Wavesport X 48- My review/ opinion
tomthepaddleman | March 23, 2011Wavesport’s highly anticipated follow on to the fairly successful Project series, the Project X is a new freestyle boat to hit the market this year. When I saw pictures last year of the designs, I was quite excited by the prospect of having a go in the boat.
So a couple of weeks ago I got the chance to have a play in the project X 48 for a good few hours. This is what I thought.
So, Size wise there’s the 48, 54 and 64(I think), each number corresponding to the volume of each boat. The 48 fits kind of between the Star and the All-star and is roughly small Molan sized, which was a tad too big for me (I’m 5’7 and 65kgs) but it didn’t present too much of an issue when it came to throwing it about due to the fairly slicey ends.
When you first sit in it, one thing that really hits you is the depth of it, the boat feels quite deep- although this is in keeping with the larger volume boats that are coming out. Outfitting wise, there is some fairly striking white covering which is waterproof- a great idea (I always notice when I take boats out they seem to be a bit heavier due to wet outfitting) and is antibacterial apparently- so keeps those smells at bay! The outfitting is very comfortable, but I would recommend adding a few layers of camping mat under the seat to give some extra height so it doesn’t feel as deep and to use a foam footblock as there’s so much room for your feet.
Paddling wise I took it down HPP an artificial whitewater course in the UK, which tends to have loads of holes on and a couple of small waves. On the flat above I threw down some ends and found that it’s really well balanced, unlike some of the other more stubby, ‘bubble’ looking boats on the market.
In the hole it was fairly balanced when doing the vertical stuff, and thanks to the volume in the front it was quite easy to get some big loops off. However, the back is quite chunky, which doesn’t lend itself well to completing moves quickly- especially combos. Trying to land Mc. Nasty’s on the stern just took that little bit more effort. Although this might have been easier if the seat was a bit higher.
Where the wavesport comes into it’s own is on the wave. Although there aren’t any very big waves on HPP, there are small waves where it’s possible to blunt and backstab. Paddling the project X on the wave I really enjoyed having the hard and sharp well defined edges on the boat, which just lets you carve so smoothly around a wave. This, in combination with a really loose, fast hull makes it a joy to paddle on the wave, and allows you to set up for moves really well.
In the space of a few hours, this isn’t the most comprehensive review, but I do seem to have come away with a generally good impression of this boat- particularly on a wave. I wasn’t too impressed with it in the hole though, but I’m sure with adjustment it would perform just as well as my 08 star.
Would I like one? Yes!
Will I be getting one? No. I prefer my ’08 star which is a fantastic all round boat, and despite the fantastic retail price of £740 (which is fairly cheap compared to others out there) being a poor student has it’s pitfalls.
Any questions? comment!!!
Tom