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Freestyle

Goya X1 105 (2008)

Although the smaller of two in the X1 range, the 105 with its relatively high length, max width and volume is still one the bigger boards on test. It is said to be based on the very successful Wave One series with a strong focus on “covering a wide range of use scenarios”, and this versatility is evident.

On the water:

Although a bit wider and chunkier than your average freemove, with its relatively narrow tail the Goya feels very normal to sail. You can feel the slightly wave-biassed pedigree in the loose feel, very slight lag in acceleration onto the plane and good control when blasting. Everyone reported good and reliable freestyle performance from the board, with high success rates. It’s not the lightest or most responsive and not the slidiest, but it is very tolerant of choppy water and is very stable and predictable. It won’t zap onto the plane in a zephyr or finish a move on a wish and a prayer, but it will control speed well, iron out the bumps and do what you expect it to. While not really set up for blasting with bigger sails (circa 7.0m) it is good fun to simply ride in any water state, with very positive carving performance. Its rockerlinemeans it’s particularly suited to waves, making a very decent big, light to medium wind, waveboard crossover.

Fittings:

The straps and pads were deemed very comfortable though a bit tight for those with wider feet. The fin is probably the best crossover in the test, working well for ordinary sailing and OK for freestyle. A smaller one would be a wise investment for dedicatedly freestyle sessions. Popularity Mid-ranking in general but still verywell liked, particularly inwindier, choppier orwavier conditions.

Overall:

It doesn’t claim to be a highly specialised freestyle board to either spin you into a frenzy or plane and pop in the very lightest winds, but it does everything expected of a freestyle very dependably in a very acceptable range of conditions. However, it really comes into its own in either slightly stronger winds in flat water or places where the water is either a bit choppy or wavy. It should have particularly strong appeal to those wanting a freestyle / big waveboard crossover.

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