SIMMER FLYWAVE 85L 2020 TEST REVIEW

SIMMER FLYWAVE 85L 2020 TEST REVIEW

THE VERDICT
A live wire of a board, the Simmer has a familiar feel and character, with an altogether very contemporary and compelling twist. Get yourself the thruster setup to realise its potential in all but the most perfect cross to cross-off conditions.

THE LOWDOWN
The 2020 Flywave lineup consists of the same four sizes as the fourth generation series introduced in 2019. Described as their ‘ground swell’ wave board lineup, the design incorporates the fast efficient rocker of Kai Katchadourian’s Jaws inspired stick, yet has been evolved thanks to the input from their young PWA star Marc Paré. There’s vee with double concave throughout the board’s bottom shape, said to provide smooth rail-to-rail transitioning whilst maintaining control as it irons out the impacts from messy seas. The more noticeable feature of the Flywave’s outline is its marked wingered step in the tail, finishing in a straight edge to its swallow tail, giving it quite an aggressive appearance. The idea is to provide improved grip and stability during powerful top turns. Produced in Vietnam using the brand’s Electric Flex Technology (including a PVC stringer, providing flex and stiffness where needed), for 2020 all Simmer boards now have a ‘Hot Coat Finish’ – a process whereby a colour pigment is implemented into the outer layer hard epoxy gel coat. The benefits, Simmer say, are significant, with improved UV and scratch resistance, truer colours and a reduced overall weight, as a base coat layer and two layers of top coat paint are now replaced. It is certainly a light board when put on the scales naked, weighing in at less than 6.0 kg! Supplied with a set of Simmer’s own quad fins, the Flywave houses five slot boxes, so that it can be configured according to conditions and riding style, from quad to thruster and twinzer. All the straps benefit from double-screw inserts, to eliminate any twisting, sitting on thick dual-density diamond-grooved deckpads.

BRAND CLAIM
“I’ve sailed the Flywave all over the globe and in all imaginable conditions and there is no board that I trust more in a bottom turn than this board. There is no limit to how hard you can push it.” – Marc Paré.

PERFORMANCE
Easily the lightest on test, the Flywave feels small yet nimble underfoot, sitting low in the water at rest and requiring a good turn off the wind as power is supplied. Rising to the surface, it releases quickly and accelerates in an instant, feeling fast and alive once going. With the quad setup supplied, it is planted and grippy through its narrow tail, dancing over chop with an energetic and edgy nature. This alive character might unnerve the timid pilot, yet will inspire the more experienced, encouraging them to drive it hard into the corners. In large clean faces, the grip through the tail of the board is wondrous, the fin and thin rails sucking the back of the board through the turn to help steer the nose back up to the face. In cross-onshore conditions however, we found the level of grip almost overbearing, making the board stiff and hard to redirect. Change the board to a thruster however and its fortunes are instantly transformed. It feels much freer through the tail, playfully transitioning from rail to rail without a chance of catching or getting stuck. It allows the rider to use the board’s innate speed and play its grip through both rails and fins to really make the most of tight pockets and challenging conditions. One observation to note – when setting the straps larger, the toes of our front feet rested off the front deckpad and on the non-slip deck. It wasn’t uncomfortable necessarily, just took some getting used to. Some even liked the sensation, confirming that the foot was fully seated in the strap.

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VITAL STATS
Volume (Quoted): 85L
Length: 223 cm
Width: 58 cm
1ft off: 39.0 cm
Bottom shape: Vee with double concave from nose to tail, finishing in flat vee in tail. The double is most pronounced behind the mid-section.
Weight (‘Naked’): 5.80 kg
Fins: Simmer 2 x M105 (Slot) + 2 x BT150 (Slot).
Sail Size: 4.0-5.6m
Sizes Available: 72,78, 85,92.