Jens forum posts in last 60 days

Hi Folks.

While the shapes look pretty similar to the last generation, the boards are both slightly shorter and narrower so they must be thicker I guess. As Nick mentioned they haven't released the tail width and thickness yet.

I spent a bit of time this season comparing the 7th and 8th generation 94l quads. The 7th generation are slightly longer, thinner and narrower than the 8th. When I first jumped on the 8th last season I found them really easy to sail but felt that they had lost a bit of bite on the transition from bottom turn to driving up the wave. Nevertheless I preserved and got used to them but was interested in doing a proper comparison this season at Margs over a range of conditions. Just to widen the comparison I included a 2017 95l Pyramid on a couple of occasions. All 3 boards require the same technique: weighting the nose, driving the rail into gybes and bottom turns. The extra rocker and narrower tail of the Pyramid really separates it from the Goyas and requires much more attention to technique. The Pyramid just doesn't come alive with lazy sailing: it's really important to comit body weight forward all the time and much harder to get on the plane and point high. On the other hand the narrow tail is so loose in the waves and can really drive a bottom turn. Although I'm not using it much I'm keeping it for that magic day that I lose 5 kg and sailing it becomes easier!

The 2 Goyas are much, much easier to use and the differences between them much smaller than between the Pyramid. They are so much easier to get and stay on the plane, they point higher and float and ride is much easier too. The 8th generation is slightly better at all of that than the 7th. I think that the design is really clever in putting the volume exactly where you need it which is why they are even easier to use than the 7th. It becomes most noticeable in flukey winds where getting on the plane quickly makes sailing much more fun. Also their reduced length makes gybing in choppy seas easier.

Surprisingly I couldn't separate the 7th and 8th generation 94l quads in the waves: they feel the same to me, underlining the need to go beyond 1st impressions. I thought that the longer, narrower 7s would have the edge in big, clean days while the 8s would get more out of fatter, smaller waves but that's not how it turned out. They are both great wave boards that you can push hard with full confidence.

The published specs for the 9th generation suggest a similarly small difference between 8 and 9. Someone will have to compare 8 and 9 for us to see how it plays out. Maybe even earlier planing and easier sailing? On the other hand, they are both shorter and narrower so we'll have to see...

Cheers Jens