Hi All,
Recently I bought a used Starboard Kode 109 as a board for more wind (me = 95-97 kg).
Excellent board, fast enough and jibes like a dream.
For light conditions with an 8,2 or 7,3 I've been using a NoveNove Stylemove 130. Nice board, easy to sail but quite wide at 83cm.
I'm not into GPS sailing but prefer freeriding and carving jibes.
I prefer a more narrow board.
I noticed the Kode 135. Not too much info on the board.
Anybody have user experience on the Kode 135?
TIA

Sounds like youre freeriding?
The Kode135 seems more about light wind wavessiling or B&J with some freeriding maybee
Its certainly not a dedicated freeride

Theres plenty of narrower freeride boards .... like a Rocket would be perfect

Your volume seems high so what wind ranges are we talking?

I have a Kode 135 and then step down to a dyno 115. They have very similar outlines but the Kode is obviously fatter in the middle.

I've used the Kode down to 5.6, but mostly I use it for 6.3-8.0 in three strap mode. Conditions being an intermediate in B&J and more float and ride conditions in the light wind and waves we get here. It bounced around a lot when powered with the 5.6, but also gets up and jumps on plane with pumping compared to the dyno. I'm 90kg, not planing out of jibes yet on fin and there's plenty to critique on my sailing.

It's definitely more for if you want to ride waves. Although with a freestyle sail (6.3) in lightish wind and flat water I have been working on planing switch stance and other things because it's floaty and forgiving when a smaller board wouldn't be as rideable or forgiving. And also light wind freestyle move practice like helis and etc so that when we get back in the season here I'll be more capable for the waves.

Wind at 6.3 conditions is kind of a break point between the dyno and kode. I have used both with 6.3 (freek) and 6.7 (blade). If I think I'll be overpowered I'll go for the dyno, and if I think it'll be light I'll go for the kode. We rarely get <5.0 force wind here so the dyno is usually small enough but I could use a 90-95ish liter board, I've just gotten away with the 115 dyno in almost everything though. Just have to tweak mast base forward if it bounces a lot, and maybe adjust the fins a bit for less grip. I've used the kode significantly less in thrusters, more in a single, but it would probably help with the bounce in 5.6 conditions if for whatever reason I couldn't switch to the dyno.

Couple of short clips of typical 6.7 conditions with the kode 135:

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Mark _australia said..
Sounds like youre freeriding?
The Kode135 seems more about light wind wavessiling or B&J with some freeriding maybee
Its certainly not a dedicated freeride

Theres plenty of narrower freeride boards .... like a Rocket would be perfect

Your volume seems high so what wind ranges are we talking?

Hi Mark, I'm basically into Freemove/ Freeride / Bump & Jump.
I'm not really looking for a dedicated (fast) freeride board. As long as I'm planing I'm a happy camper, maxxing out on speed is not my thing.
Wind in my neck of the woods can be shifty / gusting, some volume helps in the lulls. Hence the 135. With a wettie in the winter I'm close to 100 kg.
Intended windrange is the lower end up to say 20 knots. Over 15-20 I'm fine with the Kode 109.
The Kode 135 is supposed to jibe very will which would be a selling point for me.

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aeroegnr said..
I have a Kode 135 and then step down to a dyno 115. They have very similar outlines but the Kode is obviously fatter in the middle.

I've used the Kode down to 5.6, but mostly I use it for 6.3-8.0 in three strap mode. Conditions being an intermediate in B&J and more float and ride conditions in the light wind and waves we get here. It bounced around a lot when powered with the 5.6, but also gets up and jumps on plane with pumping compared to the dyno. I'm 90kg, not planing out of jibes yet on fin and there's plenty to critique on my sailing.

It's definitely more for if you want to ride waves. Although with a freestyle sail (6.3) in lightish wind and flat water I have been working on planing switch stance and other things because it's floaty and forgiving when a smaller board wouldn't be as rideable or forgiving. And also light wind freestyle move practice like helis and etc so that when we get back in the season here I'll be more capable for the waves.

Wind at 6.3 conditions is kind of a break point between the dyno and kode. I have used both with 6.3 (freek) and 6.7 (blade). If I think I'll be overpowered I'll go for the dyno, and if I think it'll be light I'll go for the kode. We rarely get
Couple of short clips of typical 6.7 conditions with the kode 135:

Thanks for the feedback, nice clip!

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aeroegnr said..
I have a Kode 135 and then step down to a dyno 115. They have very similar outlines but the Kode is obviously fatter in the middle.

I've used the Kode down to 5.6, but mostly I use it for 6.3-8.0 in three strap mode. Conditions being an intermediate in B&J and more float and ride conditions in the light wind and waves we get here. It bounced around a lot when powered with the 5.6, but also gets up and jumps on plane with pumping compared to the dyno. I'm 90kg, not planing out of jibes yet on fin and there's plenty to critique on my sailing.

It's definitely more for if you want to ride waves. Although with a freestyle sail (6.3) in lightish wind and flat water I have been working on planing switch stance and other things because it's floaty and forgiving when a smaller board wouldn't be as rideable or forgiving. And also light wind freestyle move practice like helis and etc so that when we get back in the season here I'll be more capable for the waves.

Wind at 6.3 conditions is kind of a break point between the dyno and kode. I have used both with 6.3 (freek) and 6.7 (blade). If I think I'll be overpowered I'll go for the dyno, and if I think it'll be light I'll go for the kode. We rarely get
Couple of short clips of typical 6.7 conditions with the kode 135:

2 questions come to mind:
1 what fin size are you using ( single, thruster).
2 how would you rate early planing characteristics.
thanks!

The stock single is a 38cm drake wavy freeride fin. It planes up a little earlier than my 38cm maui ultra fins weed slalom that I use here due to the massive amounts of weeds we get, but mostly I've used the MUF weed fin.

Not much to say about the thrusters as I haven't used them as much vs. the dyno. It planes earlier than the dyno by quite a bit, but not as early as my 145 blast (77cm wide) with the same sail.

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aeroegnr said..
The stock single is a 38cm drake wavy freeride fin. It planes up a little earlier than my 38cm maui ultra fins weed slalom that I use here due to the massive amounts of weeds we get, but mostly I've used the MUF weed fin.

Not much to say about the thrusters as I haven't used them as much vs. the dyno. It planes earlier than the dyno by quite a bit, but not as early as my 145 blast (77cm wide) with the same sail.

Thanks for the helpful answer ! This gives a good indication.

We have a Kode 135 in our rental center here in New Zealand. I haven't used it myself yet (and my 5 Pennie's worth possibly wouldn't be worth that much to you as. I'm only 55kg), but if you find yourself on a holiday in NZ you are more than welcome to take it out and test it for a few days. Single and thruster fins available.

Sorry to drag this one up..... Aeroegnr, if you read this: you said that you also use(d) the Kode with an 8.0. According to the Starboard specs it can carry up to 8.2. What is your experience with this combo? Not overloading the board? How much wind do you think you would be planing in?

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Cuchufleta said..
Sorry to drag this one up..... Aeroegnr, if you read this: you said that you also use(d) the Kode with an 8.0. According to the Starboard specs it can carry up to 8.2. What is your experience with this combo? Not overloading the board? How much wind do you think you would be planing in?

Yeah I've run it with the 8.0 and it feels like it would benefit from the outboard strap setup and a little bit bigger fin than 38cm, but it's doable and fun in choppy windswell with the tri-strap. I just tend to overload the fin and spin out when on an 8.0 and my 38cm MUF weed slalom fin, so I adapt and try not to pressure it too early.

I would say somewhere around the start of whitecap formation onward is when I would use it. I can foil in much less than that so I tend to grab the foil instead. I've taken a gamble on rigging the 7.5 gator vs. 8.0 cheetah, same ezzy 460 mast. Looks like I don't have good video of it with the 8.0 but I know I've run it in that setup, here's with a 7.5.

I would judge the wind by the water state there. My most recent runs with that were doing jibe practice with the 8.0, but the wind was similar or a little more. I just don't think I bothered making video because nothing exciting was happening.



Another one, lighter wind:

Thanks for the info. Just asked as I can get a Cheetah in 8.0 relatively cheep, to get a bit more gain in lightwind over my Cheetah 7.5. Happy sailing!

For fins, I have a muf weed slalom 38 and today I was lazy and sick and wanted a short session so I just brought the big kode and not that plus the dyno.

Ended up on 6.3 freek a little overpowered and found the stock single too bouncy and catching weeds. I switched to the makani ono 30, which I've only used on the dyno 115 when I need more upwind power than the thrusters, and I found it to be really good in choppy overpowered conditions with this setup, mast base blocking about half the vent on the front.
Would've stayed out a couple hours but I was starting to feel a fever kick in.

Hope you will feel better soon. I've had the board out with a 6.3 as well (Goya Eclipse). First with a K4 3SW 30 cm. as a single. The board felt quite loose and fast but as soon as I loaded up the fin I would loose it. I then went to the stock 38 and the board was behaving better but still prone to a spin out every once and a while. I am used to sailing tri fins and quads and I have never experienced this before. Will just have to get to know the board better.

I did get the Cheetah 8.0 and I am planning to run it (in 4 strap mode) with a K4 Fang 40, let's see how that goes. Will report back.

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Cuchufleta said..
Hope you will feel better soon. I've had the board out with a 6.3 as well (Goya Eclipse). First with a K4 3SW 30 cm. as a single. The board felt quite loose and fast but as soon as I loaded up the fin I would loose it. I then went to the stock 38 and the board was behaving better but still prone to a spin out every once and a while. I am used to sailing tri fins and quads and I have never experienced this before. Will just have to get to know the board better.

I did get the Cheetah 8.0 and I am planning to run it (in 4 strap mode) with a K4 Fang 40, let's see how that goes. Will report back.

Thank you!

Also have the Makani Kohola 34cm but I need to it be less weedy and haven't really used it much. I think the Ono has a lot of area but 6.3 is probably on the high end of the fin capability. The 30cm 3sw may be a bit small?

I used the k4 40cm fang on the dyno 115 (felt pretty stiff), a JP 120l Xcite, and my 11'8" excocet link. It may feel just fine for freeride on the big kode. The tail of the kode and dyno 115 aren't that dissimilar but the kode has more length behind the fin and more tail width there, which didn't show up all that strongly in the pics I took.

The 3SW 30 was definitely too small, the stock 38 was probably a bit too big. Thanks for the info!