Ok what is a HiFly New Move 105ltres - 2005 ? Also F2 Ride 103ltres - 2000? Are they any good? I think Im after a freestyle board of about 100ltres.
I have an F2 Ride 277 (103L) left over from when I was learning. I still use it on marginal days since it will float me well and I can uphaul on it. Suits 6 - 7m sails the best.
Its a fun bump and jump board, easy to gybe, and eats up the choppy ocean provided you move the straps to the inboard positions.
My only gripe is that it is pretty slow. Can still get the heart going, but I've never got it over about 28 knots.
no idea about the hifly. The ride is a freeride board, the air was the freestyle board. There are much better boards for freestyle around now. Only get a freestyle board if you are going to focus purely on freestyle ie sailing 200m & throwing tricks. They arent the nicest boards for generally sailing.
Hi,
Can't advise about the HiFly, but the F2 Ride 277 (103 Litres) is definitely NOT a Freestyle board. It's a dedicated slalom board and was very fast in its day. Length 277, width 57.5 and weight 7.5kg. It came new with an F2 Slalom 34 fin which was slightly swept backwards. Listed sails sizes were 4.6 - 7.2m.
Because of its width, its a touch slow to get on the plane but once there, the top speed was very respectable, especially if a dedicated Race sail was powering it.
I had an F2 Ride 282 (115 Litres) and was extremely pleased with it. After letting one of my friends sail it (it was still new), he went and bought the 277. After sailing it for about 4 months, he told me that it was the finest board he had ever sailed and he's still got it. He's a VERY experienced windsurfer and his praise for the 277 still rings in my head.
I kept my 282 in the roof of the garage, even after I upgraded to a JP Supersport 116 (couldn't bear to part with the 282) and only sold it last year to get some space back in the garage. Still not sure I did the right thing.
If you go to the F2, be careful of the deck grip, because it's probably worn down and become slippery. Nothing a sugar deck (from a dedicated surfboard repairer) couldn't fix. The footstraps might be worn, too.
Porka, thanks for the info. For higher speeds, you might care to reduce the size of the fin. A 28cm fin can be matched to a 6.5m Race sail. In a straight line: unbeatable. Pointing: takes real "touch" to stop it spinning out.
Hope this helps,
Regards,
WindmanV
I had an F2 ride 103 litre. Great all rounder. Mine just got a bit tired in the end so I gave it to a mate to store/use. 
hey Board, for where you sail i would suggest a freestyle/ wave board about 95 litres, they are perfect for the lake and small surf in lighter winds..
Mmm...Thanks..dont think they are what Im after..Be nice to have speed but Im after early planing ..+ it would be nice to have a board that was more forgiving to gybe than mine.
Grr [}:)]was all set to go for a sail today..they keep lowering the wind forecast..now its b 15kts or under..I need a new board!
lol, well i wouldn't want to accuse you of being out of touch.... 
to keep you up to speed most modern freestyle boards use slalom rockers. well most of the ones i know about.
also my comments are based on the fact that i've ridden the jp freestyle boards (which i liked very very much) plus the tabou 3s from a few years back and also the starboard freesex. and of course the nitschke special......
the thing that makes freestyle boards great as freeride boards is that they have slalom rocker with freestyle rails. so they are fast and comfortable. gybes are also easy on most freestyle boards plus they are designed to plane early so exiting gybes is easier. the pop is about the straps being further apart than slalom or freeride. 
i'd actually go as far as to say that freestyle boards are the best general sailing boards on the market. most people just think they are good for freestyle only but once you have tried a few of them you start to feel that they are great boards to ride. pretty much go anywhere you want. where freeride has an advantage is in the upwind department.
some lightweights may prefer freestyle wave as the tails have more pin and they are not quite as wide.
so, where we sailing tomorrow?
you sure do sail alot of boards for only 10 minutes time on the water a fortnight. Modern freestyle boards have flat rocker but if you are telling me under the track is a slalom design you ride some f***** up slalom boards.
Ive got a 2008 rrd twin tip you can have for $950. It's in great condition as I don't use it anymore after I bought an isonic. PM me if you are interested
btw neither the freestyle wave or the 3s is a pure freestyle board. Yes freestyle-waves make good next level freeride boards, there is a difference- remember your shaper trying to tell you his freestyle boards arent for waves but you wouldnt listen to him either. Footstrap position is bs, they are factored to have wider position, wider tails have helped them to get lift. Look at what a freestyle board is meant to do- plane early, get off the water & slide. Alternatively a slalom board is designed to stay on the water, have good directional control & be powered onto the plane. All of that is largely controlled by the rocker line, how can they be the same?
So if Im only small ( 66kg female..which i suppose isnt that small for a female but.
.) I thought a freeride would be too big & hard to control? I would like upwind ability though..
Thanks Gestalt.Now if only I can persuade someone to purchase a JP freestyle for my birthday..
your point? I read the articles cant say i learnt anything new. Keep pushing your crackpot ideas regarding gear, the sport will become all the better for it- a great example is posting a pic of a board you never use because you are afraid of it.
Sbc what do you actually want the board to do?
Hi, again, Sboardcrazy,
Many years ago at Gnotuk beach in Vic, we had a 65kg sailor named Chinese Mark. We had to be very careful if he was the first one on the water, because he could plane using at least a 1 square meter smaller sail than any of the rest of us (around 75 kg) could get going in. Therefore your weight and sailing aspirations are directly in line with what I saw with Mark.
Mark used a first-generation Mistral Explosion, which was the first (what we'd call today a) wide-tailed board. Really stood out in its day, but you wouldn't even consider it to be a wide-tail now (although the tail still stands out because it is very square). It was renowned for early planing and fast speeds (it was advertised as a race board). As we're talking about 1993, these boards would probably be right in your price bracket. I still see them here in Vic, so I know they are available.
For info, here are the specs of the board:
Available in CHS and XR construction, which was written on the side of the board near the word "Explosion" (CGI gave a board weight of = 9.1kg and XR = 7.9 kg) Length = 288, width = 58 cm, vol = 128 litres. Sorry, I don't have a spec for fin length (but it was either a slalom 31 or 34). If you are considering a board of this age, use your fingertips to heavily press all over the deck, checking for soft spots (water entry). You might use these specs to compare to ANY board your are considering.
Mark used to plane very early, but at about 18 - 20 knots, he was struggling to hold anything down (including wave boards) and I think that you might have the same problem, unless you have specialised wave board/sail combos.
The Explosion's square tail allowed it to easily plane through a gybe, because of the volume in its tail.
I owned a similar Explosion and can still remember how "right" the board felt when I first got on it (upgraded from a Bic).
If you are looking for early planing, IMHO the following are critical:
Overall width of the board, width of the board at the one-foot-off-the-tail mark, weight of the board and fin length.
You can very the pointing ability by changing the fin length and most magazines suggest that you have two fins and preferably 3, to take account of water state, sail size and wind strength. Mistral slalom boards still use a Powerbox fitting and a screw that does not need a screwdriver to loosen/tighten, should you need to swap fins. Make sure you have the screw if you buy an old Mistral and you should also be aware that these screws came in 2-different lengths.
Others may care to comment on any of the above, but I hope it helps you.
Regards,
WindmanV
Hi Sboardcrazy
I'm 68kg and still sailing on 1999 and 2000 model boards. I am pretty sure the F2 ride was a very similar board to my Fanatic Bee 104. I can get this planing in 11 to 12 knots with 6.3 freestyle sail and that's the biggest gear I have. I learnt to gybe on this board and now doing old school freestyle on it. Easy to gybe, goes up wind well when powered up so I think it would probably go much better with a slalom sail. This was my only board for 5 years with 2 sails (6.5 and 5.3).
What I did find after gaining more skill and confidence in more and more wind, is that once the wind is 15 to 20knots, unless the water is flat this size board becomes a handful and hard to keep control of. I think (or I'd like to think) for light weights the wider newer boards may not be better (thing is I have avoided trying newer for long as I can't afford it -invested in good light sails and rig instead).
I picked up a 1999 Starboard Free 84L for $500 around 2006 mint condition. Was a revelation to sail on a smaller board - much easier to control in chop. So now if I can rig 5.3 its the 84L, unless it is flatwater and I am keen on trying some tricks where the 104 gives more margin for error.
Good luck - I am sure you can get something you'll be happy with on a budget.
'Tis orright Getsalt...http://gpsteamchallenge.com.au/rankings/individual
When the data drops, the bs stops
quote from boardseeker mag -
"These are not just specialist spinning machines for the professionals, but actually some of the most versatile boards on the market today"
quote from JP website -
"No other Freestyle boards on the market combines top freestyle performance with such true, unmatched freeride potential."
what was it you said MK - "They arent the nicest boards for generally sailing"
quote from starboard website -
"the 2009 Flare 98 and 106 are designed to bring even more speed and acceleration to the mix. The core evolution comes from a new DFC (Dual Flat Concept) rockerline, inspired by the results from the iSonic R&D program"
"Slalom rockerline for speed and acceleration in the 88"
quote from the exocet website -
"Fast rocker line issued from our Slalom line "
what was it you said getsalt - "to describe such dribble as using slalom rockers' on freestyle boards"
as for the image i uploaded, i made no assertions about anything, i uploaded it as a comment to pandas' sketch.
and MK, that's not my board in the photo, actually i've never riden the board in the photo contrary to your comments.
also MK - in fact the 3s i rode felt more like a freestyle board than the JP freestyle boards. maybe you should actually ride the gear before commenting. to quote you -"btw neither the freestyle wave or the 3s is a pure freestyle board"
so MK and getsalt, what's your recomendation. seems to be a lot of wingng and not much positive input.
sbc wants a board for lightwind, she's a female sailor (66kg), only wants a 5.6m max sail, already has a wave board for 15+ knots, but wants a board for light wind on the lake for early planing and easy carving and jumping and wants to spend under $500.
p.s. getsalt if you want my attention just try "hello" it works a treat
pps. cheers formulanova, 
Well this topic has certainly got some comments!
I may not reply to all but Im taking notice..I suppose Im a bit biased towards as modern a board as i can get for my buck as i already have a 96 model one & would like to feel the benefits of a newer model..I was thinking weight is an issue too as i have to lift it up onto the roof of my hatchback & even the waveboard is a strain to get up there after a hard days sail.
.Good idea re test sail..advantage of buying locally.Maybe I should see if anyone out sailing locally has a board i can try with my rig.Id probably be stoked with most boards just because Ive never sailed a modern one to compare them with.Even the old 9ft windaction slalom I had from the 80's would at least let me get out & sail when its fluky..Still it would be nice to have something post 2000..
justin you can believe all the marketing crap you want. I read what the mags said, ive also read mags that have said anyone can use speedboards. Simply if a magazine wishes to keep testing they will write in the most positive manner. Im not disputing that they are easy to ride, but horses for courses- the way you talk why would any manufacturer market more than a formula board & a freestyle board? The 3s is freestyle biased yep most brands do focus their gear a bit, the bits of the board that arent focused make them easier to ride/carve/better in waves etc. Both the 3s & jp fsw are great boards, i even wanted a 3s at one point. You have no idea what ive ridden, im not the one eye'd ka/nxs sailor. Sorry bout mixing up the pic- same deal another monster. I was constructive, i said what board suits what- for almost all you aim a freestyle at a fsw would better suit. With that enjoy misleading people, im over it.
you put a lot of words in my mouth there MK.
so if i suggest a freestyle board i am missleading people but if i suggest a FSW i'm on the money? that's some funny stuff, they're such different boards.
a real moot point.
thanks.
sboardcrazy personaly I think unless you are doing freestyle i wouldnt get a freestyle board.I would look at a freeride board if you are after something that is still quick, gybes well and is quick onto plane, after all that's what their design for.
Something else to think about is that most freestyle boards use us fin boxes so that sort of limits you to mainly wave/freestyle fins.
starboard have a pretty good chart of all the board types see http://www.star-board.com/2009/pages/products/myboard.php .
end of the day though its best to try a few types if ya can.
hope this Helps
ta Vando
The term "Freestyle Wave" is a load of marketing rubbish.
Maybe "Bump and Jump" would be a better description for boards labelled as such?
