Fly’s up wind on both tacks! Obviously better on the finned up side. Rides backward not to dis-similar to the Thorn in my opinion. You can ride it backwards and not think you are on a mutant at all (just like me-Julie..aye).
Riding forwards you know you are on a Mutant. The fins grip like nothing else and you don’t seem to miss the middle fins like on the 4’7etc…

Rides very fast, grips like hell but can breakout if you need to. Obviously with the speed and the grip this translates into jumps very well.

Backwards it is very flexible and you can see this in the construction. Works very well in chop. Forwards not so flexible but is still flexible enough to give a comfortable ride in chop.

I have only had one proper session on it so can’t really do a proper review really. Bloody nice board though! A Mutant that is very easy to ride

for photo's & set up info see www.boardhigh.com

[Edited on 30-4-2004 by The Russian]

Top report.

I've never had a go on a mutant though are they easy to ride?

What'd you think to the Thorn? At the mo I ride a slingshotdrake 147/37 but sometimes think I need something smaller.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Mark

Dunk,

Re whether Mutants are easy to ride, it all depends on how you ride and whether you've used a directional in the past.. this is mainly because there's more fin area and some find them a bit locked in/too physical on the legs... personally i love 'em as big fins = more edging = bigger/easier air time, a mutant is also faster than a TT when ridden on the tail. They are also one of the best boards for surf/waveriding.

The main compromises come when you turn round, as you have to either gybe or ride the board on its nose. Gybing is a pain in the arse, unless you are up to board offs & flipping it round in the air. Alternatively, you have to ride the board on its nose, this is not as bad as it sounds and with a bit of practice, you'll find that the front fins dont catch at all. The main downside is board speed and light wind ability, so in moderate light/moderate winds I usually ride toe side and in stronger winds ride on the tail - this way you dont really notice the difference in board speed.

But a better compromise is a MTX - a cross between Mutant & TT - I am still waiting a chance to use mine, but from who I've spoken to, it rides very well on the nose and has almost, if not quite the same performance in terms of speed & boosting as a Mutant... so definitely no need to gybe & generally more fun/performance

Re the slingshot drake, although a good board, this is a bit big.. well worth keeping as a light wind board, bt once you get something smaller, such as a MTX or thorn (the 132 - i think thats the size? is well like by Chris Bull). But once you get the hang of it, you'll find that you will get going just as fast on the smaller board and its far more controllable/better in the air.



[Edited on 5-5-2004 by The Russian]

Thanks for the info,

I'm off to tenerife soon, I'll try some boards there, to see which one suits me. Do you think the mtx would be to advanced and I'd probable be better off with something like the thorn ? What size do you think would suit me, I'm 65-70 kgs depending on how many pies I've eaten.

best advice is always try before u buy,

although having said that, I think it takes many good sessions to get in tune with any new kit, boards more so than kites

for 65-70kgs sounds like something small would be good, that said a lot depends on your riding style, ie well stacked with power or medium, light & no of kites/wind range you go out in. Overall soemthing around 130cm's and you cant go wrong so either a Thorn or MTX would be good and the construction of both is awesome... harder than a hard thing

can't seem to post a link

For a report on the MTX click www below

[Edited on 10-5-2004 by The Russian]