CORE Kiteboarding Bolt 140 x 41cm 2016
Reviews / Twin Tips
62,313
At A Glance
The new Bolt from Core is an all-out aggressive wakestyle board that can, and is encouraged to, take a beating. More and more riders these days are looking for a ‘one board does it all’ for their kitesurfing and wakeboarding needs, and the CORE Bolt seems to fit the bill perfectly.
Impressive construction and top performance make this board very attractive to those who want something to ride at all times. Built using a wakeboard construction, the board also features a snowboard style Pro Fix Grindbase, which is the first repairable grind base of its kind in the kitesurfing world. We have all been in the situation after hitting kickers or even just riding your board up the beach where there have been some quite sizeable scratches in the base of your board. With the Pro Fix Grindbase they are super easy to fix as it comes equipped with a repair pen! Allowing you to keep your board looking sharp at all times.
The Bolt is designed to be used with boots, and the reinforced inserts will ensure you stay connected to the board at all times. A true wakeboard rocker keeps landings smooth and forgiving; the flat base keeps things smooth when hitting obstacles.
There are two sets of fins in the Bolt package, a small 28mm set and a larger 48mm set, the smaller set offers perfect grip with a pleasant skatey feel. The larger fins offer even more bite when engaging the rail hard and help you charge upwind.
A board to fulfil your wildest wakestyle dreams...
On The Water
As with most wakestyle boards, the Bolt does like to be ridden powered. It gets going a little earlier than some crossover boards, but can still be controlled in monster winds. It is an incredibly quick board along the flats, and we were taken aback by just how fast it goes when riding flat out. The Bolt has massive pop, and doesn't require huge amounts of power in the kite to unleash it. The large rocker makes sketchy landings solid, and solid landings effortless, it is very confidence-inspiring for learning new tricks.
The Bolt rides well upwind, and even in slightly choppier conditions the flex of the tips meant you could still use your knees at the end of the session. Riding finless still produces plenty of grip, the six channels on each tip help you here. Hitting obstacles was a joy, not least knowing you can easily repair the base if needs be.
Overall
We were suitably impressed with the Bolt, while it is a crossover board, it would still be suited to someone starting off in their freestyle career. It has a forgiving nature and feel, it would also suit someone who is at the top of their game looking for a board to fulfil their wildest wakestyle dreams. The Pro Fix Grindbase is a fantastic feature of this board allowing you truly hit anything without the fear of messing up the good looks or ride performance.
Videos
This review was in Issue 53 of IKSURFMAG.
For more information visit CORE KiteboardingRelated
By Robin and Sukie
With years of kite sport experience combined, you can be sure you’ll be receiving the highest quality of knowledge on the best equipment the industry has to offer.
