160 or 161 (162) - Page 2

9th January 2008, 10:32 PM

with no offence to Starboard.

i'm sticking with my old trusty 161 and not going to buy a 162.
some initial tests suggest there is only slight difference which probably F-192 a big guy may feel it.
Mortals like me won't feel a pinch at all.

interestingly, the new Vapor formula board is coined from 160 design.

i believe the Starboard guys will reply to my post on preaching about the new 162...
however, consumers will decide with their wise judgement.

example, Mauisails recent switch to wide-luff design is overdue and late.
back then, they were preaching hard on their own designs as a rock.

now, there's no Formula representation and worse still, their 2 top riders are leaving the brand (KP and Taty joining Sarah who left for NP).
i hope Starboard will not end up like them.

SeanAUS120 · 14th January 2008, 06:34 PM

Hey Formula,

Sorry to say but you might get left on the startline this season without a 162. We had our first big event in Australia over the weekend trying out all the new boards (Starboard, Gaastra, Exocet - still no F2's here yet).

I was very impressed with the speed of the new 162. In the hands of the top guys in the fleet there were definitely some major speed improvements from the events only a few weeks ago where we were all on 160/161's. Also there were considerable improvements in the middle-fleet guys.

I think a good guide to a board's overall improvement can be to look at the guys in the middle of the fleet (who 2 weeks ago using their 161's were still in the middle of the fleet) - now on the 162 were pushing the top 10 in all the races. No new sails. No new fins. Just new boards.

The shape is considerably different to the 161 you'll find. Its incredibly refined in the nose, slightly wider tail, appears to have more rocker although I never measured it. I think its a great step forward and will definitely be one of the fastest boards on the market for the 2 year period. The comments from one DreamTeam member at the event was basically that you are wasting your time riding anything else this season.

BTW, I'm not riding Starboard boards this season so I'm not just making this comment to be polite

14th January 2008, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SeanAUS120

Hey Formula,

Sorry to say but you might get left on the startline this season without a 162. We had our first big event in Australia over the weekend trying out all the new boards (Starboard, Gaastra, Exocet - still no F2's here yet).

I was very impressed with the speed of the new 162. In the hands of the top guys in the fleet there were definitely some major speed improvements from the events only a few weeks ago where we were all on 160/161's. Also there were considerable improvements in the middle-fleet guys.

I think a good guide to a board's overall improvement can be to look at the guys in the middle of the fleet (who 2 weeks ago using their 161's were still in the middle of the fleet) - now on the 162 were pushing the top 10 in all the races. No new sails. No new fins. Just new boards.

The shape is considerably different to the 161 you'll find. Its incredibly refined in the nose, slightly wider tail, appears to have more rocker although I never measured it. I think its a great step forward and will definitely be one of the fastest boards on the market for the 2 year period. The comments from one DreamTeam member at the event was basically that you are wasting your time riding anything else this season.

BTW, I'm not riding Starboard boards this season so I'm not just making this comment to be polite

sean,

thank you for your correction and view on the new 162.
your comments and reviews are unbiased and honest.

i will check out the new 162.

good luck in Brisbane.

15th January 2008, 03:36 AM

NSW State Championships 2008
Formula Board for State chamiopships
1st Jesper V Starboard 162
2nd Sam P Starboard 162 (2007 on 161)
3rd Sean Gaastra Vapour (2007 on 161, 159 and 160)
4th Brett Starboard 162 (2007 on 160)
5th Mike Starboard 162 (2007 on 159)
6th Sam F Starboard 159 (2007 no change)
7th Anthony Starboard 160 (2007 no change)
8th Murray F2 2005 (2007 no change)
9th Steve Starboard 160 (2007 no change)
10th Chris Starboard 162 (2007 on 161)

Half way through NSW Formula Series Oct 2007 to March 2008. Top 10
1st Sean
2nd Brett
3rd Mike
4th Rick Starboard 162 (2007 on 160 and 161)
5th Anthony
6th Steve
7th Murray
8th Sam F
9th Sam P
10th Chris

To the best of my knowledge these are what the top ten were riding in 2007 and now in 2008. Add any corrections.

15th January 2008, 05:59 AM

Sean

How was the peformance of the new Exocet, did you try it?

I have only seen one, not tried it yet, but it looked pretty fast as well

Brett Morris · 15th January 2008, 08:04 AM

Last year I struggled with the 161 and reverted back to the 160. I am now on the 162 and loving it. I believe it is a very different feel/board from last year. Comfortable and easier to sail, which is all good if you spend allot of time on a FW board.
The Exocet looks amazing, and is very light. I would love to test it.

15th January 2008, 04:42 PM

The Exocet is indeed very light and looks amaizing, it's a big step up compared to the previous Exo Formula boards, very much plug & play, tracks upwind on its own and quite fast but I unfortunately can't compare with the top guys in the fleet as I am nowhere near their level.

It's on par with *board for sure.

Brett you can try the Black Beast whenever you want but at the Nationals.

Cheers,
Remi

16th January 2008, 07:49 PM

Hallo Sean,
have the 162 and Vapor board a "classic" Starboard feeling?
I mean,do they like sails that make them lift up (as usual) or can be sailed also with North-like sails?

Thank you

SeanAUS120 · 22nd January 2008, 05:52 PM

Hmmm, I'm not entirely sure what you mean by 'lift-up' in terms of the sail. Unfortunately, I might not have a chance to ever try a North Race Sail as they are simply not available in Australia and I'm not really good friends with any North sailors in Europe to get a test drive (I will try one day)...

Do you mean to lift the nose?? I certainly think the Vapor is tuned best by setting your gear up to keep the nose lifted (boom high/track back etc) so maybe you are saying that the North sails help with this? Hard to know without sailing them. Some of the recent fins I have tried that are similar to the Kashy's by being very soft are giving a lot of power underneath your feet on towards the back of the board which I feel keeps the nose down a lot more compared to a standard R13 (my usual fin), so I find I like the track back a little on the Vapor (and most likely would find that on the 162) with these powerful fins compared to an R13.

Certainly the Vapor has the classic starboard feeling. I've only ridden the 162 twice (briefly) now but I believe it has the "classic" feeling as you say. It feels somewhat stiffer under your feet than the 160/161 did, but so does the Vapor and I think that's a good feeling. By "stiffer", I mean that the board is a little more responsive to toe and heel pressure so you can really keep the trim nicely under control by being a little more conscious of what you do with your feet (getting on your tiptoes upwind etc). It doesn't "sponge" away upwind if you are underfinned like the earlier models tended to do if you are running 12m sails for example...

Would love to test the Exocet one day also... Remi, you're not here for the Oceanics ??? Thought you were coming up...

22nd January 2008, 07:43 PM

Sean,

How was the R20 and some of the other new fins that you were mentioning in comparision to the Kashy? I have not heard too much other than the little on your website in the Vapour write-up.

Britt

14th January 2008, 06:34 PM	#12
SeanAUS120 Dream Team Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia // Dokkum, Netherlands Posts: 131	Hey Formula, Sorry to say but you might get left on the startline this season without a 162. We had our first big event in Australia over the weekend trying out all the new boards (Starboard, Gaastra, Exocet - still no F2's here yet). I was very impressed with the speed of the new 162. In the hands of the top guys in the fleet there were definitely some major speed improvements from the events only a few weeks ago where we were all on 160/161's. Also there were considerable improvements in the middle-fleet guys. I think a good guide to a board's overall improvement can be to look at the guys in the middle of the fleet (who 2 weeks ago using their 161's were still in the middle of the fleet) - now on the 162 were pushing the top 10 in all the races. No new sails. No new fins. Just new boards. The shape is considerably different to the 161 you'll find. Its incredibly refined in the nose, slightly wider tail, appears to have more rocker although I never measured it. I think its a great step forward and will definitely be one of the fastest boards on the market for the 2 year period. The comments from one DreamTeam member at the event was basically that you are wasting your time riding anything else this season. BTW, I'm not riding Starboard boards this season so I'm not just making this comment to be polite __________________ GetWindsurfFit.com // The Ultimate Windsurfing Fitness Program.

22nd January 2008, 05:52 PM	#19
SeanAUS120 Dream Team Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Brisbane, Australia // Dokkum, Netherlands Posts: 131	Hmmm, I'm not entirely sure what you mean by 'lift-up' in terms of the sail. Unfortunately, I might not have a chance to ever try a North Race Sail as they are simply not available in Australia and I'm not really good friends with any North sailors in Europe to get a test drive (I will try one day)... Do you mean to lift the nose?? I certainly think the Vapor is tuned best by setting your gear up to keep the nose lifted (boom high/track back etc) so maybe you are saying that the North sails help with this? Hard to know without sailing them. Some of the recent fins I have tried that are similar to the Kashy's by being very soft are giving a lot of power underneath your feet on towards the back of the board which I feel keeps the nose down a lot more compared to a standard R13 (my usual fin), so I find I like the track back a little on the Vapor (and most likely would find that on the 162) with these powerful fins compared to an R13. Certainly the Vapor has the classic starboard feeling. I've only ridden the 162 twice (briefly) now but I believe it has the "classic" feeling as you say. It feels somewhat stiffer under your feet than the 160/161 did, but so does the Vapor and I think that's a good feeling. By "stiffer", I mean that the board is a little more responsive to toe and heel pressure so you can really keep the trim nicely under control by being a little more conscious of what you do with your feet (getting on your tiptoes upwind etc). It doesn't "sponge" away upwind if you are underfinned like the earlier models tended to do if you are running 12m sails for example... Would love to test the Exocet one day also... Remi, you're not here for the Oceanics ??? Thought you were coming up... __________________ GetWindsurfFit.com // The Ultimate Windsurfing Fitness Program.

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9th January 2008, 10:32 PM	#11
Formula Guest Posts: n/a	with no offence to Starboard. i'm sticking with my old trusty 161 and not going to buy a 162. some initial tests suggest there is only slight difference which probably F-192 a big guy may feel it. Mortals like me won't feel a pinch at all. interestingly, the new Vapor formula board is coined from 160 design. i believe the Starboard guys will reply to my post on preaching about the new 162... however, consumers will decide with their wise judgement. example, Mauisails recent switch to wide-luff design is overdue and late. back then, they were preaching hard on their own designs as a rock. now, there's no Formula representation and worse still, their 2 top riders are leaving the brand (KP and Taty joining Sarah who left for NP). i hope Starboard will not end up like them.

15th January 2008, 03:36 AM	#14
NathanH Guest Posts: n/a	NSW State Championships 2008 Formula Board for State chamiopships 1st Jesper V Starboard 162 2nd Sam P Starboard 162 (2007 on 161) 3rd Sean Gaastra Vapour (2007 on 161, 159 and 160) 4th Brett Starboard 162 (2007 on 160) 5th Mike Starboard 162 (2007 on 159) 6th Sam F Starboard 159 (2007 no change) 7th Anthony Starboard 160 (2007 no change) 8th Murray F2 2005 (2007 no change) 9th Steve Starboard 160 (2007 no change) 10th Chris Starboard 162 (2007 on 161) Half way through NSW Formula Series Oct 2007 to March 2008. Top 10 1st Sean 2nd Brett 3rd Mike 4th Rick Starboard 162 (2007 on 160 and 161) 5th Anthony 6th Steve 7th Murray 8th Sam F 9th Sam P 10th Chris To the best of my knowledge these are what the top ten were riding in 2007 and now in 2008. Add any corrections.

15th January 2008, 05:59 AM	#15
Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	Sean How was the peformance of the new Exocet, did you try it? I have only seen one, not tried it yet, but it looked pretty fast as well

15th January 2008, 08:04 AM	#16
Brett Morris Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 32	Last year I struggled with the 161 and reverted back to the 160. I am now on the 162 and loving it. I believe it is a very different feel/board from last year. Comfortable and easier to sail, which is all good if you spend allot of time on a FW board. The Exocet looks amazing, and is very light. I would love to test it.

15th January 2008, 04:42 PM	#17
R&D Guest Posts: n/a	The Exocet is indeed very light and looks amaizing, it's a big step up compared to the previous Exo Formula boards, very much plug & play, tracks upwind on its own and quite fast but I unfortunately can't compare with the top guys in the fleet as I am nowhere near their level. It's on par with *board for sure. Brett you can try the Black Beast whenever you want but at the Nationals. Cheers, Remi

16th January 2008, 07:49 PM	#18
Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	Hallo Sean, have the 162 and Vapor board a "classic" Starboard feeling? I mean,do they like sails that make them lift up (as usual) or can be sailed also with North-like sails? Thank you

22nd January 2008, 07:43 PM	#20
Unregistered Guest Posts: n/a	Sean, How was the R20 and some of the other new fins that you were mentioning in comparision to the Kashy? I have not heard too much other than the little on your website in the Vapour write-up. Britt