Kiteforum.com

I have the chance of a Dialer at a good price and am struggling to find a detailed review of the board. Has anyone had any experience. I am just getting to grips with the move from TT so am still looking for a board to develope my skills ideally to be included as a lighter wind option as well as wave riding in the medium size mush which we tend to get up in the North East of England. I weigh about 78kg but am a little concerned how it goes when the wind picks up

Cheers Fig roll

with the dialer you would fly upwind and get comfortable with gybes, and probably easily catch waves without a kite. In strong wind it will feel very "big" though and you would need to use a smaller kite sooner. I weigh just a little more than you and feel like it is a little bigger than i like, once powered. But for learning gybes and light wind it's a good board.

For the most part it's a good choice for what you describe. I have the version with no strap inserts but I would imagine, other than being heavier and maybe a bit stiffer, they would be the same. I'm about 90kg and find it more than comfortable up to about 20kts. I have a number of surf boards so have never ridden it in more than that but with a small kite it could be OK. It would be a lot of board though if the surf got big. It comes with fairly big fins, so goes up wind very well when ridden flat in the light stuff but you can stomp the speed out of it, if you are getting over powered. It's easy to jibe and quite maneuverable for a board it's size. The low end is not quite as good as wider, flatter boards but this board can be a lot more fun once you get going. If you're getting a good deal you won't regret it.

I have the 2011 and love it. Pretty much use it exactly as you described.

Very easy and fun to ride strapped or strapless. It makes ocean riding so much more fun than with a twin tip.

As others said, on really big days (large waves or wind) I felt the board was too fast and would drop down to a smaller strapped board and recently bought a Tyrant which I've yet to put through the paces.

Anyway, I don't think you can go wrong with the board. Specially if you got a deal on it!

I've got to echo what the rest have been saying. I have the 2011 dialer and it's a super fun lightwind board. It's awesome for learning/perfecting gybing and tacking as well as switching stance while riding. I prefer riding this in light wind to a TT and it will go in the same amount of wind that my crazyfly cruiser will get me going in.

Even with 4 fins you can learn to unlock the tail for some fun little surface tricks. I also paddle it into waves while waiting for the wind but it's not quite as floaty as a similarly sized fun board would be.

All in all I love the board but haven't been riding it much lately because I prefer my 2010 5'8" celeritas now. I've been getting into strapless air and I needed a lighter/more maneuverable board. That said, the celeritas was a lot harder to gybe/tack at first but because I had the skills from the Dialer I picked it up pretty quick. The celeritas is a relatively flat board and actually goes up wind almost as well as the Dialer.

Anyway, I love my Dialer and have been very happy with the purchase. You can get pretty good deals on the 2011 model now as well.

Cheers all will give it a punt, that's made my mind up. One last question though how does it ride through chop and slop?