Hi,
I've been riding the Wainman Blunt 135 for one month, now. No less than 12 sessions on it, and I have lent the board to many riders of different levels and weights.
I'll try to resume up my own impressions and also what others who have tried have said:
- Construction: the board is really light, but really solid. The bottom skin is very scratch-resistant. I have ridden over shallow water with stones, shells, etc... and no scratches. That's really good (I'll put it on sliders with confidence). The finish is really good and the rails have been finished by hand. The rubber in the rails is not hard, it is rounded and there's no sharp points. The hardware is of really good quality (can't comment more on this, I ride the board with bindings). I love the graphics, but that's up to you
Freeriding:
- Goes onto a plane really quickly (well, it is 135 x 43, no surprises here)
- Holds heavy chop and strong winds very easily and with comfort . The rail bits hard and despite being wide the board behaves great in strong winds. Big surprise here, the board is wide and quite ridgid and I expected a hard ride on heavy chop.
- Has very good speed but it is not the fastest board out there. No sonic booms. Very good acceleration but others on naroower boards will travel faster.
- Easy to go upwind, and with good angle.
- Comfortable ride with no spray-to-face at all.
- Not slippery, not blocked in transitions. Half in between.
- Easy board for sent jumps.
- Too big for smaller people, these please go for the 130 x 40.
- Many many smiles from freeriders, overall.
Wakestyle:
- Nice "wide stance" inserts option.
- Felt at home on this board from get-go. Many others agreed with this.
- Loads of pop. LOADS of pop.
- The board makes harsh landings easy. It absorbs most of the shock and does not want to suddenly accelerate and slip out of your feet when you land with power and speed.
- Board's ligthness is really welcome for rotations and getting yourself inverted.
- I don't think I'll be able to snap this board in two. It looks really solid.
- Smaller riders may prefer the 130.
- Smaller riders who use boots will find the 135 perfect.
- I have tried a couple of boards that provide even better wakestyle performances, but those boards are not half as comfortable or fun as the Blunt is.
Overall a very well rounded product that most big riders, from "lawn mowers" to "hardcore low mobe landers" love. I was really happy with previous board but now I do not miss it at all.
For those who know about the Rabbit kites: this board delivers the same mix of fun and solid performances.
Once more, great work, Lou.