Hi Goose, the test is late mainly due to our attempt to maintain credibility and thoroughness. If you live in the UK, you will have suffered from the same lack of sailing conditions over the past 9 weeks that we have.

Whilst the bulk of this test was nearly finished over 2 months ago, this is a very big test with so many different products (singles, twins and quads) all trying to acheive the same objectives. It takes time to get dialed into the boards, particularly when we are faced with new products such as Quads that also have so many different set-up options. We could race a test out quickly, but it wouldn't be accurate. I personally would rather a test be delayed and accurate than released quickly and some of the results be based upon speculation.

In this test, we had one brand in particular that we needed to experiment more with different fin options and positions because we were struggling with the board in certain conditions and owed it to the brand and potential buyers, to try and work out if the issue was fixable. In the last 9 weeks, we have had 2 days sailing which is completely outside our control, so we have really struggled to achieve this.

It really is a poor situation that the whole test (10 boards) is delayed due to one board within the group, and that is the reason that in future we will be focusing on smaller group tests and releasing them quicker and more regularly.

The lack of wind & cold temperatures is something that we have no control over. Whilst there are many advantages to testing in the UK, that is the ultimate disadvantage and 2 days sailing in 9 weeks is about as bad as it ever gets...

Whilst in hindsight it was wrong of me to say the test was imminent earlier on, I really did not expect to have such a drought of wind and thought that things would be wrapped up pretty quickly as we only needed to try a few fin combination's to get the test finished.

Anyway, its done now. The test is written, our web designer is laying the test up and the brands are given a chance to view the material before going live. As soon as this process is completed the test will be published.

Sincere apologies once again. And be assured that it is a situation that has made us review the way that we test in future to avoid this happening again.

Thanks for your patience,

Adrian

Hi Adrian

I would much rather you take your time and give the detail and depth associated with Boardseeker tests, than the alternative we get in the printed press which is of little use when trying to determine where to invest..

keep up the good work

Cheers

Steve

Hi Adrian!

No need to excuse yourself, I was being ironic.....If you feel you have a problem with the weather, come to Sweden and you will change your mind. We´ve had bloody siberian winter for the last 2 months....no windsurfing since the end of november!

I believe I have been into your website several times daily for the last two months. I need some good reading to get away from my black thoughts of winter and snow! By the way I ´ve already ordered my new wave board, a Quatro Tempo Twin76. Hope to have good confirmation about the choice.....:-))

Cheers!
MB

Hey Adrian

I was going to do a seperate thread about this but honestly dont beat yourself up:

1) Who is going to buy a new board in northern europe now - when from france to scotland the liklihood of going windsurfing in decent conditions seems a distant memory.

2) my issue of boards arrived today - it's seriously going down hill and that includes the tests too - imho.

Be intersted to see it though and to see what criteria you guys are using to judge the boards.

Ciao
Chris

Hey, thanks for the comments guys....be assured the hair has been turning grey over this one!!

Goose - Tempo 76 is a cracker so I am sure you will be very happy with it (when the sea finally thaws)!!

Hi adrian

Thank's for your advices ..
i bought the Goya 81 ( opportunity ..) and in fact i am very found of it, this board is incredible in big waves and strong ( >20 knts) winds !!! ( i went out 3 times in february )

i never had such a feeling in the bottoms and on the face of the wave !

but now i am regarding for an other board to replace my RRD FSW 90 for poor conditions, lets say 18/20 knts, lulls ....and little waves less than 1.5 m ... ...and have a max of fun !!

Can you tell me something about it ?

Hi Adrian,

Looking forward to the test ! And take your time ! Better a good test a bit delayed than a crappy one coming out fast !
Now that said, I have a question...
Tempo/Rythm/Quad...for cross-on conditions (that we unfortunately often get), as a do it all board, with good jumping ability for massive air time, but still decent riding...for less perfect conditions...which one would you advise ? Or do you think that in this case, single fin is the call...

Thanks !

Hi Adrian,

Fanatic Newwave Single or Tabou Pocket for all around one board for sideshore / onshore small to medium waves and a bit of bump and jump sailing. Sails up to 5.2. I'm a lightweight at 69kg.

Thx,
Will

?!?!

Dec, Jan, Feb, Mar,.......to be continued....

exactly
??!!??!?

any minute... literally, apparently

I think that the problem is that the longer it takes the more one suspects that there has been a lot of 'input' from the manufacturers over the write ups, which in turn devalues the conclusions. Shame really as the other tests have been very good and this was the last place that one could find objective tests rather than 'advertorials'.

Hi Smiley - I think your comments are a bit paranoid - Lets give the boardseeker guys and girls more credit than that. IMHO they produce the best and most researched tests on the market - And more than that they then offer them to us for free. What do they get in response? Accusations of colluding with the brands etc. The brands have offered their boards for free to be tested and deserve the opportunity to reply. My view for what its worth is - guys take as long as you want to make the right assessment and find the right conditions. It's this attention to detail and independent thought that separates what you do from the bland, vague test that are out in the market at the moment I really appreciate the effort you all put into the tests to get it right. Respect

For Wales Tales

Fanatic over Taboo for me , but ,personally JP wave over BOTH of them.

Good luck

Stigittyy stig stig.

To Zozl

I'd get a Starboard Quad convertible.
Great board - as a single fin one of the best on market (esp the 71- omg it rips) and really good as a quad for small wave DTL riding but my feedback from Maui was that it was super secure for big DTL as a thruster.

Good luck
Sss

I had the dubious honour of helping/hindering with the test as an underskilled opinion provider for a day at rhossy.Nearly 8 hours of sailing continuously and I still only managed to sail 2/3rds of the boards and only formulated a few impressions in one type of conditions!!If you do the maths and work out how many hours it takes to actually do justice to the boards-and the differences are sometime very subtle and very hard to quantify-and how often we get good conditions, its a miracle anyone would undertake such a thing (its nothing like recreational sailing,it made my head hurt thinking so hard about what the board was doing).Then you have to write it up in a way that is clear/concise and above all fair to the manufacturers.
My 2p's worth....Pocket Wave mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Patience is a virtue.

Don't get me wrong, I don't underestimate the time and effort that goes into this. It's just a bit frustrating when we were told that the test was being written and expected to be released 10-14 days from 7 Dec.

really hard waiting.like waiting for the ice to melt on the great lakes so we can get on the water.ur the weeks to go buy so you can go to hatteras to sail on vacation.

With so much time to wait and wait for the promised review the mind begins to wander.....

Is boardseeker being sued by one of the brands for slander?
Was Adrian and Svein Rasmussen found in a "compromising" position?
Has a big brand threatened to pull their adverts in response to their bad review?
Is there a new 5 fin convertible board that the mag is trying feverishly to test and add to the review which is really the one we all should get?
Is Adrian terrified that releasing a luke warm review of the quatro tempo will get him the cold shoulder from everybody who bought before the review?
Has Adrian been abducted by alien "clones"?

I believe that the website wants to have alot of people continuously checking the website for the test. Gives good statistics for number of visitors on the website which in turn equals CASH.....

I do agree however that it is easy to start discussion on why they never release the test. I mean, within a month we will start to see the 2011 equipment on the internet.....the test will then be really late!