2024 Duotone Freewave SLS and Super Hero Video Review
Video Transcript:
Hey everyone I’m Connie and this is Dillan. We got to get out on the new 2024 Duotone gear last week at the hatch and it was a beautiful day, windy, warm, kind of the perfect first session for me.
First let’s dive into the board. This is the Freewave SLS. Changes from 2023 to 2024, one of the bigger ones, you’re going to notice that the mast track is the mini mast track now, so you are going to need a one bolt mast base to sail this board. Other changes that they’ve updated, the construction is now a premium sandwich, so it actually saves about half a pound for the board, which you know every little bit helps, right? The last thing that they updated, all of their foot straps now have two bolts on each side, for both the front and back straps and that keeps them really secure, there’s no twisting at all no matter how hard you crank on those straps, which is nice.
My style for windsurfing, I love mowing the lawn, going back and forth. I also like doing some carves, playing in the waves as well and I think this is the perfect board for that. It has nice long parallel rails, it releases really well. I think it’s one of the better boards for planing, but it also doesn’t give up that play in the waves as well. Dillan you were jumping it like crazy, like a rabbit, every two seconds in the footage you were just taking off! How did you feel on it?
To your point of it planing really well, I found it really easy to get up on a quick plan and it released off the swell really well. I feel as if you could get a quick jump in and nice big air, land, and within 3 seconds you’re already back on a plane looking for that next bump to release off of. As well as your point to it turning really well in the waves, you’re still able to have a lot of fun. It jumps really well, like we were saying, but also being able to hit those tight jibes in between swells and have fun on the swells, nice bottom turns and so forth. Really versatile board as you were saying.
Duotone claims it’s their chameleon board and I totally agree with that. another thing, on the light end I feel like it slogs really well too. You have to move your feet up a little closer to the mast base, but it’s pretty hard to knock me over once I’m in that position.
Certainly, certainly a stable board. If you’re looking for stability, really fast planing, but also playing around in the waves, this is a great board for you!
Let’s move on to the sail, so the super hero. The 2024 is very similar to the 2023. The changes you’re going to see are in the graphics, but also the 5.0 and up, they did move the draft a little bit higher so that you could have faster acceleration in those lighter winds. For here, the gorge sails, we were on a 4.2, that has not changed since 2023.
From a woman’s perspective, I love the super hero, I feel like it is really responsive. I don’t like to brute force it. When you get those gusty conditions out in the gorge, I can crank on my front hand to depower really quickly and that sail just reacts beautifully.
Certainly, I think the super hero in general is a very balanced sail. It’s one of those sails that’s, like you said connie, it’s great for the gorge because we get these huge gusts and you’re still stable and confident, not getting thrown over the bars or anything like that. I love the super hero because I’m jumping, you can catch those big gusts as you’re in the air and it doesn’t feel like you’re going to get yanked and cartwheeled thirty feet, which is awesome.
2024 duotone it’s here in the shop. Give us a ring, 541-386-6086, or come check it out yourself!
