the mako,,,,,the truth,,,,,

[papasmerf]

The mako wide is the single most amazing board i've ever been on.

i'm 90 kg, 4 years kiting.

i've bought or demoed so many boards. i think i've tried almost every brand. i wanted to try the mako wide in la ventana in late january at the kite expo but didn't get a chance so i sorta bought it on a whim without ever trying it, based on some trustworthy sources.

i had been bouncing from board to board for a while but had finally settled on the Nobile 666 132x41 and the nobile shinn 130x40 and thought i had the best board quiver ever. both 07's, sold the other 9 boards cluttering up my garage. . and then i tried the mako. goodbye spray in the face. i felt like a super hero on this thing. i have never used a piece of equipment that made me a better kiter so fast. it is so nice to buy a piece of equipment that makes me a better kiter,,,i thought the 666 also made me better, but not on the scale of the mako.

the shinn was my favorite but it didn't get me going in lighter winds as well as the 666. i loved the 666 as it was a true one board quiver,,my goto board in lightwind, but it beats me up in any conditions other than flat water,,and i am almost always in chop. i really loved these 2 boards cause they would both fit in the trunk of my little car, along with 2 kites and other gear.

so this mako has really upset my life because since it is now my favorite all time board, i have to put it in my back seat which clutters up the inside of my car and i have to take the baby seat out more often. i guess i could put the baby in the trunk.

it does everything my 666 does, except the pop has a narrower range, it didn't matter what i did with the 666, the pop was there.
it took me about an hour to figure out that the mako has almost the same pop, but the timing is crucial. also,,,the mako needs to be ridden on the rail while the 666 needed a lot of back foot pressure. and landing jumps with the mako seems different,,it was like you had to almost land on the rail or land it flatter instead of on the tail. anyway, i've been jumping higher with the mako than the 666, probably because it is the most comfortable and controllable board i have ever been on.

and as a 43 year old guy,,,any old guys out there like me, trust me, get this board, it will make your knees and legs smile and make your sessions longer.

so this board does everything my 666 132x41 did,,,and so much more. i thought as a 150 cm it would be hard to turn or spin but the opposite was true. i was so shocked, it turned and carved faster and better than my shinn 130.

it was almost like riding a snowboard in many ways, not that i want a snowboard on water, that is just what it reminded me of. it also really reminded me of riding a directional, except i can always ride heelside if i want. i still think the nobile 666 139x46 would have the edge in light wind, although i haven't tried it yet.

thanks to the guy who designed this board,,,i can't believe i let it sit in my garage for a month or so until i finally figured i would give it a try, although it was cold also.

anyway, totally jazzed about the coming season with this board, mostly because i am so surprised how great it is,,i really haven gotten so cynical reading all the hype on this forum about every new 12m kite that will supposedly work in 9mph that i forgot that there are real people on this forum.

[Toby]

which size did you ride?

[slightlyimperfect]

the Mako wide only comes in the one size.
150x40

http://www.oceanrodeo.com/kiting/makotwintips.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[papasmerf]

hi toby,,,it was the 150 cm x 40cm.

if you haven't tried one and you get the chance, try it,,,give it at least an hour or 2. i would be interested in your opinion

also, when i said "all the hype on this forum", i want to say, your forum is great, i read it a lot. just sometimes, i have to weed through biased opinions. it was not meant to be considered personally against you obviously,,in fact,,all forums these days have the same problems.

[swell]

Edging hard befor take off the water in order to perform an unhooked trick - that's what is called POP...
What pop are you speaking about, guys?

[ORSales]

Just thought I would jump in to thank Smerf for posting such a nice review. - Very glad you like the board!

To clairify a couple things:

1) the pop of the board is massive. It has a nice flex pattern and a huge concave which allows you to really load an edge and send the kite. Initially though some riders have mentioned they find the board "sticky" on their first couple runs. We suspect that this is due to the surface area of the board's base, if you flattened the 18mm of concave out the board would be almost 42cm wide. Simply carving and releasing the edge as opposed to "chop hopping" will release this base and get you in the air in a hurry

2) other riders, certainly initially, look at the length of the board and think it is too long. With rounded nose and tail the board actually feels much more like a 130 or 135cm board when riding it, and certainly carves harder than any other twin tip on the market.

3) The new Mako Freeride Wide, as opposed to the original Mako 150, has less rocker and a greater amount of flex (the concave is spread over a wider surface, making it more flexible). This adds to the Freeride Wide a really nice smooth feel in choppy waters (great on the knees!) and the flatter rocker gives the board incredible stability at high speeds.

All in all the board is a very robust and diverse board. It performs nicely in light winds but is incredibly stable in higher winds and handles everything from butter flat water to coastal chop to wave riding.

If you are interested in trying this board get in touch with your local Ocean Rodeo dealer. Many of our dealerships have demo models of this board available to try. In addition, if your dealer does not have a demo model available and you need to buy one to try it I will guarentee your purchase by allowing your dealer to return the board to me if you don't keep it (unfortunatly I can only make this offer to NA and European customers... )

John Z - Ocean Rodeo Sales

[schmoe]

3) The new Mako Freeride Wide, as opposed to the original Mako 150, has less rocker and a greater amount of flex (the concave is spread over a wider surface, making it more flexible).

What does that mean for lighter riders? Does that mean that they have to go with one of the smaller sizes? Lighter rider cannot load the board as much as a heavy rider, so if the board dose not have enough rocker you have to ride on the back foot and loose one of the best features of the board. So lighter rider (70kg) should use the 134?

[ORSales]

Well, I am 74kg and I love the Mako Wide, just love it.

However, I have heard from truly lighter riders (>60kg) that they prefer the other two models of the Mako, so you might be right but I would put the weight down around 60kg, not 70.

[EvanOR]

3) The new Mako Freeride Wide, as opposed to the original Mako 150, has less rocker and a greater amount of flex (the concave is spread over a wider surface, making it more flexible).

What does that mean for lighter riders? Does that mean that they have to go with one of the smaller sizes? Lighter rider cannot load the board as much as a heavy rider, so if the board dose not have enough rocker you have to ride on the back foot and loose one of the best features of the board. So lighter rider (70kg) should use the 134?

Great question, but no, it doesn't. After years of riding the 150x34 and nothing else (except a surfboard in true side/side off waves) I've switched to the Mako Wide. I'm 148 lbs (67kgs) and ride it from about 10 knots (14m Rise) to 30 (6m Rise). It works equally well in all conditions though I would say it is ideal in 12-25 for me. Heavier riders can easily extrapolate from that.

The 134 is a completely different board, and can't really be compared to the 150 Wide. It is much skatier and obviously has a smaller feel to it. Personally I much prefer the 150's over the 134.

[TomW]

OR,
i´ve been on the Mako 150x34 for 2 full seasons and going into 3rd. Still love it and try other boards, even ones i build, but i can´t find anything better. 75kgs, (and 48 years.)

The review of the Mako Wide fits exactly my experience with the Mako 150x34.

One thing i can´t understand is your statement that by flattening a 18mm concave, that is over a 34 or 40cm wide span, you would add 2cm. I´ve drawn this on my CAD system and measured the curve length- I don´t remember the exact dimensions, but it was not anyway near 20mm. More like 4-5mm, How are you calculating this ?