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The Fish arrived in the Duotone line up a couple of seasons back, and broke the mold of what we expect to see from a kite surfboard. Despite its shape it wasn’t strapless freestyle focused; it had a full ‘twin fin’ style outline but had three fins, and – perhaps most importantly – it didn’t take itself too seriously. For 2021 it has been given the full SLS treatment which, for boards, translates into more Innegra, more carbon, and a loss in weight of around 100g based on the previous Pro version (it also, of course, translates into a chunk more $ from your pocket). The other main changes that you are going to notice is the increased rocker and the pulled-in tail. Yes this is a ‘small wave’ board, but small waves don’t have to be quite so small, and people love to throw it around – so it has taken an obvious step in the ‘performance’ direction.
Riding the Fish and you can see why it has very quickly become one of the biggest selling surfboards on the market. Whatever your level, the plan shape and volume ensure that you get up and riding easily. It drives through chop, has no problems getting upwind, and is a smooth ride (helped by the cork patches under your feet). You can ride a kite size smaller for sure, or you can keep your kite and really turn on the power. For smaller waves and chop, the Fish provides enough float to maintain plenty of momentum, which enables you to treat bumps like ramps, and not have to work about bogging down if you land heavily. You can express your inner Airton (or try to) and the Fish is a forgiving platform for this.
In respectable surf the Fish gives you confidence to commit to top to bottom riding – the fins engage and inspire confidence, and the narrower tail ensures that you can whip the Fish around more like a shortboard. The Fish SLS is not a shape that you will see in your local ‘surf shop’, it is a board that has been designed for kiting and is very well executed in this respect. We would say that for 90% of wave kiters, it would make you a smoother and better wave rider.
