What makes a good freestyle kiteboard? Power!
Think of a freestyle board as a more aggressive free-ride board: designed for versatility, but built to be powered up, jumped big, landed hard, and put through the wringer. A good freestyle board should be fast on the water with tons of grip to help generate speed for boosting and stay under control during high-speed landings. This is achieved by a medium to stiff flex pattern, tapered and slightly squared-off tips, a medium to high rocker, and a more parallel rail outline. Bottom channeling is also important in this category, as it helps increase board speed and pop, and provides enough grip that it can be ridden aggressively without fins.
Freestyle boards feature:
• Medium to high rocker: Generates pop, helps soften landings
• Medium to stiff flex: Ideal for aggressive, powered-up riding
• Aggressive channeling: Generates speed and pop, breaks surface tension, allows the board to be ridden with or without fins.
• Heavier board layup/construction: Added strength and durability for harder riding and tougher landings.
In Slingshot’s lineup, the boards that best fit this description are the Asylum, the Vision, and the Refraction.