Slingshot T-Rex 5’4” 2014
Reviews / Surfboards
34,266
At A Glance
Slingshot have totally revamped their surfboard line up for 2014, and the T-Rex is the flagship in terms of design. It’s different, very different, from anything you may have seen on the market. By removing just under a foot off the nose the weight of the board is reduced, which makes it perfect for aerial freestyle. Whilst the nose has been chopped the board retains the dimensions, in terms of width and volume, of a much larger board than the 5’4” stature it boasts. There is plenty of volume underfoot and the width at 18 3/16” makes it fairly wide too. With a total of 26 litres of volume Slingshot have effectively packed alot into a very short length. There is a simple concave underneath and the rail shape is about as classic as you could get. The rear end boast a deep swallow tail to help with drawn out carves and there is a good amount of tail and “nose” rocker with a flat section for speed in the middle. It comes with 5 fins, and you can either ride it like that for the ultimate in low-end power and drive, or set it up as a fast and loose quad, or even a traditional thruster. Pads are factory fitted, but the straps are of course totally optional.
On The Water
The initial impression of the T-Rex was that it felt a little twitchy and skittish underfoot, it was also mentally quite strange to ride as it just looks so outlandishly different and your brain takes a few runs to adapt. As soon as we dropped into a wave however, all these thoughts were gone and the board just, well it just worked! And it worked really, really well, the carves and turns that you can make on the T-Rex are verging on the ridiculous. As soon as you forget about the weird shape and just let your body do the riding you unleash the potential of this design. On steep faces where you think you might bury the nose, you can’t because the nose isn’t there… It’s a snappy aggressive board on the wave in its 4-fin configuration, and you’ll find yourself making moves you didn’t think were possible. I lost count of the number of floaters I nailed in one session! Set it up as a tri-fin and it will feel even more familiar. 5-fin mode felt very locked in in terms of sliding the back end out, as you would expect, but it did increase the boards ability to get going early.
Heading out in big waves can be a little daunting, as the board is so small, you feel like you need the nose to help it over the white water, but good technique and belief that the T-Rex can do it will see you over some serious white water mountains. It’s also heading out where you will notice its other asset, getting air. If you took a hyperactive kid, fed him a diet of Monster Energy, Red Bull and pure sugar, then glued his feet to a pogo stick you might get close to what this board is like. The T-Rex is so light it just jumps off every little lip and piece of chop, and it floats in the air and sticks to your feet like Jennifer Aniston’s stalker. You really have to try this board to believe it.
Overall
Could this be the best wave board I have ridden in recent times, in terms of something totally new and refreshing? Definitely. It certainly isn’t your traditional thruster set up; it’s a whole new breed of beast. Fun, exciting, unbelievably good in the waves and amazing in the air, what’s not to like? Nothing. Perhaps a picture of an actual T-Rex, eating a cave man whilst flying a helicopter on the deck would make this the greatest board of all time…
This review was in Issue 42 of IKSURFMAG.
For more information visit SlingshotRelated
By Rou Chater
Rou has been kiting since the sports inception and has been working as an editor and tester for magazines since 2004. He started IKSURFMAG with his brother in 2006 and has tested hundreds of different kites and travelled all over the world to kitesurf. He's a walking encyclopedia of all things kite and is just as passionate about the sport today as he was when he first started!
