Could someone who has/has ridden an Evo 80 please send me an email. I picked one up on the weekend and I have a few questions...

Thanks heaps.

Just thought i'd drop in a sample of the magazine reviews the Evos have had


EVO 80

A highly effective riding board that is exceptionally easy to use. Massive sail and power range, working well with more powerful sails, to make the most of its light wind potential. Extremely practical for intermediate to expert

Huge wave riding capability; makes so much fun out of poor conditions

-Windsurf Magazine UK

Evo 83

The 83 amazed us with its ease and practicality, not to mention its dynamite performance on the wave face. As a one-only wave board with a massive wind range, it will enable riders of any ability to make the most of a wave environment.

A stunningly versatile wave board that we just can't fault

As a one-only wave-riding machine for carrying sails up to 5.8m and making the most of any wave environment, they don't come much better than this stunning board.
Windsurf Magazine UK

Evo 74

As a one-only board, it is in a league of its own. Highly recommended.
Verdict

Unmatched around corners with a very easy and extremely practical nature. More fin drive this year, it will appeal to even more than it did last year. Highly recommended.
Phenomenal wave riding ability, especially in confused or less than ideal conditions – Windsurf Magazine UK

: A great shape and a leader of the new wave boards

no other board can be carved with more control and in smaller turns in choppy water than the EVO- German Surf Magazine

Matt from Auswind here:

Here are some of my tips:

The Evos are quite different and do take some getting used to - once you adapt you will never go back!

The Evo 80 (the 05 and 04 versions) are quite rockered up. This is offset by the tail and nose widths to keep bottom end planing ability. DO NOT ride your sail choked (over down hauled / outhauled) as it wont get the rocker planing. The board responds beatifully to a moderate set with your rig and will keep driving FOREVER in an onshore bottom turn if you use this set.

Its ok to go flat in the rig if its windy!

Put your mast track all the way back -- the rocker seems to respond to this position very well - any forward settings on the track seem to make the board push water.

Get ready for Aerial madness! (even in 1 ft waves)

The 2006 model 83 Evo went to a flatter rocker which planes up crazy early at the trade off of not being quite as loose as the 05 - 04 Evo 80 (but still PLENTY loose!)

Hope some of this helps!

Racy replied to your email you sent me re the 80.

Disregard the H8trs, king of the point seems to be unable to respond as he is busy?. Happy to spew out slurs on the EVO but has not yet been able to qualify his statements

Dude you have described all waveboards: slow, hard to get going, sink when turning, too loose, won't track straight. Exactly what an intermediate says when stepping onto his first waveboard. Why? Because it is different! When he gets used to it, he loves it and learns to use it.

It took me about 3 or 4 good sessions to learn how to make the most of my EVO's, same for a couple of mates who use them. Now we plane earlier, get upwind about the same as older waveboards, but have a faster more secure bottom turn and hit the lip harder and faster. They are not just onshore Euro-slop oriented boards, they are awesome down the line.

Just out of interest you say it is "an unfriendly ALL ROUND board ITS DOG slow generally, it is too rockered FOR THE AVERAGE SAILER" ..... are you referring to it in a bump n jump / all rounder use? If so that fair comment cos it is a WAVE board. Yes it is skittish and won't track straight in chop because that is not want it wants to do, it wants to carve, not blast.

Anyway, ever single magazine test can't be wrong, Scotty being a WA "real" wavesailor can't be wrong, 99% of people who use them for more than 5 sessions will never look back.

Just out of interest what do u sail in waves (or are u a recreational blaster / freerider and have not used EVO in waves?)

I do though respect you for having the courage to come and post stuff here that is wrong (read Auswind's mag quotes)

Peace

Well got to use an evo the other day 4 first time. Would have to say, and not stirring the pot here, that I was far from impressed. Found it very, very difficult to plane and this is after stepping off my pin wave board onto this. I did notice that once I got going it was nice on a wave and did give a solid feel when tracking. However I prefer the feeling of getting out of second gearBit slow for me and reminded me of the old *board fish.
Not saying that everyone is wrong here and that Im right and also I only had limited time on the board so may have gotten used to it, but all my waves boards in the past I have felt out a lot quicker. Also when there is something new, and everyone is using it and it is being marketed by so many, then Im sure this would influence the unassuming buyer to "having a go".
My 2 cents
Exo

You can read whatever you want in reviews a bit like star signs. A word that pops up alot is "one-only" so that says a comprimise board to me.
Mark "Kingy" is a very experienced Gero wavesailor

most folk who have tried any of the evos on the euro forums say they were disapointed. I had a go on one of the first 70, 91 and more recent 92. I think their whole "plane early" sell point is well over hyped. I've never really had a good go of one in the surf. Kirk, Mark, and a couple of other guys have got them and seem to prefer to use something else instead.

If Kirk reads the forum maybe he can give some feedback on his 80 litre but i think his is an older one

there is a whole 3 page thread on the boards.uk forum devoted to evo vs pocketwave that might be worth a read. Most of the pommies who have tried both prefered the stubby pocketwave over the evo

King dude

no I do not own a shop, not trying to sell *board to anyone, I just give credit where it is due. I love EVO's and so do quite a number of my mates. Yes I have ridden them, after I bought a 92L EVO 2 yrs ago I ditched my second wave board and bought another (80L) EVO. And have I ridden anything else? err, yeah I've lost count but I think I've owned about 15 waveboards since my Storm 8 in 1990, not counting mate's boards I have tried.

Does the Storm 8 count as a waveboard

NO Mark just answering your question "are u a recreational blaster / freerider "
Doesn't Scott have a vested interest to use the boards?

Different horses different courses

Matt here fromInteresting to note that much of this feedback mirrors exactly what our and Starboard's team riders told us when we first introduced the Evo to Australia 4 seasons ago. In fact the Evo was widely resisted at first as riders took some time to figure out how to use the board.

Many werent sure , all took a while to get dialled. Watching and Sailing with Scott Mckercher really educated us as to what the board was capable of- massive tweaks and aerials in the big stuff as well as airs reverses etc in 1 ft slop.

Right now we cant get the majority of our wave riders on anything else!

Back in 03 -04 Luke Walmsley and Ty Bodycoat were instrumental in showing what the concept is capable of. This was the year after Ty took out rookie of the year in the PWA. The guys were pulling Unbelievable carving slays in all surf from 1 ft to way over mast. I even saw Ty, in the most insane freesailing session i have ever seen, doing air takas , sail away wave threos and MASSIVE 40 ft backies - all at main break lancelin- which can be a hard wave to get the most out of.From the Canaries to Gnaraloo the team guys all felt like they (almost) had an unfair advantage.

This was also the year Scott won the PWA wave title on a combination of Production shape74 and 80 Evos. You do not win a world wave title on a dog!

We have seen the same effect at Margies where again the Evo concept was resisted - yet now the majority of standout riders (Scotty Mckercher, Simon Peters included) are on them. The Evos superior ability to boost above, in front of and away from the (devastating) thick lip being cited as a major advantage , as well as its drive on the SW days and ability to snap 180 and beyond in the pocket.

For sure the rocker line became a little faster in the 05 and onwards models ( in the 80 litre version(went to 83 litres in 06 and back to 80 this year - the 74 has prety much stayed the same over the years)- This simply traded a little looseness for a little more speed - and personal opinion on which was better varied from rider to rider.

The Evos arent for everyone but from my experience i am confident that they give more people more fun more often than traditional narrow nose narrow tail shapes. The reorder rate from established riders certainly backs this up. If we can spread the fun so more people can experience it then we are doing our job.

My best advice is to demo one (there are quite a few demos out there) where you can and keep an open mind.

If you already have one and need tuning advice please feel free to email me.

I've had the Evo out a few times now and I've gotten used to it and I'm happy to say - I'm converted!

One of the things Mark_Australia mentioned in his email to me was not to be too cautious about the short length (234). I definitely was aware of how short the board was in my first few sessions but Mark's advice was to ride it the same as you would a 250 and don't hold back. This was great advice and has really brought the board to life.

I've also got it out in a proper wave since my last post and WOW! It has a mind of it's own on a wave and not in a bad way - it just "knows" what to do! Even though it was a gusty 30knots, way too onshore and the sea was a foamy mess the Evo excelled. Here I was in conditions that stretched my previous experience and ability and yet I felt secure, in control and confident to 'rip'

It crossed whitewater with ease and jumps felt very controlled (I was keeping them small cos I was overpowered).

Now that my style has adapted, upwind ability is fine and the 5.2 no longer feels too much for the 21cm fin. Putting the mast back also made a huge difference overall.

Again, the Evo's not an all-round board and it's definitely not the most fun board on flat water (bit slow) but I've been using it there, sailing with my mate who is just starting to get in the footstraps on his Mistral, and it's adequate (I still get a kick out of how early it planes!). I knew this before I bought it so yeah.

I only rode an EVO once. A 74l with a 4.7 and have to say I was happy to get off it. I totally loved it and I am supposed to ride another brand, so I had to give it back before I became addicted. The bloody thing just would not let me make a mistake. When I obviously landed something wrong the board seemed to correct itself, put me back where I was supposed to be and power away. I couldnt have that, so I am now happily back on a board that punishes me when I stuff up.

I learnt on a traditional 75L waveboard. It was a nightmare but I am totally stoked on windsurfing so I persisted. Surfing/skateboarding has been my background. Bought an 86L Fish for lightwinds and instantly proposed to it. Then got a 76L Fish and again it suits my style of soul surfing. I love the flowing/ skatie feel. I'm no ripper but I'm addicted to the waves and all I want to do is wavesail! Replaced the 75L tradition waveboard for a 70L Evo. Sweet! I am yet to take it in for some good waveriding but it is everything I want. Go the Evo/Fish