In a new series for the news feed we have asked our customers for reviews on Simmer Style products that they have in their quiver. We call this feature - the Cold Hard Truth!
First out is the Helix 95 L, tested by Pal
Odegaard and his family, Kristin, Lisa and Ola during the past 12 months
in Western Australia.
Text by Pal Odegaard.
Tester: Pal, Kristin, Lisa and Ola Odegaard.
Location: Western Australia.
The Simmer Style Helix 95 – Jack of all trades !
Is there a “swiss army knive” of windsurfing
boards- a board that more or less can “do it all”… we claim the Helix
comes pretty darn close!
The Simmer Style Helix 95 has been the “cross-over” board for the lighter wind days during our family’s one year stay in Western Australia. The board has been a perfect supplement to the Flywave waveboards
(78 & 85) which have served us very well
in the waves. Looking back we certainly have a lot to thank the Helix
for! First of all it has been the “go to board” for the lighter
bump&jump conditions, getting us on the water when
most could not get going or sit waiting patiently for the wind to pick
up. Secondly it got us wave sailing several times in light wind
conditions. Thirdly it got my son into a bit of freestyle and lastly it
was the board my daughter (11 years old) used when
planing and getting into the foot straps for the first time .
We did a quick summary on what we “really fancy” with the Helix…
The speed…
Being a cross-over board, this board surely offers a
fast blast! With its rocker line from the freemove boards it
accelerates very fast, “eats chops” and keeps it’s speed impressively well through lulls. It is fastest on a single fin set-up, but it surely also feels very quick as a thruster where it clearly has its “sweet spot” as the free-wave board it is.
The versatility...
The board really changes character with the fin selection. On a single fin we found it to be an early planing free ride
joyride, while on a thruster it turns into a very turnable fun ripper.
Even if this is not a pure waveboard, we think
it handles small to medium sized waves very nicely! As long as you dare
to put a bit of determined force on your front foot, we found this
board
to really carve nicely from rail to
rail! We also sailed it on flatwater in really strong winds with 4.2 and the board even loves that.
The easiness…
We all agree that the Helix is really easy to sail. It adapts very
well to many different sets of
conditions and hardly feels like a 95 liter board. It feels very light
and gets you going very fast, sometimes to the slalom sailors with far
bigger sails frustration .. We sailed the board in
shorebreak fast waves and loved how it performs in the pocket.
Convinced yet? If you need a supplement to your waveboard, or are just looking for that “one stop shop” board for bump&jump and a variety of waves, - the Helix is the very
best choice you can make!
Testers: Ola and Lisa (young guns..)
Kristin and Pål ( old guns..)