We asked some of the freestyle team riders to tell us about the Starboard Flare board. Here is what they said:
Julian Wiemar
The Flare is my perfect all-round freestyle board. I only need two different sizes (93 and 103) and I can freestyle in any kind of conditions around the world.
At home, in Germany, I usually use the 103 as the wind is not that strong and the water is flat. But as soon as it gets choppy or stronger than 4.8 weather I swap to the 93. It is super fast and it can handle a lot of wind and also some ramps to do some classic jumps like back- and pushloops. The Flare can do it all!
Picture is by Lotta Schmidt
Maaike Huvermann
The flare is the perfect freestyle weapon for me! I’ve been using the Flare since I was 10 years old and still love them. Whatever the conditions are, I can always take out my freestyle board to have some fun. I’ve used it in all sort of conditions from 2m waves to flat water. Just being able to go out and have fun in any sort of conditions is what I like most about freestyle.
Oda Johanne
The Flare is the board I use most of all. It´s a freestyle weapon. I´m sailing the 93 litre. It´s perfect in flat and choppy conditions. It has a great pop and it´s super stable. It is a fast board with a thick tail. Keeping the speed while going switch is also much easier with this shape. That´s the most important for me when I want to land burners and skopus, especially in choppy and wavy conditions. I really like that I just need one board size while freestyling. It does not matter if it´s super windy 3.6 conditions or light wind 5.2. It´s easy to control in strong wind and planes early in light wind. I´m using the board all over the world in places like Brazil, South Africa, Bonaire and Norway.
Picture by In To Fire & Water
Phil Soltysiak
I ride both the Flare 93 and 103. My most used sizes with the 93 are from 4.0 up to 4.7, and with the 103 I use, 5.0, 5.3 and 5.7. I find both boards to have incredible low-end capability, with good speed and pop even when underpowered, while in the high end of the wind range the boards are very easy to control and don’t feel big under your feet.
I sail the boards all over the world and find them very versatile. I’m on my way to Sylt, and I know no matter what the North Sea throws at us I’ll be on the right gear to conquer it.
Lennart Neubauer
I like the Flare because it is much shorter which helps me extremely in the power moves. It is much faster in top speed. It is super light which helps me getting more height.
I use the new Flare 87 litre in wind conditions from 3.3 to 4.8. Just perfect for me. I can easily land my moves in flat water conditions and chop.
Usually, I sail at my home spot in Naxos, Greece. This year when it´s Christmas holidays we´ll rent a camper van in Spain, so I can hopefully sail a bit in the waves in Tarifa and Almerimare. I love the spot there.
