I've had the new OES 115 for a few weeks now but sadly I've not had much of a chance to test is to it's full potential, Weather not co-operating or work getting in the way.....Take your pick.
With a few hours under It's belt now I think I have It sorted and can form an honest opinion on what has been frowned upon by wave sailors for too long now, Large volume wave boards.
I've had it out in a variety of conditions over the past few weeks from sub Planing conditions, Barely able to waterstart a 5.8 in half mast waves to 30 knot bump and jump. I must say the I am impressed with the versatility of this quad, It's perfect for someone like myself that weighs in at 95-105 kgs....depending on how much beer and pizza is consumed over the weekend. It's right at home in the waves, Easily picking up waves early or late without much effort. The only time it felt a little big was in pure bump and jump conditions with short sharp chop at 30 knots with a maxed out 5.0, Something more suited to my 85L but in 20-25 knots this board is such a smooth comfortable ride that it's hard to step off onto any other board in my quiver.
The construction and finish is of the highest standard and the custom spray is 100% to what I designed. Made of a Carbon/Innegra/Corecell construction I've been assured that It will be stronger then any other board that I own, Which Is good as I have a habit of giving my boards a nose job. The exposed Carbon rails are sick and a talking point that everyone has so far has loved. The footstrap plugs have twin screws to attach them in place, I've used Pryde straps which are super comfortable. All 4 fin boxes are US and I've picked Makani Walu Quads in 16 & 8cm which seems to be a nice combination of drive and looseness.The foot pads are top notch with the right amount of grip and comfort, I can ride it all day without fatigue, The non-slip deck is also a superb finish and super grippy. The hull has a very different shape about it, From it's highly domed deck to the huge single concave through the bottom into a flat tail...It's different but it works well and makes for a very smooth ride.
Like I said I'm yet to fully unleash the boards full potential but I like what I've seen so far. It plains marginally slower than a single on flatwater but not too much and on a wave there is no difference, The quad is maybe even a little better. It has plenty of grip when needed, In the turns and when landing jumps. It can be made give way for a slashy top turn or tail slide with the slightest of back foot pressure. The sharp rails at the tail make it turn aggressively if you want it too but the turns can be controlled to be nice and smooth as well. The board is very tune able through fins placement and mast foot position, It did take a few days to work out a super sweet setup that I liked but the board can be made very loose. I've got some 17cm Twinzer fins on the way to see what a difference that will make, But really the board is sweet just the way it is.
Anyways, This is part 1 of the review of the OES 115 Quad as I really have yet to get it out in ideal wave conditions but for the conditions we've had it's been good and I salvaged some days that I would have missed without having a large volume wave board...I think you'll see the top brands following suit in the near future.
Overall I am a happy man, The board does what I expected and a little more...It really is my favorite board at the moment and It's a hard task to step off it and ride any of my others. All this with a competitive price tag, What more could you ask for.
........Go large and go custom, You know you want to.
Here's a vid just to show case the board but sorry there's no action as yet, Stay tuned for Part 2 of the video. Hopefully I'll be able to get some onboard wave action very soon.
115l board... yet you are still sitting around on the beach in light winds. Cant be that good.
OK, I've finally had a chance to get this board out in conditions that it was designed for. With last week delivering four Nor'easters in a row it was like the Gods, Moons and Stars had aligned to deliver what I was offering my left nut for.
This board rocks! If I had any doubt about getting a large volume quad it has now been quashed, I'm now excited about wave sailing in a whole new way.
The week was nothing super special, Just enough wind to plain or slog out easily and a board big enough to take my pick of the waves. One day saw me as the only sailor consistently on the the water with a few sitting on the beach hoping for a little more wind.
I've now got this board dialed, It plains just as easy as any single fin board in my quiver but offers so much more. This board just shreds the waves, You can pick them early or late and still be confident of catching them. The thing i like about the extra volume is that if I stuff up and go out into the flats it has enough volume to keep momentum to keep me going, Even to the point of complete stall and still be able to pick up the wave again.
Turns, These are just magic....Slashy or controlled, It's up to me. Friday delivered the ideal conditions with just enough wind for my 5.4 and glassy smooth waves. With up to six bottom turns in a row I was in wave sailing heaven.
I'm now just going to play with fins to see what this board is able to deliver, I'm going to get some K4's to see what that does and I'm still yet to try the board as a twinzer but I'm sure It's capable of being a light to medium wind wave weapon.
I'm so confident in my board that I'm offering any competent sailor to give it a go, If your ever down at Gerroa and you want to give it a test drive just drop me a PM and I'll sort it for you.
Larger volume quads have their place as far as I'm concerned, The days of the larger wave sailor missing out are over. You will have to go custom and wait a while but in the end, It's way worth it....For a ****ty season it has rescued me.
Cheers.
holy balls check out their ice quads
they make a 130 litre
boom sold im ordering one tomorrow 
They are seriously a great board, I want one bigger and one smaller then the 115 I already have. I've found it to be outstanding on the wave and the only time it feels a little big is when punching out in mast high waves with little wind or when blasting out the back in 25+ knots. I'm hard pressed to step of this board even when I could be out on my 95l wave board. I'm real interested in Pete's new smack quad, a freestyle wave version with short dimensions, built for more onshore conditions with a loose and skatety feel. Might make a good bump and jump board for all conditions?
I just got my hands on a 2012 112 OES quad - have to agree - ive sailed it three times in some ordinary conditions with Mfc 400 quad set and am stoked with its all round and wave performance. The question now will be when do you change down to your small board - seemed to handle 25 knts with a 6.3
