Nobile Kiteboarding Gamechanger 145 x 43cm 2021
Reviews / Twin Tips
39,091
At A Glance
The 2021 Nobile Gamechanger is a new wakestyle weapon from Nobile Kiteboarding! With a new construction and added larger sizes, this sure is a freestyle machine with a stealthy look, ideal for those riders who throw down huge tricks and want a solid landing.
The board features an ABS sandwich construction which seems to be the industry standard amongst a lot of current boards. The Gamechanger uses a wood core allowing it to be strong, flexible and relatively lightweight, everything you want in a freestyle board. Nobile have also introduced their 3D technology into this board. 3D technology allows more flex in certain areas of the board, meaning a better response, shorter reaction time, but still having a forgiving feel.
The Gamechanger is a longer board than other twintips, and features lots of channels on the base. The multi-channel system is made from two deep channels that run deep into the deck all the way from one tip to the other. You can see from our images that this board has a large rocker to it and shouts wakestyle when you look at it!
The board comes in a variety of sizes: 136x41cm, 139x41.5cm, 142x42.5cm, 145x43cm, 148x43cm.
Before moving on to discuss its performance on the water, I can’t help but mention how nice this board is on the eye! I love the stealthy look and basic colourway on both the deck and base of the board. Paired with the orange fins to give it some ‘pop’, it sure is a head turner!
On The Water
We tested this board down at Poole on a solid windy day. I have to express how well this board performed through the chop, it just glided through the water like a knife through butter and made holding an edge so effortless. This just made the session so much more enjoyable because I was able to focus more on performing tricks and it gave me the confidence to try new manoeuvres.
The deep channels on the base of the board gave it so much grip! The fact they run from both tips allows the board to be glued to the water. The board really reminded me of strapping into a wakeboard. With its heavy rocker line paired with its deep channels, this ensured the board gave the rider great pop but also very comfortable landings. Everyone knows that landing gnarly freestyle moves can be a heavy hit to the knees and it can be very easy to skid out, so having a board with this construction and design details ensured landings were smooth.
Its upwind performance wasn’t too bad either. There’s definitely boards that shoot upwind more efficiently, but we must remember that this board has been specifically designed for intermediate to advanced riders whose kite discipline is wakestyle/freestyle.
We let a member of our kite community try this board out and this is what he had to say, “A slight lack of upwind performance is made up by its smooth ride for a wakestyle board. Characteristic load and pop capabilities with locked in landings make it a versatile board for flat water and chop alike”.
Overall
Now, this is definitely a board that is catering for experienced riders who know what they want. With a big rocker and deep channels, it’s fantastic for producing pop and will definitely help you progress if freestyle is an area you either want to dive into or already do. Beginners will struggle on this board, luckily, Nobile have other boards in the range that are better suited to freeride, big air and entry-level riders. For the advanced rider on the hunt for a new freestyle board, the Gamechanger will change the game! It does what it says and will provide you with sessions where the stoke levels go through the roof! It performs fantastically in flat water spots but also glides through chop easily. The only way to see the benefits of this board is by strapping one to your feet and sending it!
Videos
This review was in Issue 87 of IKSURFMAG.
For more information visit Nobile KiteboardingRelated
By Liam Dredge
Liam fell in love with all Watersports after completing numerous seasons aboard, he then picked up kiting whilst in the warm tropics of the Carribean and has been obsessed ever since! Anyone that knows him would say it's near the only thing he talks about (which drives some crazy), and he loves to keep up to date with all the latest news, equipment and events that kiting has to offer. Liam also runs his own Watersports Centre along the south coast of the UK, LOOP Watersports, which is where our IKSURFMAG Test Centre is located!
