Liquid Force Kites Moon Patrol 146cm 2017
Reviews / Twin Tips
12,160
At A Glance
Liquid Force have dug deep with this one and engineered a board with links to twin tips, surfboards, mutants, snowboards, and everything in between. A truly new shape, the Moon Patrol has been designed to allow you to enjoy every surface of water you may encounter.
Taking technology from their already established boards, Liquid Force have been able to pick and choose what they like, and the Moon Patrol is a combination of some of their finest work. The nose and tail rocker hail from the Legacy and Drive giving slightly more shape to the nose to stop you digging in, likewise a smaller tail lift, from the Drive, should you be riding the board tail first. Though there is a very clear front and back, Liquid Force have made sure it is equally at home riding both ways, however, the board should be set up with your strongest foot leading.
Part of the Hippy Tech line, the hips, or widest point of the board actually sit further back toward the tail. This increases that carvey snowboard feeling of the board and really allows you to drive through the tail.
There are four extra adjustments with the stance to either have a longer tail or nose, and also for stance width.
Sizes: 146cm
On The Water
The Moon Patrol left us grinning from ear to ear. It is just extremely good fun. As a dedicated goofy footer, my initial ride was in fact riding tail forward. Expecting to go flying over the front, I heavily overcompensated but gradually brought my weight back into a normal riding position and was surprised to feel no discomfort or negativity in riding on the nose at all.
"The Moon Patrol left us grinning from ear to ear. It is just extremely good fun"
Upwind is no issue whatsoever, in fact, the basic riding experience is very similar to a standard Twin Tip for simply ‘mowing the lawn’. Of course, switching back to the true nose forward and getting a little more aggressive the board simply comes alive. Every bit of chop becomes something to play with, and all you will want to do is see how much spray you can throw up as you carve big arcs and turns.
The extra adjustments on the foot strap placement work really well here, we played around with a few different settings, and it does change the feel of the board somewhat.
Moving onto a bit of air trickery and the Moon Patrol maintains the feel good vibes. The rail of the board still provides a solid platform to edge against, and it almost feels as though you end up carving off the water in an endless wave rather than the standard pop and release; a unique but not at all unpleasant feeling.
Landings again have this special softness to them. I know Liquid Force have described the ‘Hippy Tech’ to do with the hips of the board, but I feel there is an underlying meaning here too! This is a very laid back, mellow riding board that can be happy cruising around, put a bit of back foot pressure through the tail though and things really come alive!
Overall
For some old school hooked in riding with lumps and bumps to play with and over, you would be hard-pressed to find anything quite as unique or joyful as the Moon Patrol.
Videos
This review was in Issue 63 of IKSURFMAG.
For more information visit Liquid Force KitesRelated
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.
