Following on from the thread on the old Bombora plastic boards. I too had Bombora's in the day, in fact bought one new as my first board in 1992. However I always wanted to have a crack on a smaller “performance “ Tiga board but never had the opportunity and eventually moved onto sandwich and newer construction method boards.
I recently picked up an as new condition stock Tiga 254 wave board with original fin and straps. Keen to have a sail I took it down to Mettams on a 20 - 25kts day waist high waves and usual heavy chop out back. Started on my 2014 quad and after an hour changed the sail to the Tiga. The feeling on this board was amazing. The chop slap disappeared, being soaked up by the Vee and flex of the board. Also noticeable was the lack of noise as they only make a dull sound when landing off the back of chop. Such a contrast to sail! Liked it so much I left the quad on the beach for the rest of the session. Both my Quad and Tiga are similar volumes and granted the quad is a quantum leap on the waves compared to the Tiga, however the ability to get on the plane was about the same, with the Tiga maintaining speed better. I think it would be difficult to find a more comfortable chop blasting and jumping board.
It does make me think that we threw the baby out with the bath water in our quest for lighter and more performance orientated composites. Would be interesting to see the results of a modern board shape incorporated with the latest fabrication techniques in Roto moulding. Hey Might even try 3D printing one….. 
I sailed a few of those Tiga boards back in the Early 90s and they definitely had a smooth ride. I still think durability was a problem as fins got bigger and bigger during that period. I thought the Tiga 260 slalom was a great little fast freeride. I think the 285 was pretty good too. They were very hard to repair though and I saw a few with the fin box rolled out. I think the wave board was better for bump and jump than actual wave riding. I have a vague memory of wiping out on the waveboard I borrowed and leaving a knee shaped dent in the deck near the mast.
Agree the foam deck is great. Seems to have a dual density area under the straps which is cool. On a wave feels long and would suit a more of a down the line wave style.I can't seem to find any footage of them actually on a wave. Pre Go-pro and mobile phone days. I like the look of it as well however takes some getting use to after sailing wider nosed modern board shapes. Old skool Retro ...! 
Tiga did make very good boards. I was so impressed by the first one I had, I upgraded it to a Tiga 260. It is a nice board too. Unfortunately, in an effort to compete with other boards built with high-tech materials such as Epoxy and Carbon, Tiga tried to make that board light by making the deck very thin. A friend's board copped a serious pressure dent under his back foot-strap. Mine also beginning to show a noticeable dent. So I stopped using it and went to Mistral boards.
I wonder sometimes whether the desperate measures used to keep weight down are worth it. For me, half a Kg, or even a Kg heavier means bugger all. My theory is that if I am a Kg heavier, then all that weight saving comes to nothing !
Hi there .. what's that 'Quick Lock' thingy at the back end for? for screwing the fin? tried a Tiga before nothing much different with the other brands except for it's weight for durability other than that it may weigh a ton after an hour on the water
I remember having both the 275 and 260 board, both pretty quick and very comfortable to sail, esp in chop.
The Quick lock was the Tiga's one bolt fin system which was a standard fin in their own box. Not sure what advantage it was over the US box?
Select to expand quoteDungbeetle said..
The Quick lock was the Tiga's one bolt fin system which was a standard fin in their own box. Not sure what advantage it was over the US box?Dungbeetle said..
The Quick lock was the Tiga's one bolt fin system which was a standard fin in their own box. Not sure what advantage it was over the US box?
what was the inventor of the US box thinking about? the two lock pins tend to eat thru the plastic or fiberglass box and in time the fin lossens up side to side ..
The Tiga I had, had what I think is called the select fin system. Through deck so stronger than US. I think my bigger fin was well into the 40's and you can move the fin backwards and forwards 5cm's or so for trim. Pretty versatile really.
Fins are a bit rare for them now though.
I had that Tiga board, was great fun and took it all the way to Moulay-Bouzerktoun in Morrocco. I took some metal plate, drilled some holes and changed the rear footstraps so it was it a single central one. Helped on the wave!Moulay-Bouzerktoun
Tried a few tiga's back in the day, wanted a 254vr back then pretty sweet bump n jump board. If you find any footage of Jessica Crisp she rode tiga though custom ones.
In europe they released full carbon versions 276 & 286.
Whats the adjustable box? I thought they were all tiga conics? Maybe they went same box as bic/fanatic after they were bought by bic?
