Nobile Kiteboarding Infinity 6’2” 2012
Reviews / Surfboards
39,091
At A Glance
The Infinity is a new board from Nobile, aimed squarely at the surf market, which is a new area for the brand to step into. They enlisted the help of KPWT world wave champion Jose Luengo to work on the shape. As well as being a new board it is a totally new concept too. You won’t find any traditional foam or glass here; instead the entire board features a wood core with a pre stress technology and construction that is reminiscent of a twin tip. The actual core of the board is thin and flat and the deck gets its shape from the EVA rails and deck. It is a thruster set up with strap inserts should you choose to use them. There is a leash plug as well and an innovative fin attachment system that allows you to remove the fins without the need for any tools.
On The Water
We rode the Infinity in a variety of conditions, windblown chop, small onshore waves, and big side shore waves and in both light and strong winds. We definitely found it excelled in certain areas. The deck flex allowed it to soak up chop really well, it sat a little lower in the water due to the lower volume and cut through it rather than bounce across it. This made for a smooth ride in rough conditions. In strong winds we loved the thin nose and the fact that for strapless freestyle the board was excellent as it had the swing weight in the right places. The EVA grip on the rails making the board easy to grab, the concave to the deck also made it feel a little like a skateboard underfoot. In onshore mushy waves the board was really fun to throw around and it was easy to tear and slash at the prevalent conditions we have here in Europe. In larger waves though we found it had a tendency to trip the rail on the bottom turn and the rider really needed to drive the board and use the kite to ensure this didn’t happen. It also lacks the volume of a traditional surfboard so it’s low end lacks a little compared to a board with some buoyancy in it. If you look at the way Jose Luengo rides it is easy to see where this board is aiming for. Strapless riding in ripable waves and strong winds. If it is choppy then it is the perfect machine for learning some strapless freestyle.
For
Great for travelling, the construction is as bombproof as a modern twin tip, luggage handlers can do their worst. High wind, choppy conditions and small fun sized waves are where this board excels. It is also great for kicking about underfoot learning strapless freestyle.
Against
We found the leash plug to be really small, which made it difficult to attach a traditional leash rope. This may have been changed on the full production model as ours was an early proto. We also found in big fast powerful waves the rail could trip, you need to be really on the ball with the board trim and kite power to avoid this.
Overall
This board is brilliant at strapless freestyle and smashing up euro style waves, it is great fun to ride and easy to get the most out of. Very forgiving in chop the flex and construction work in harmony to create a dreamy ride.
This review was in Issue 32 of IKSURFMAG.
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By Rou Chater
Rou has been kiting since the sports inception and has been working as an editor and tester for magazines since 2004. He started IKSURFMAG with his brother in 2006 and has tested hundreds of different kites and travelled all over the world to kitesurf. He's a walking encyclopedia of all things kite and is just as passionate about the sport today as he was when he first started!
