CORE Choice 3

The Choice is onto V3 and has had a serious revisit from the crew on Fehmarn. At its heart the Choice has had a ‘do it all’ philosophy, so you can ride it with straps or with boots, and it’s designed to be ridden by riders of all levels – from pros through to guys trying their first jump transitions.

Getting it out of the box and the first thing you notice about the Choice 3 is that is looks more serious, the bottom shape has had a complete change and the graphics showcase more of CORE’s brand-driving Cartan carbon. As you’ll probably have read from Josh Emanuel’s assessment in issue 27, it is a board which has the Big Air performance credentials for the top pros, but how does it perform for regular riders? First impressions before getting onto the water are that the Choice 3 is lighter – the Choice 2 was bombproof (were there any warranties?!) but pretty chunky, and V3 definitely feels slimmed down and more refined.

Getting onto the water and first impressions are that the Choice 3 offers a very smooth ride – the bottom contours and the deep ‘Vee’ hull smash through shop and take the sting out of it. This isn’t a board that has been designed with Brazilian lagoons in mind and there are better tools for the job if that is where you ride, but if chop is a reality of your sessions then the Choice 3 will minimise the inconvenience… When it comes to boosting, you can really power up the board and generate some speed – even in sub-prime conditions it really gets going – and you can accelerate before edging hard and then you get a satisfying pop and it’s lift off time! The Choice 3 really gives you something back and sends you right if you’re looking to improve your WOO record. For the landing the Choice 3’s bottom shape trickery delivers a reassuring touch down – it breaks up the surface and saves your knees from any unpleasant surprises. It’s an overused term, but landings really are silky smooth… For closer-to-the-water wakestyle moves, the pop is great and the lighter weight and confidence-inspiring landings ensure that you should easily stick your freestyle repertoire, and hopefully add some more tricks as well.

In a sentence: The Choice 3 turns the ‘performance’ dial up a couple of notches – this is a very fast board that tears through chop and then has all you need when it’s time to showcase your skills.