Freestyle with a flair
The new fluorescent Flares. The Flare family returns with a striking new livery and welcomes back a classic shape in the Flare 88.
The test team: Taty Frans (PWA 2010 Podesdorf & 2009 Sylt event winner), Kiri Thode (PWA 2009 Freestyle 2nd), Dieter Van Der Eyken (EFPT 2009 15th and currently ranked 3rd) Sarah Quita Offringa (PWA Freestyle 1st), Nicolas Akgazcyan (EFPT 2009 3rd and currently ranked 2nd).
The design team: Tiesda You and Sven Akerboom.
The result: five versatile models for fast, fun freestyle. At the time of print, six Starboard riders occupy the top nine in the PWA Freestyle tour. Congratulations to the team and we look forward to the new season.
The Flares are freestyle boards that aim to blend speed and power with maneuverability, ease-of-pop and control. The speed and power comes from the fast, flat rockerlines with lots of width in the midsection and tail. A smooth tail kick, a thin nose, a thin midsection profile and a thick tail volume bring in the maneuverability, the ease-of-pop and the forgiveness to finish moves. With the unique heel gutters shaped into the deck, your feet wrap around a curved, ergonomic curve for total comfort and total control. Fast, fun, forgiving: the World's most advanced and lightest freestyle boards.
The 2011 Flare features,
1. Fish scale pad grooving - unidirectional traction. Grips when you need them to, then helps to release when you wipeout.
2. New Deluxe straps by Drake - includes innovative strap size adjustment indicators.
3. Heel gutters - exaggerate the deck dome effect for more comfort and grip. "The Flare is the best board in this group for general blasting around and bump and jump. It feels very light and stiff underfoot, the domed deck is unique and absolutely brilliant. It makes life so much more comfortable on your back foot than any of the other boards in this group and makes the board great fun for popping jumps and forwards etc without the pain associated with flat decks." Boardseeker magazine.
4. Double screws for the back footstrap - for extra strength
5. Fin positioning guide - adjust your board for more grip or more slide
6. Fast rockerlines and thinner shapes for a lower CG - maximum aerial control and increased responsiveness. "The Starboard shines as a freestyle board that can also be fun in small waves and bump and jump conditions. There is no doubting the board is fast. It is not only fast but also extremely controllable at speed." Boardseeker magazine www.boardseeker.com
7. Increased tail volume - for more float and tolerance in reverse moves
8. Drake Crossover CNC G10 fins - designed by Curtis Hesselgrave
9. New Fluorescent yellow touches
Below is each construction of the Flare, front and back. First up - Wood construction.
Below is Wood Carbon construction.
The 2011 Flare comes with a choice of two constructions for optimium performance, Wood and Wood Carbon. Both constructions include Starboards "ProtectFilm" - UV protection for wood. All constructions are shown in the main pictures above.
Wood Construction
Developed by Jean Louis Colmas in 1984, Wood Technology became Starboard's trademark construction in 1995. Starboard's production Wood boards then set the lead in lightweight sandwich technology, weighing in at a kilo under the competition, yet with higher impact resistance. A sheet of 0.6 mm Australian plantation pine wood forms the full outer shell of the board. Wood's unique properties are its natural rigidity, superior resistance to compression and higher energy absorption compared to carbon. It is the construction with the highest dynamic shape stability.
Advantages: lighter weight, highest dynamic shape stability, rigid flex, quicker response.
Wood Carbon
A combination of a wood spine / wood bottom with ultra light, flat-weave carbon. The first board construction in the World to utilize an ultra light carbon fibre that is flat-weaved for total mechanical efficiency at half the specific weight of regular carbon weaves.
Advantages: lightest weight, stiffest flex, quickest response.
The 2011 Flare comes in four sizes, allowing a variety of riders to make the most out of the conditions. The specifications for the boards are shown below.
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