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The Angry Swallow follows on from the groundbreaking and highly successful T-Rex hybrid and diversifies the snub-nose concept. This board provides the true ‘onshore/marginal’ option with a nod to air tricks, while its sister board, the Screamer, has a pinnier tail and is geared more towards ‘all round conditions’.
As ever with Slingshot their surfboards just look awesome, with the attractive signature bamboo veneer overlaying the board’s robust EPS core. They have found a winning combination with their construction and they have stuck with it… Their boards are light, strong and have great graphics.
This year sees the five fin boxes replaced by three once again, which Slingshot acknowledge is due to customer demand, and it’s great to see real consumer influence and a brand that’s willing to listen and adapt. The industry as a whole seems to be moving in this direction – personally we like having the option of riding this type of board as a quad but appreciate that if the majority prefer the thruster set up then the reduction in boxes saves some weight and some expense. A definite bonus is the addition of the FCS II keyless fin system, which makes fin swaps far easier and allows for some changing up to work out your preferences, although we stuck with the standard setup for the test.
On the water and the Angry Swallow provides the characteristics you would hope for. It gets up to speed quickly and – with the more parallel rail line and single concave – really powers upwind with maximum assurance. The construction provides enough flex to prevent any ‘ping’ and it’s a pleasure to cruise around on. On a wave and you can be confident with putting plenty of power through the tail, emphasized further by the stomp–pad which has been pulled further in to the tail, allowing for sharp, precise turns on a dime, no matter the state of play on the water. This, combined with the swallow tail and the thruster set up provides a whole heap of grip. The lighter weight also keeps the Angry Swallow lively under your feet and helps prevent you from getting bogged down when a section shuts down on you.
Overall Slingshot have come up with another innovative evolution of this genre of board which makes the life of a kitesurfer an altogether more enjoyable experience…
