Lightwave DV8

[toyletbowl]

Review for the DV8.

I ride strapless now 100% of the time due to loving riding strapless and still recovering from a broke leg in March.

I'm also a dealer for Underground and have a 6'2" Freewave for 3 years that I would not sell to anyone. It was my baby. Love that board. Still do. Dave and I met in OBX last fall and I saw the DV8 and it looked like a Freewave knock off. They are similar, but there are differences. Fast forward to a month ago and Dave was running a special on some blemished DV8's so I picked up a handful of them. Importing Freewaves is really expensive and this seemed like a no-brainer.

I'm stoked I got these Dv8's.

In comparison, the DV8 seems more lively and turny and yet more stable. Seems to contradict, but I think the reason is the back of the DV8 is slightly wider than the Freewave which puts more volume near the tail. Due to this, I can ride with my back foot really close to the tail about 70% of the time which means snappier turns and a really good push off the back fin. So far I've only been in lake chop on anything from a super lit 6m up to a 14m and it works in all those winds.

The freewave looks more drawn out compared to the DV8.
More flip on the nose on the DV8.
Construction is solid on both. I've beat the SH*^&&^t out of the freewave and it's still going strong.
The only drawback is the DV8 is a little heavier. Seems to be a fast board anyway and a lot of fun.

Both are great boards and similar to Dave, I also have one of each size for sale at $599 if interested.

Would be cool to see some lighter weight ones in the future.

Bob
www.kiteridersllc.com

[toyletbowl]

Some pics from my last session working on some duck tacks.

Remember, it's all about the tongue. No cheezy emoticons to follow.

Bob
www.kiteridersllc.com

[mdmaui]

It does float like a surfboard. I don't know if the rails help with that or what, but I expected the thing to sink like a stone once and a while and was impressed on how it stays up. This is an awesome board folks. I have been building for about 5 years here on Maui and do prefer a quad for most of the stuff around here, but man, if you are going a little slower, the thing is on it!

[kitesurfbali]

Hello friends,
Underground came out with the FreeWave back in 2007 and is been my favorite board since then.
I had every single version since then and I also helped a bit with R&D and promotion.
Used the board in every kind of conditions from choppy on shore waves to perfect super glassy double over head waves.
For me no other surf style board come close as overall performance AND most important I love to jump them and never had one broken under my feet.
So huge props to UG for thinking out of the box and come out with a total different product.
The main difference of course was the construction style with the Stuff Crust rails (how a friend of mine call them).
Since then I saw other companies following the same concept and I'm sure that in the future there will be more.

In the last year I also been working on trying to make boards locally and with the help of a friend of mine that build Hollow Wooden surfboard we finally were able to produce few prototype that would be up to pair if not better then the original concept. My idea was also to be able to offer something different in term of construction and look not forgetting that I wanted some green and sustainable.
In Indonesia we are lucky that we can get some of the best Balsa Wood from sustainable plantation and that we also have local wood master craftsman.
The result is a board inspired to the UG free Wave concept but build all in Balsa Wood with a Bamboo reinforcement strip on the deck. A tiny layer of epoxy fiberglass is applied just to protect the wood from the water and for finishing purpose. The size of our first model is 5'6 x 19 with a thruster set up and as these board are fully built by hand we can actually pretty much custom them to your requirement. We only have limited production of few boards per month and each piece is like a sculpture. For accessories we only look at the best: Cabrinha foot straps and Jimmy Lewis fins.
If you are interested to know more please contact me.
Bye Jankie
Kite & Surf Bali - The Pro Shop

[Beachboy]

I picked up one of those blemished DV8's from Litewave, and it looks great. I can't find anything wrong with it. Great deal... Thanx..

[Litewave Dave]

Try riding your DV8 with skate shoes. It makes a HUGE difference in leverage. I've been using regular "World Industries" skate shoes, but they make wake-skate shoes with better drainage that would probably even be better.

Your foot is curved on the edges, compresses, and rolls around. When you put on shoes, the 90-degree edge and hard rubber sides allow you to push a lot harder on the board making shuvits and trick easier as well as slashing an pushing harder.

Really cool idea that is sure to catch on for these types of boards. It has really taken my riding to the next level.

[nal51511]

Does anyone have the specs on these boards? width, weight, etc.

[KiteboardingTampaBay]

The 5'7" is 18 3/4" wide and around 9 lbs.
The 6'1" is 19 1/4" wide and around 10 lbs.

http://kiteboardingtampabay.com/2012-li ... board.html


Happy Kiting!
www.kiteboardingtampabay.com

[Litewave Dave]

Also 3x G10 11cm tall fins.

[Beachboy]

Been using this board pretty hard for several weeks. Looks great and holding up well.