Finally got our x26's.....I've been riding the Glide's since generation 1 with a couple of months of trying to master the 23" LE as well beginning of this year. On paper the x26 just looked like the answer to my desires. My desires being: Fast and comfortable on our downwind runs and possibly flatwater as well.

I'm 85kg, 1.8m tall and just shy of the big five-o and for me the 23" LE was just a step too far, incredible acceleration, super easy to control on the runs but the narrowness just meant any side-bumbs became challenging, tiring and ultimately slower than I'd been on the 2013 Glide (27 1/4" wide).

Enter the 26" wide LE - I got it on Wednesday morning, raced it that same evening and rode it again yesterday.

Wednesday was 15-22knots and I managed my best downwind race placing this year. The board catches everything on offer and the nose seems to skip through and over any bumps allowing you to link/railroad sections which the previous Glide just could not do. There is hardly any deceleration when the full length of the board is engaged - it feels very slippery and fast. Having ridden the 23 LE and the new 29" Glide probably helped understanding how to ride the 26LE, you can stand a little further back and getting the nose up is a simple step back. Stepping forward you will get into virtually anything.

The stability is almost on par with the 27 1/4" wide gen 1 and 2 Glides, there is a fraction more roll I'd say, but still way within my comfort zone. This translates into speed as you feel confident you can put the power down to accelerate onto runs without having to do side checks (unlike on the 23" for me). The nose entry also feels more forgiving so as the nose dips you can rest assured that even if it digs in you just brace on the paddle and the board will come back up with hardly any loss of speed or balance.

Yesterdays run was a good one - 40knots and 4m swell at 15 second intervals - a stonker! Probably as challenging as we get it here and the board went like it was on steroids - several sub 4min km times on my GPS and only one dismount when I lost it on a real steep take-off. With wind this strong our runs normally start running at a speed where we cannot railroad the bumps - but with this board I was still managing to jump bumps ahead, insane feeling!

The rocker allows you to accelerate or decelerate by simply moving weight forwards or backwards - this is crucial to staying on big runs. On the old Glide the back half rocker is flatter and once you take off on a big run it just accelerates and if you can't get it turned in time then you just plough into the bump in front and ultimately slow down. The 26LE allows you to slow it a tad and then engage footsteering to veer left or right to stay with the run. It's so lively on the footsteering I actually found it unnerving at first, almost too lively as the board would react to the smallest input.

Board is light, 10.3kg w.o fin and fragile as can be expected. It's a race-horse and you need to take care when handling it on land but the 23LE's are still going strong so should be ok.

I'm super excited about this board, I'm it will allow me to shave a couple of minutes of my downwind times (yesterdays GPS time was the fastest I've done) and come in without feeling jelly legged. If I was 10kgs lighter or 10years younger I'd be on the 23LE - but the 26LE fits me like a glove - and I think that is the key, you need to find the board that suits your weight and skill level to have maximum fun. If I wasn't obsessed about speed I'd take the 29" Glide any day, its like the 23 and 26LE's - just much easier and comfortable.

I tried to video yesterday - but the GoPro sticky mount failed minutes into my run and I lost the GoPro.....