There doesn't seem to be a huge amount feedback about the 07 Best float so i figured i'd put something down.
Firstly a bit about me, I'm 110kg and fly a '06 16m Naish Boxer. I started kiting about 2-3 months ago. I'm currently at the level where im finding it easy to ride, and i'm just about to start to work out how to jump.
I originally owned a Naish Haze '06 146x40 and i had some problems with staying upwind on it. The local crew in townsville suggested looking into a new board because the Haze didn't really suit the conditions. The haze has way too much rocker for the conditions and the tips are very narrow. I seem to only be able to stay upwind with the haze in the upper limits of the 15-20 knot range.
To remedy this, i decided to get a new board. I initially decided on getting a Naish Wide for the low end wind and using the Haze in high end. However due to a manufacturing problem, the Wide was delayed in coming to australia. My local dealer then suggested i get a Best Float and gave me a deal i couldnt pass up.
I have only got the board out a couple of times so far and i love it. We've been getting fairly strong winds 20-30knots the last week or so which has limited my ability to get out on the big 16m. There has been a few good sessions of ideal winds that I've been out in and had a blast.
The board itself handles superbly for a big fella like myself. It takes virtually nothing to get it planing. Edging is easy as you would expect for a board 43 wide. I'm rocketing upwind now and am having no problems getting out deep. It handles the chop well and it is easy to hold a direction. There is no feeling of being out of control with the higher winds as i've heard can happen with a wider board.
As I've already said, now that i can get out deeper i'm going to start working on jumping. The board is fairly light for a big board so there should be no problem there (i hope!!). The ability to hold an edge will present no problem either with the wider board. The main problem i will have is me busting myself up (as usual
).
The board graphics are good, they aren't any cardboard pics, but they are still nice.
I'm keen to get it out in the lower end wind to see how it performs without the kite pulling me like a train. Overall i am super happy with the board so far, and would recommend it to any of the bigger fella's out there.
