Type: Laluz
Size: 132x40cm
Year: 2015
FIRST IMPRESSION:
DESIGN: Personally, I really like the design this board, it’s a simple design but there are some minor details which make it look special, for example the structure on the top layer of the board.
THE FINISHING: When you take the board and it’s accessories out of the box, it immediately becomes clear that Xenon does look at minor details, for example the fin plates are color-matched to the design of the board. The finishing of the board is great and again you can see that they look at the minor details which give the board a clean look. There’s also a small cirkel where you can see the wood core and the carbon layer that they used for this board. The pads and straps also look great, you have 5 stance options on each side of the pad and several options to place the straps more to the front or the back of the pads.
SHAPE: The Laluz has a pretty square outline. On the top you have grab rails on both sides that will make it easier to do board offs. And on the bottom you have a single concave in the middle that fades into a double concave near the tips which end in some small channels.
ON THE WATER
CONDITIONS: I tested the Laluz on a spot where you’ve got a small pool with perfectly flat water but you can also reach the sea where there was some chop. The wind was between 20-25 knots.
THE RIDE: It’s a very comfortable board, even in the chop it felt really smooth. It felt also really loose, but, if you need grip and you edge the board it holds its rail pretty good. Also going upwind isn’t a problem, due to it’s wide and straight outline and the channels, it goes upwind really good. It can go really fast if you want, that’s also great if you want to jump high. The Laluz feels really light and it has a lively feeling on the water.
JUMPS-LANDINGS/POP: The Laluz jumps quite good, because of it’s wide outline it has some decent pop and you can edge the board really hard before it looses control. The landings are also pretty smooth and if you land hard it still doesn’t hurt your knees and feels relatively soft. The flex in the tips really helps for the soft landings.
PADS AND STRAPS: The Xenon pads are some of the best I rode. The Naish Apex pads are in my opinion a bit better because they felt softer, but that’s personal preference.
The Straps are good and you can set them up pretty big, so if you have to ride with boots (in the winter) it won’t be a problem. The only drawback I found was that you can’t really adjust the angle of the straps because there’s only one strap and that’s made to adjust the height, however, you can place straps more to the toe side rail or more to the heel side rail. They are also really easy to install.
CONCLUSION: The Laluz Is a great allround/freestyle board. It has some decent pop which is nice for freestyle and jumps. And it won’t hurt your knees if you land a bit harder after a jump. In choppy conditions it’s still comfortable to ride as the thinner rails cut really nice trough the chop. If you are looking for a board that will boost your freestyle progression but still want a comfortable ride in rough conditions, I would certainly give this board a try.
BIGGER PICTURES: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rbegrjre8rlq ... -IKUa?dl=0
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uozQ4EbetqQ
This is a video of my first session on it.
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