The middle size of three Twin Tips for ’08, the 100 feels relatively low in volume and is short but significantly wide throughout. It looks and feels very much like a specialized new-school freestyle board.

On the water:

This board is one of the earliest to plane on its long planing flat, getting going early and easily but seeming to travel relatively slowly. The board has less pop than most but doesn’t seem to suffer much for this because it’s a lot better than most for sliding and keeping speed up during moves. Everybody was amazed at how it allowed them to finish moves that they thought were destined to fail. At times its willingness to spin and keep speed meant that fast moves became too hectic, but this does open the possibility of double moves for the expert. It is fun for ordinary sailing and carving without any of the extra bulk (volume) of many freestyles but it is a bit limited in speed and bite for very good freeride crossover. Wave suitability is low.

Fittings:

At only 20cm and relatively upright, the fin is much smaller than any other. Nevertheless, it’s still enough to get the board upwind quite easily and push against (carefully) once you get used to it and it’s perfect for freestyle. An excellent fin that was widely praised and the only one on test to give proper new-school freestyle performance ‘out of the box’. The straps were deemed comfortable and the pads extremely soft and comfortable. Very light hull weight.

Popularity:

Again, high but mixed. Everybody loved the way it let them get away with stuff, when despite lacking speed they still came round and never caught. Some felt this (plus its other qualities) put it right up there near the top, but others were put off slightly by the (relative) lack of pop or suitability for more wave-oriented freestyle.

Overall:

There’s no question the RRD is a very top contender for marginal to moderate wind flat water new-school freestyle. It’s amazing what people can pull off on this board without seeming to put any effort in. Its early planing, exceptional slide and spin and small, stable, compact shape carve it a unique niche – it offers loads of potential both for experts extending their boundaries into double moves and normal freestylers struggling to finish moves.