Stryder Kiteboards Halo 138 x 42cm 2015
Reviews / Twin Tips
1,317
At A Glance
Stryder may not be a well known name within the worldwide kitesurfing industry however with the company’s base being in Camber Sands, a popular kiting location on the south coast of the UK, it is becoming ever more popular within the kiting community. Stryder kiteboards was founded in 2010 by Nik Strydom. Originally from South Africa, Nik brings his vast amount of engineering knowledge forward and puts this into his kiteboards.
For Issue 51 we got our hands on the Stryder Halo, the Halo is the new school/wakestyle board in Stryder’s range. Taking a look into some of the key features we see it boasts four channeled tips, a deep rocker line, and elliptical concave. This is all finished off in true British quality with a two part wood core, liquid filled PU rails and a tough PBT base. All of these features give the board a huge amount of pop and performance along with impact resistant build quality.
The Halo comes in two options either board only, or with Stryder pads and straps, enabling you to choose weather you will be riding this in bindings or keeping the ability to bust some old school board-offs with pads and straps. The Stryder pad and strap combo features a dual density foam, toe lip and fully adjustable straps, thereby giving the rider every bit of comfort needed upon landing those moves.
Stryder has a variety of graphics, some will be right up your street, others might not be. The biggest plus side to Stryder kiteboards are that they can come with custom designed, giving you the chance to tailor the graphics of the board to suit you and have a completely unique kiteboard.
On The Water
Heading out with the Halo we first noticed the weight of the board, with a light weight build moving around the beach was a breeze. The second we got onto the board it was instantly clear that the footpad system was very comfy and very adjustable, fitting size 3 to 10 feet in one size strap. As far as riding the board goes the usual test routine went into action, firstly speed was gained quickly and grip was responsive and true. Secondly the pop was insane. With both hooked and unhooked moves, edging was smooth yet the Halo had an aggressive pop off the water. With the larger size of this board the landings were very solid, stable and soft on the knees, even when riding in boots.
If you are in the market for a board that rides well in both boots and straps and will excel at everything you give to it, the Halo is the by far a great contender. This board is responsive and aggressive suiting those pushing their wakestyle riding, for those looking for a more flowing ride you may wish to check out the other boards on the Stryder website, like the Genesis.
“Massive pop from a responsive, well-built board with the option to have custom graphics...”
Overall
Following the herds and sticking to your usual brands is something most of us do. However, the Stryder Halo proves just how much a lesser-known brand may take you by surprise, it definitely did for us. Massive pop from a responsive, well-built board with the option to have custom graphics - what more could you ask for!
Videos
This review was in Issue 51 of IKSURFMAG.
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By Robin and Sukie
With years of kite sport experience combined, you can be sure you’ll be receiving the highest quality of knowledge on the best equipment the industry has to offer.
