Test Review - 22/10/2010

RRD Wave Cult Quad 75lt 2011











RRD Wave Cult Quad 75
Steve is a very well travelled (he has sailed a lot of places!) and experienced wave sailor.

Hi Danny and James.
Here are my thoughts re. the RRD Cult.

General Sailing
The Quad 75 planes and accelerates well for a waveboard. It has better grip and is more directional than a twin fin, but still feels like a multi-fin board in that it sits more in the water and there is little or no lift from the fins (as you would get with a single fin). The ride is very smooth and controlled and it handles chop very well. The Quad 75 also storms upwind. I had on onshore session at Wittering with a friend who was riding a twin and it was very noticeable how much higher the Quad 75 pointed on the way out. A big plus for getting out in onshore conditions and getting upwind to catch waves.
So far I have sailed the Quad 75 with both 4.7 and 4.2 m2 sails. On one of the 4.2 days I was overpowered and eventually had to give up as I could not hang on to the sail, however the board itself remained very well behaved. So it appears to have very good top end control and should handle a 3.7m2 sail without any problems. Another session on a 4.7m2 was gusty with the wind shifting direction (so much that I ended up sailing on both tacks in the same session!) and I was surprised how well the Quad maintained it’s speed during the lulls.

Jumping
The grip helps the Quad 75 carve into and up the face of the wave on takeoff, making it easier to jump than say a twin, again more like a single. In the air the Quad 75 is very compact and easy to control and land.

Gybing and Waveriding
The Quad 75 carves and turns with lots of drive and control as if it is on rails. It can be turned nearly (and possibly) as tightly as a twin. It holds speed well through the gybe and bottom turn. On the top turn there is so much grip and drive that the board gouges through the wave rather than skates and slides like a twin. I am finding it noticeably easier to go frontside in side-on conditions on this board. 

Overall
This is a seriously impressive board. The Quad 75 is easy to sail for a board of this size and has a lot of performance that is very accessible.

Reviewed by Steve Carpenter

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