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RRD have had a busy couple of years and have been working hard to build and develop their freestyle team. They now have an impressive lineup of riders who have all had some input into the latest version of the brand’s iconic freestyle machine, the Juice.
For V4 the board has increased rocker, and has returned to a continuous rocker line. Then there is a new 3D deck shape which helps to maintain the rocker line regardless of water pressure on the base, so prevents it from inverting when you’re landing. The board also has a P-tex base (the only one in the RRD lineup) so is pretty much bombproof and you can thrash it around on features or at the cable and with confidence…
On the water the Juice V4 gave a comfortable ride even in choppier conditions which was a nice surprise for a no-compromise wakestyle board. Similarly, the upwind performance on it was good and better than expected for this style of board. We rode it with both straps and boots and would have to say that this is 100% a board for boots – you need to ride it fully powered to get the most from it and you simply can’t do that with straps. When it came to full load and pop freestyle, the Juice V4 is exceptionally exciting. You can really load up and hold an edge, with the hull channels on the nose and tips adding to the speed and grip, and then you have a lovely release which propels you towards freestyle stardom! Landings are smooth, with the channels displacing the water to soak up the power, and the new 3D shape does seem to hold the rocker line and you ride out of landing with plenty of speed and a nice solid feel. For boosting you can really hang on to that edge and the sky is the limit…
In a sentence: The Juice V4 is a menace! If you want a top-end freestyle machine for wakestyle riding, then the latest version of the Juice delivers in all departments.