it for basic wavesailing). The only thing it doesn't do is plane early - probably due to the fin.

I think it's fast enough.

I'm not going to claim to be the local hot-shot, but I reckon I win most of the informal drag races I sail and that's with a Fanatic Freewave 86l, and usually on a 5.4 Duke. I too was a bit concerned when I moved on from my slalom gear, but the results speak for themselves. I certainly can't point as high or get that real railed-up powerful upwind drive with the freestyle fin, but for flat-out reaching speed, this board is no slug. Can't comment on any other boards. Sure makes for some impressive gybing also ( at least I impress myself) which was never the case with my previous slalom board. I'm not really into freestyle, but the kit is great for slalom speed, bump and jump and onshore chop, that makes it fun to sail. Take a test ride and you might be surprised. And having seen CL's reply above, I should add that the first thing that blew me away with the Freewave was the way it just popped onto the plane. Couldn't belive it. This board suits me at 70kg really well. Cheers

Thanks for the replies, my aim is for around the 110L size board due to my size (85kg). I like the sound of the Freewave 86, I'd be impressed if the board has a good reaching speed. Certainly early planing is important, hopefully at around 110L most freestyle boards should have that capability.

My decision will come from either the Fanatic Freeweve 98, Skate or even the Mistral 'Joker'.

I do plan on 'spinning' and 'popping' 'cos having recently watched a windsurf video for the first time in 5 years I thought to myself that these punk kids cant have all the fun, it's time the 'old dog' learns some new tricks.

Any pointers on which is the best freestyle board (new or last season) for a 85kg with 20 years experience (can loop etc)

Ta

Sideshow, where do windsurf? If it's anywhere around here (nothern beaches - sydney) you can give my board a go. I found it really difficult to get a second hand free style board as there are so few people doing it.

In return you can help with my loop attempts

I cant comment on the newer designs and there seems to be a huge variation in freestyle designs. I did a direct comparison of an f2 air vs a 52cm wide full slalom design. I cheated with the air and used a slalom fin and moved the straps but at the end of the day there was 1 knot difference between the two (31.? F2 vs 32.?). Chop was mild to moderate and in general the F2 was a bit more of a handfull but I never crashed- which i did on the slalom.

A good slalom sailor will generally be quick no matter the gear he rides, I often was coaxed into drag racing with the board set up for freestyle with freestyle sail and it was only the top sailors here on slalom gear which had greater speed. If you want to drag race/slalom sail or hit the speed strip occasionally look for something with outer strap positions and get a slalom fin or two