Think its a bit far to say the mistral twin 84 is the BEST waveboard! The quatro twin is obviously far better!! try one and you'll see....Cribbys might be a little bias!

...anyone used the Mistral Twinzer 92 care to feeback on the set up for light wind DTL conditions?
(and pls dont bother saying brand X is better - cos this is the board i got lol)

well i tried the 84 out yesterday in gusty up & down 4.2 side shore conditions waist to mast high...1st session out and at 200 # felt the board kinda big for those conditions (4.2 wind..not the waves)--- though admittently i was "havin a bad day" w/ everything..probably including sailin as well... today head high or so 5.7 it felt freakin awesome..very loose on the wave face and very easy to plane and does handle a 5.7 well. For my weight am thinkin 5.7-4.7 would be perfect for this board. very stoked on it. As far as the quatro coparison.. a friend of mine was breakin in a Q 75 L twinzer too (he weighs 150 at best)... and he is very stoked as well..side by side the boards have differrent shapes.. the mistral is shaped more similiar to the sos rocket fish 82 (which is good). ..but twinzer --the quatro looked like alittle more volume up front in the nose to help over the white water in the impact zone.. side by side the 84 mistral and the 75 quatro looked about the same length...though the 84 mistral had more of an oval shape..looks like it just wants to turn.! not sure what the smaller 75L mistral twinzer looks like though.. hopefully will be able to swithch w/ my bud and compare the 2 ..

Yeah I had a similar experience with this board in overpowered 4.2 / big waves with lots of chop on the face. I did not like it because it was too lively and hard to control. Maybe I need to adjust my technique to engage more rail into the bottom turn or somthing but it was for sure skittish. In lightly powered conditions though especially in smooth waves it is very nice. Also a bit sketchy in the slogging out in side off very little wind department. I'd like to try the 92 for those conditions. I'm around 83K.
Jeff

i think we have to remember,we are talking about a short, stubby 84 L board after all..i took 'er out 2 days ago in logo to mast+ side shore (smooth/slightly choppy waves) perfectly powered on a 4.7 and it freakn rocked.. yesterday bigger-but junkier surf holdng on to a flattened out 4.7 and it did feel big on the outsidewaves..but closer in to the beach as the wave really jacked up and the wind lightened up it was ok....the 76L would have been perfect for those conditions i bet though. Should be interesting today..the buoys are at 21 feet @ 11 seconds already at 30-38 knotts.. freakin victory at sea !!!

Yep - agree with JD.

ps
Take a pic of the conditions....21ft and 11 secs sounds very BIG.....where are you?!

gale warnings out today for the central california/santa cruz coast .. freakin victory at sea.. only a handful of guys went out OP'ed on 3.5's ..no one on the lower reaf (mast /mast1/2 high slabs moving through.. the upper reaf looked manageable at times.though- fun at times). for most of us - we figured we had so many good days in the last few weeks..and probably a few mellower but fun days coming up- that today would be a good day to relax abit... no pics from today but if interested check out the following links for the fun we been havin lately...

[wetsands.smugmug.com]
[wetsands.smugmug.com]
[wetsands.smugmug.com]

well hell, I'll keep this topic going...
I've had some totally kick asss sessions w/ the M84twinzer..very stoked.. but other days - like today ( well , and yesterday too).. rather disappointing.. 4.7 side shore w/ waist to mast high wind swell w/ a little long period south swell mixed in.. I was totally killin it w/ my sos 98L custom..goin deep, goin vertical w/ killer off the lips- just smilin from ear to ear- havin a blast! came in for a break and thought i'd change boards to the M 84.. well it was so much less forgiving.. it would go deep and hit some vertical lips.. but much less than my other board- not as many smiles and definately a good share of cursin- haha. I know there were days w/ a steeep south swell that the M 84 behaved Very well.. but it seems like it has a specific " nitch " that it shines in ..other wise it can be rather disappointing..

ps.. I'm still trying to find the "nitch".
ps +.. had the fins 1/2 the way between midline & fwd position w/ the mast track 60-70% fwd (back further feels really funny for me on this board)..
any similiar situation for you guys or any thoughts would be appreaciated...

Rode a M84 and liked many things it does. Tail a bit too wide for my taste and I'd like to try smaller and flexier fins and have the rear strap set elsewhere for that particular tail shape, but that's just my style. It seemed really tough to get to do a nice bottom turn in more side on waves. I try offset fin arrangements next time. I can see how this board would favor the cleaner side off waves as it didn't seem to like choppy faces.

Rode a M84 and liked many things it does. Tail a bit too wide for my taste and I'd like to try smaller and flexier fins and have the rear strap set elsewhere for that particular tail shape, but that's just my style. It seemed really tough to get to do a nice bottom turn in more side on waves. I try offset fin arrangements next time. I can see how this board would favor the cleaner side off waves as it didn't seem to like choppy faces.

Offsetting the toeside fin further back seemed to help make initiating bottom turns more managable in side on.

BT how are you having problems turning that board? Ive never sailed a 85l board that turns like it...Infact the only problem is that it turns too hard some times killing speed...
I think the mistral is the most interesting board to come out for a very long time, it will take time to get it fully dialled as its very different but ive had turns into sections that just are not possible on other boards. That for me is what the mistral is about....

I have been sailing the Mistral 84 twin and i'm just completely blown away about how this board handles!!! I'm sailing mushy waves on the South Coast of England (ShingleShire for those in the know) and the board does the following:

-Gives more drive and speed in the bottom turn in the clew first position when wave riding in x-on shore winds/waves
-Delivers a full rail carve off the top in weak mushy waves - makes you feel like a God!
-You 'finish off' your turns on the wave and can slide and drift at will.
-Links multiple front and backside turns with speed that you wouldn't normally be able to do!
-Planes very early.
-Easy handles a under powered 5.6 down to a completely stacked 4.5.
-The ride at speed is sizzling! - it is lively, fast and just sits on the water and doesn't bounce or feel over finned.
-Compact shape makes jumping and looping easy.
-Gives you the volume to get out through the break and the inside rips but gives the turning of a much smaller board.
-Very corky off the plane and tricky to sail in very gusty cross-off shores.
-Can nose dive rapidly - like an Italian in the penalty area - if you are not sensitive to sudden power surges on your front hand.

My wavesailing has stepped up another notch via this board. I'm getting turns in which I've never managed before in rubbish waves....and I've been wavesailing for 20 years. I just sold my '07 Evo 80 which was my previous best all-round board - but the Mistral is just in another league! "It out Evos the Evo in mushy conditions!!"

This board is the most fun board I've ever had - it's just sooo exciting to ride as it does things you don't expect - but in a radical way. I'm just "hooting" everytime I sail it. Can't wait to try it out in quality waves....

My concern is that Mark Nelson may not be shaping this twin design for Mistral anymore and it will vanish from the market!? I'm pretty sure that I got the very last production Mistral 84 twin RD that was made ..... :-(

Could'nt agree more! I thought I had wrote that there for a minute!! I have changed from an Evo 80 and although I loved it, I feel like I am having an illicit affair with the M. 84. All I want to do in life is be on it- Is this healthy?

I've spoken to some ex-pros and/or windsurf coaches who have the Mistral twinny and to quote the consensus - which has been: "My best waveboard ever!"
I'm concerned that you wont be able to get it any more with the changes that have happend at Mistral? I'm interested in the 76L version if I can get my hands on one new or second hand to replace my Evo 70. Does anyone know where to get a 76L?

Nice to see this topic is still going!

I would like to share my observations about the upwind performance of the mistral twinzer 84.

But first of all, I love this board! It's extreme loose on the wave, especially going from rail to rail on the face. Also the carves that this board allows are just incredible, so tight. Most of us agree on this, so let's get back to my observations:

The first time I rode the board, I used a 2005 Gaastra Manic 5.0, slightly underpowered. The board was a dream to sail and going upwind was easy. The second time I rode the board I used the same setup, but in overpowered conditions. This made the Manic somewhat backhanded and the board had trouble going upwind. In comparison, I never felt this with my single fin (tabou pocket wave 78) under similar conditions, with the same sail.

I just bought a set of new gaastra's and used the board with a poison 5.0 (2009) and a manic 4.7 (2008) in powered up, to overpowered conditions. With both sails, the board had no problem going upwind. In comparison to the 2005 manic, the newer sails felt less backhanded when powered up.

My conclusion is that the board sails upwind like a dream using my modern sails. However, when used with my backhanded older sail, the board has trouble going upwind. It feels as if the fins cannot handle the backhand power of my older sail.

My two cents,

Hugo.

...anyone out there selling an '84?

Thanks!

^ Steve, where are you located?

Im in the UK - i have added my email address if you click my name above (i think!)

I still ride my beloved Mistral 84 a lot and it's still going strong! I still love how it sails and in no rush to get one of them new fangled quads. I changed the fins to K4 17cm and 16cm and the board got even looser but with more grip at the same time - wicked combo! Still stoked on this board - it's a cult classic :-)