Starboard Futura 121 Carbon: "Covers everything from basic freeriding to hardcore freeracing"

Length: 245.5cm
Width: 72cm
Weight: 8.1kg
Volume: 121 liters
Fin: Drake Venom 42cm
Sail range: 5.5m² - 9.0m²
Available sizes: 93, 101, 111, 121, 131 and 141

Low-down:

The Futura is Starboard’s long-standing, fast, all-round freerace board designed to offer the speed of a slalom board but with the easy handling of a freeride hull. For 2013, the Futura line has a new low-drag tail cutout and is available in six sizes and two different constructions, Full Carbon (as tested here) or Wood Technology.

At-a-glance:

• Double concave with Vee hull
• Drake Venom 44cm Tuttle box fin
• Pintail with winger and rounded nose
• Tail cut-outs
• Recessed deck around mast track
• Raised stance area
• Drake footstraps
• Lightest on test

Performance:

With a wide outline, the Futura is very quick to accelerate and lift onto the plane, requiring very little effort, or indeed wind, to get going. The comfortable deck doming and raised stance area lifts you into a comfortable but aggressive riding position. The ride really is exciting and sensational -you can feel the similarities to the top-of-the-line iSonics- and this is a seriously fast board on all points of sail. Thanks to the thin rails soaking up chop, this 121 flies in any water state.

Through maneuvers the Futura definitely feels "automatic" with a versatile, smooth carving style that’s easy to power out of turns.

Verdict:

The Starboard Futura delivers an exhilarating and easy-to-access level of performance. The 121 is seriously quick and also very easy to sail fast regardless of the conditions ; we found it a genuine challenge for some full on slalom boards at top speed. But it’s the super-versatile jibing character that can’t be beaten.

Riders of all levels will find this board highly rewarding and exciting ; a high performance freeride board that covers everything from basic freeriding to hardcore freeracing. Highly Recommended!

To go to the Futura product page, click here