Duotone Fish SLS

I remember being at the Duotone meeting in Tarifa in those heady pre-Covid days when they introduced the Fish into the board lineup. Coming from a surf-orientated background, I was immediately intrigued by the ‘hybrid’ style shape – the first to be introduced into the kite ‘surf’ board world. Since then the philosophy of the Fish hasn’t changed much, but the board has evolved and has now received the SLS treatment. The SLS element sees the use of Innegra Carbon as part of the layup which brings the weight down and is designed to absorb vibrations more effectively and ensure that you can maintain speed and stability at higher speeds. The Carbon beam also runs through the center of the board keeping it stiff and adding some strength for heavier riders or for Carew-esque punts off close-out sections… These additional layups don’t pile on the pounds either, with the 5’3 we had on test coming in at 3.09kg, which compares well to a conventional surfboard construction. Which is a remarkable achievement.

Riding the Fish SLS and the first impression is the ease at which it gets going – the wide entry into the board, coupled with the relatively generous volume (the 5’3 comes in at 25.6 liters) means that you can jump onto the SLS and get riding with minimal input from the kite. From a pure ‘surf’ perspective this means that you can ride a kite a size or two smaller and let your skills using ‘wave power’ shine through, and can then still make your way back upwind without having to resort to body dragging!

For onshore conditions, the Fish’s shorter length enables you to really fit it into the pocket and to slash it around, and the wider tail and generous volume will keep it going even through fatter sections – a couple of pumps and you’re off if the wave walls up again. One thing to note here too is the thin deck grip which is of the ‘vertical grooved’ family and is a real step up in terms of comfort and control. It really makes rail-to-rail riding comfortable and tuned-in.

In more powerful ‘classic’ surf, the Fish delivers its biggest surprise in terms of some truly impressive performance and raw speed. You can really put the Fish on a rail and the stiffness and tail shape keep it locked in much more effectively than its outline would suggest, so for bigger waves and classic drawn out surf lines, it actually proves itself to be a pretty high performing weapon…