Select to expand quotesausage said..
Vando,
Can you post the one with sub-titles 
Haha i was going to ask Sean to translate 
Never thought I would say this but...
It was actually easier to understand Bjorn than anyone else.
To be fair to Remi my comment was referring more to the recording (sound) quality.
The sound is clear and crisp.
My sister was claiming to hear the load clapping sound when the board hit the smaller waves when I was going downwind with 134 on a flat water day.
From what I see, the construction seems to be similar to last years. The friendly feel is also still present and let me push as hard as I dare.
The good thing is the lighter blue that should be cooler in sun and also hide the little white scratch marks on the rail better, these have been a pain with 2014/15 iSonics.
Select to expand quoteSeanAUS120 said..
Never thought I would say this but...
It was actually easier to understand Bjorn than anyone else.
Come on Sean! It's not like if you were not used to that particular kind of accent
I love these boards, but can't stand / don't believe the marketing BS. Every year, these boards are sooo much better than the previous boards. This goes for all brands. Except maybe Fanatic? Did they say one year that they were happy with the boards, so they just painted them red that year? Can't remember.
Rant over - I'm going for a sail on my vastly improved 2012 iSonic90. Sooo much better than the 2011. Look how much better it is!!
Select to expand quoteshear tip said..
I love these boards, but can't stand / don't believe the marketing BS. Every year, these boards are sooo much better than the previous boards. This goes for all brands. Except maybe Fanatic? Did they say one year that they were happy with the boards, so they just painted them red that year? Can't remember.
Rant over - I'm going for a sail on my vastly improved 2012 iSonic90. Sooo much better than the 2011. Look how much better it is!!
Oh so true Michael. I love my iSonics too but the marketing hyperbole that most brands pedal every season is laughable. Apart from the radical tail design change of the iS90 (and smaller) between 2013 & 2014 models there really hasn't been massive changes to the range and believe that my 2012 iS97 wouldn't be any slower than a 2016 iS97 (it might not be as strong though 
).
Also in that first video 2 posts above (at 50secs) I don't understand that they are saying the new models have 7mm higher rails but the graphic is completely contrary showing the earlier model with higher rails.
Not all brands do that
Quote : How is it possible to change shapes every year and claim that they are always better? Unbelievable but true XXXXXXX has some basic shapes which have only changed slightly over the past 5 years wheras some other sizes completely changed 3 times during the same period. As a shaper and competitor XXXXXX definitely doesn’t want to miss out to produce and register the best shape possible but with his experience in racing and equipment tuning he also teaches others to keep a good setup once you are happy with it.
A 12 month turn around of board design is way too short. A three to five year cycle is more appropriate given the relatively low volume of sales. Car manufactures typically have a 6 year model cycle.
Most windsurfing manufactures recognise this and don't substantially change board design each year. They mostly change the board colour schemes and include a couple of minor tweaks to justify a new model.
Select to expand quotecol5555 said..
Anyone managed to find out the weights of this years carbon isonics ?
Before or after you smash the nose off it
I just checked the isaf slalom pdf for the 2016 model specs, and they're not there yet. But here's my next beef. Yep, still on my soap box. We all know starboard's "flexible" volume measurements,. but check out the widths on the iSonic 86 width vs the iSonic 86 silm. The slim is WIDER than the standard model.
btw, I had a great sail on my old board yesterday.
You guys are just all jealous!
You haven't even notice that the 2016 has new straps... (that were all the performance comes from).
You may be right Jusavina... they may be the secret weapon that lets the SB iSonics finally knock off the RRD X-Fires ( winners of the PWA Slalom for the last three years:)
Time will tell!
Select to expand quoteJezmond said..
You may be right Jusavina... they may be the secret weapon that lets the SB iSonics finally knock off the RRD X-Fires ( winners of the PWA Slalom for the last three years:)
Time will tell!
That secret weapon is called Antoine Albeau
2016 Starboard Catalog
gallery2.star-board.com/share_gallery/catalog/starboard/StarboardCatalog_2016.zip
I am going to do a extended test with a wood 2012 i87 against the 2015 90 litre carbon Sonic--- both boards using 32 Vector EX fins and a 5.5 or 6.6
Still sceptical for top end the newer board will be any faster.
Just need some wind.
Sure the 90 litre will be faster thru the lulls due to its bigger size and lighter weight.
Just picked up the 90l, now the family is complete and the complete testing can start. Just need some hand cream after all these foot strap fixing...
The 90 looks very nice and I'm surprised to see the many options for the straps. 4(!) in the front and 3 in the back. The 107 has 3 options for all straps and the 134 has 3 in the front and 2 in the back.
So far an easy decision for the 107&134, but what about the 90? I didn't use the 2015 90l model, where did you put your straps 2015 or 2016?
No comments on the lawn please...
First outing on the new 107 with a 7.0 R6, feeling good. Having a bad muscle ache in my face due to all the smiling yesterday, can't eat...
The new straps are actually more comfortable than the older and I hope it will stay like that. Have been twice to the beach for the strap adjustment which is not too bad. In the stronger gusts the board remained very well trimmed and kept going faster and faster.
The fins used where C-fins S4.1 and a Winheller LWS.8 both in 38cm, which seems a bit large but given the fact that I was on a lake and with very gusty offshore wind, the choice was OK. Both fins let the board ride very different, with the C-fins the hoovers because the fin is very soft. The Winheller had the board more in the water and with a much more direct feel to it. In the lulls the Winheller was clearly better but in the gusts the C-fins was the little 1~2 km/h faster, both excellent fins, yet very different.
Back to the board, all straps in the back and the base -0.5 ~ -1.0cm from the recommendation, all good and easy, just like the 2015 107.
The new board carried the speed through the jibes better and I feel to have more freedom to change the radius in any given time, a bit better than the 2015 model.
Planning seemed similar, with a little bit less volume in the nose, just a feeling during some sails up with 87kg...
The most unreal part is the way back on the beach, the board is soo light, incredible.
What I missed, at least I was afraid to miss it, where the little bumpers between the rear straps, these gave a good connection to the board but the new straps provide also a very good connected feel, so not too bad so far, maybe it would be just this little bit better with the bumps?
Now, I'm looking forward for the iS90, sweet looking thing.
~Shinobi
I'm still using my old 2011 iS107 and iS137. The iS137 is my most used board, love it. Despite most people highly rating the iS107, I never really got on with the iS107 that well. At 100kg, the iS107 really only felt very good in a solid 20k (or more) wind and the problem then is my SB W58 speed special also works great in those winds too, and I prefer the W58.
Iv'e just been offered a great deal on the newer 2015 iS107 or iS110. Is the newer 2015 really that much better than the old 2011?
The newer 2015 107 feels much better than the older models by some.
They sit a lot higher out the water with increased top end speed.
I tested a 2011 carbon i97 and it was a planning machine but for top end despite being smaller it felt slower when the wind picked up than my 107 2015.
Careful with the Sonic 110--- I have tried the 2014 model on a few occasions.
It feels much,much bigger than a 107. I hated it. It sails and feels exactly like a light wind board.
Two completely different boards.
Thanks Peter. I had the 2008 iS111 and iS144, I changed them for the 2011 iS107 and iS137. I figured that as a recreational sailor, three year gaps would be big enough to see real performance improvements. But to be honest, the improvements were tiny, and nit really worth all the extra cash. But I figured that as all manufactures are adopting this new tail shape, maybe I will actually feel a real performance improvement, hopefully??
