Nobile 50/Fifty 2018

The 50/Fifty has been the Nobile pro team’s board of choice for a number of years and we have been impressed previously with both its performance and the fact that it is quite an accessible wakestyle board for intermediate riders looking to move into a more high performance board, or to begin riding in boots.

For 2018, Nobile have collaborated with Saatchi & Saatchi for their graphics and it’s fair to say that the lineup is looking pretty special – which we have come to expect from Nobile and their unique approach to their graphics. It’s not all about looks though, and Nobile can use their considerable firepower in terms of having a dedicated multi-sport factory from which to evolve their products to produce some innovative kit. For 2018 the 50/Fifty utilizes Nobile’s Multichannel bottom, the Carbon Power Belt and the Hydrodynamic Rocker as well as their “Pre-Stress” technology which enables them to create a thinner, lighter board, while still maintaining strength and durability.

We rode the 50/Fifty both with straps and with boots. With straps it is a lively and fun board to ride, upwind performance is better than you would expect looking at the rocker line, with the fins providing enough additional traction to keep things steady upwind. It’s also a super fun board for carving around in mushy conditions and it can handle plenty of speed. Then, when you put your boots on, you have a proper freestyle weapon! The amount of pop is very impressive and it caught us out for our first few tricks. But once you are dialed in you can really capitalize on it and it feels like you have an extra second or two to get your rotations in. Landings are then very smooth with the channels providing a nice smooth and easy-on-the-knees touch down.