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Duotone Pace Foil Board

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Created by ActionSportsWA > 9 months ago, 23 Oct 2018
ActionSportsWA
WA, 950 posts
23 Oct 2018 6:28PM
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Disclosure: I am a retailer and sell this board, you can blindly trust every word I say, and should immediately call me to order this board :D

OK, jokes aside, being in the privilaged position of being a store owner, I do get to try lots of new kit. As it happened, I dropped into the shop on my day off (as happens all too regularly ) and happened to time my arrival to coincide with the boys prepping the new Duotone Pace foilboards for demo. Without skipping a beat, I grabbed it and ran out the door on my way to a foiling session.

The board I grabbed just happened to be the 4'6" version (also available in 4'10" and 4' 3"). I set the three straps that came with the board to the widest strap positions on the tail and the nose.

Now to fill in a bit of important background info. My current race board is a Moses Comet which I believe to be a custom board made for someone smaller and lighter than me. A friend mentioned I needed to widen my stance on the Comet board but even at its widest, It wasn't wide enough (I'm 6'3" tall). The mast track also seemed too far forward in relation to the rear strap. And so at high speeds I've struggled to maintain control especially in choppy conditions.

I rigged the 12m Flysurfer Soul 12m on 17m Lines in 8-15 knot gusty winds on the Swan River.

Back to the present. With the straps maxxed out in width, I measured where I think the mast should have set in the track, which just happened to be around mid track. I still had plenty of adjustment fore and aft. The Pace, I believe, is meant to be a fast foiler and not necessarily a pro race board. It didn't really resemble the pro race board I currently riding but it was small, tapered and had very soft curves and thin profile with a very flat deck. It looked like a fun ride but I honestly wasn't expecting much from it.

The footstraps are narrow and the deck is covered in a linear striped EVA footpad. These straps are comfortable and the deck grip is very grippy, once I snugged my feet in, I had an amazing connection to the board. This coupled with the wider stance and I had the best connection to a foil board I've ever had. This gave me incredible control at speed and at speeds where I would back off due to fear of wipeout, I felt comfortable pushing even harder. I had the fastest session with highest average speeds ever. It was so nice to feel completely in control and stable. I came in absolutely buzzing.

Now, the thing I didn't like was that the deck grip was so grippy unlike my worn sugar deck on my Comet, that it took a little more effort to slip my feet into the straps during tacks when the move should be a split second movement, it was clumsy and a bit laboured, leading to too many failed tacks. I am sure they will wear in and become easier and for most riders I guess the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. The failed tacks could also have been attributed to the massively powerful Soul or the gusty winds, or even the 17m lines (normally 13m), or more likely, it was a combination of all of the above.

The shape of the hull didn't have the thickness or heavily beveled chines the Comet has and I thought this would be a major detraction when inadvertantly touching down whilst at speed with the rail. I was surprised when each time I did touch accidentally, the board continued undaunted. On the Previous North Foil Pro, it usually ended in a heinous crash.

It was an easy water start and the shallow curved nose easily allowed the board to slide to the appropriate position to water start. Now I know that it doesn't look like most race boards, but I am having a hard time discerning the disadvantages of the Pace over a Pro race board. More testing may offer up this answer, but for right now, this was the most fun I have had on my race foil to date and definitely the fastest consistently quick.

Absolutely brilliant and easy to use, fun as hell. You really need to try this board if you are looking for a fast board which can handle a bit of everything. It's small, compact, well built and really fun. Demo, demo, demo!

DM






CJ2478
NSW, 482 posts
24 Oct 2018 8:18AM
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love the shape but hate the heinous branding on the bottom

JOYRIDER
705 posts
28 Oct 2018 3:54PM
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Select to expand quote
CJ2478 said..
love the shape but hate the heinous branding on the bottom


If all goes to plan and you stay on the board, you won't be able to see the bottom anyway

bigtone667
NSW, 1502 posts
29 Oct 2018 6:45AM
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Select to expand quote
CJ2478 said..
love the shape but hate the heinous branding on the bottom


The branding deters sharks.

railbanger
WA, 40 posts
17 Nov 2018 11:24PM
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Can you post a profile pic from the side?



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"Duotone Pace Foil Board" started by ActionSportsWA