Cray Fly Shox Kiteboard 132x41 Review

At a Glance
Crazy Fly have been making their much loved Raptor Pro stiffer and stiffer over the years to cater for the full on freestyle rider; aiming to squeeze as much performance from the board as possible. Because of this there has been a gap left in their kiteboard range for a performance orientated freeride board.

This season Crazy Fly have released the all new Shox to the range to fill the space. The Shox is built with a very light full wood core with carbon and glass layup construction sporting some fresh young bright graphics. The board has a fairly shallow constant rocker line with deep concave that runs pretty much from tip to tip. To finish the board off there are some very stylish leather foot straps, thick foot beds and thin profile G10 fins the rest of the Crazy Fly range benefits from.

On The Water
Slipping your feet in the straps for the first time feels great; you can make yourself really comfortable and have a solid felling of being locked in. The light crisp ride will get you quite exited and looking for small kickers or flat spots to launch off from. The Shox pops and loads well and carries enough board speed to send your kite back for some lofty jumps. Although slightly stiffer flex and more rocker would be a aid giving a little more performance, giving the board some extra flex and extra rock makes it a easy to ride. We really believe any one can jump on this board and ride all day without your knees giving out, over the chop the ride is smooth, slick and most of all comfortable.

This kite board has been designed to be the ultimate freeride board, and it fits that bill well. Once you’ve had some fun throwing your self about though there is another characteristic that will appeal to lots of riders. The shallow rocker line and bit that you get from the rails really helps the Shox fly upwind, something you’ll appreciate after jumping around on it and having fun!

Pros
Freeride kitesurfers of all levels looking to for a board that will let them be adventurous.

Cons
The Shox has some great performance under it’s bonnet, but if you want out and out freestyle aggression look to the Raptor or Rocky.

Overall
An all round freeride board that any one can ride at any level and feel at home with. It still holds plenty of performance and excitement though for those who tap into it.

Original review from our friends at IKSurfmag