RRD WAVE CULT LTD 82L Y25 2020 TEST REVIEW

RRD WAVE CULT LTD Y25 82L 2020 TEST REVIEW

THE VERDICT
The Wave Cult is a well-mannered machine, at home in any coastal environment. Coming to life once powered, it is playful on the wave, with a smooth and natural rail to rail carving style.

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THE LOWDOWN
2020 is RRD’s 25th season as a brand – a significant milestone that is being celebrated with the introduction of a new categorisation strategy. The Wave Cult now sits with the Hardcore Wave, Twintip and X-Fire as the brand’s ‘Pro Line’ range, and is available exclusively in their LTD construction. The lineup of six sizes are in fact the same as the V8 designs of last year, save for a graphical update to mark the quarter-century year. Short in outline, the emphasis of the design is to concentrate the volume in the centre of the board, to improve early planing. This is matched with plenty of vee and double concave under the rider’s feet, whilst the nose rocker starts early, keeping the board’s shoulders high, and finishing in a soft diamond nose outline. In the rear, the Wave Cult possesses what RRD are calling a “rounded pin winger tail” – the pronounced step in the wingers resulting in a narrow tail, said to improve the board’s tight turning capabilities. It comes supplied with diamond grooved dual density deckpads, Da Kine Velcro footstraps and a set of K4 thruster fins. The back strap is double screwed to eliminate any chance of the strap twisting, whilst there are six widely spaced front strap options to cater for various rider styles and gaits. It’s a classy looking bit of kit, the minimalist graphic on the nose highlighting the Carbon Innegra weave along the deck, contrasted by its highly polished gloss rails.

BRAND CLAIM
“This board lets you enjoy every session, even when the conditions are not ideal. It planes earlier than any other wave board and turns tight in the pocket.”

PERFORMANCE
Despite possessing the lowest quoted volume in the group, the RRD is composed in the water at rest and certainly didn’t feel the smallest here. Deliver power and it releases easily, requiring relatively little technical input from the rider. It accelerates smoothly underneath you, the nose and shoulders sitting high out of danger whilst the tail remains connected. In marginal winds, the K4 fins supplied provide the traction, but if you try to drive too hard against them, they can release and spin out, we think in part due to the pronounced double under the rider’s feet. Instead, stand over the board and use the rails to keep the board tracking. Once comfortably powered this sensation ceases, leaving the board poised and ready for action. Feeling compact and responsive, it dances over broken water on the way out, hitting ramps at speed and releasing easily. On the wave it was a pleasure to use, carrying its speed through the turn and transitioning from rail to rail effortlessly. In powered cross-onshore conditions it was incredibly forgiving, retaining its speed and enabling you to extend the turn or tighten at will to meet the section. The flex and feel through the fins certainly helped in this manner, keeping the rider connected and in control of the arc at all times. In cross-shore waves, the RRD performed equally well, its smooth carving manner allowing you to set the turn through the front foot before tightening through the back foot. One word to the wise: we initially set the board up using the middle plugs for both front and back straps, but it does make your stance quite narrow. So use the wide range available through the front strap plugs and experiment. Also, we have to say the Da Kine straps supplied with the RRD are a challenge to set and felt quite rigid initially. Take your time to set and stretch them, otherwise you’ll find yourself cursing them out on the water. With the addition of the extra slot boxes, we had the opportunity to try the Wave Cult as a quad as well, but actually felt the thruster fins supplied complimented the board best in the cross and cross-onshore conditions we tried the board in.

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VITAL STATS
Volume (Quoted): 82L
Length: 222 cm
Width: 57.5 cm
1ft off: 37.6 cm
Bottom shape: Straight vee in the nose, becoming vee with double concave behind the mast track, with both the vee and double becoming pronounced in the tail, finishing with pronounced vee after the wingers.
Weight (Naked): 6.79 kg
Fins: K4 Scorcher 17 cm (slot) + 2 x K4 Shark II 10 cm (slot).
Sail Range (Quoted): 3.7-5.4m
Sizes Available: 68,74, 82,92,104,114.