Radsail R1

Hello all, I am writing a review on my Radsail R1 mountain board, as you may know the R1 range underwent a design change and 3 emerged from it, the R1, R2 AND R3. Now I bought the R1 because it doesn't weigh much, and its fairly cheap and since I was only a beginner I didn't want to spend too much.

Know build quality, I was a bit put down on the quality, the paint work for one is not top class, in fact it could be described as Very poor, but from at distance at least it looks alright. The deck is made from solid maple which for the more experienced boarder or someone who has a Blade or something with the same lift, will not be good because there isn't much flex at all, It would be perfectly fine with a de power kite, which floats about everywhere, but I honestly, the R1 wouldn't survive a fall of more than 6 or 7 feet coming down hard, it just doesn't have the flex.

The bindings, now at first I wasn't to keen on bindings like the ones on the R1, but to be honest there not bad, the only issue I have is that they are a little too twisty, I tighten up one of the bolts on one binding and leave the other fairly loose so I don't break my ankles but even though the tightened bolts where very tight, they kept slipping, and that made holding on to the board harder.

The grips, The new boards have had a change of grip, instead of the common rubber grip, they used sandpaper and I am perfectly pleased with it, its just as 'grippy' as the rubber ones, if not more. Issues, Although they grip brilliantly, the sand paper will have to be replaced every 6 or 7 months depending on how rough you are with it, if your like me and don't use it too much then they should last at least a year and shouldn't be too hard to replace. One more thing, Radsail say they are easier to clean than conventional rubber grips but they aren't, the mud sticks to it very hard and just wont come off.

One more thing and then im wrapping this up, there is no grab handle for mid air advanced tricks, which can be a big issue!

In conclusion, the Radsail R1 is the perfect board for a beginner but when you creep into intermediate you may find you need a more flexible board. Value for money, it is only 90 pounds and is very cheap for the performance it gives.

Thanks for reading, Peety
 

By : Peety