RRD COSMO WIDE BODY PRO TEST REVIEW
RRD COSMO WIDE BODY PRO TEST REVIEW
Verdict:
A premium board with refinements and lush finish typical of RRD, the Wide Body PRO is for bigger-built experienced surfers looking for a stable board to perform radical manoeuvres in good surf rather than taking the easy cruiser option. Paddles like a bigger board, surfs like a smaller board; very popular with our testers.
Overview:
At 140l, the Wide Body PRO is a voluminous high performance board for bigger riders. The extra volume is distributed to assist in stability when paddling around rather than bogging through slack sections. The tail is winged in, twice, to pare back the volume from the bulky mid section. Ships with a set of large quad fins, with a centre box to ride as a thruster. Finished with full carbon deck and bottom, smart deck pad and vibrant but restrained graphics.
Brand Claim:
Developed by Antoine Albeau; at 100kg Antoine has always looked for a board to ride in the critical section of the wave: very manoeuvrable and sharp, but with generous floatation. Wide outline for easy paddling, lots of rocker for quick turns and a wide nose with a very thin rail profile allow easy wave catching and good volume distribution.
Performance:
We surfed the PRO in good clean-offshore beachbreak conditions at Fistral Beach with the quad set up. This is a pretty light board to run down the sand with, but when you slap it on the water and paddle out it feels stable and bigger than it actually is, probably due to the increased width. Initially, the width felt a bit disconcerting, like if you weren’t careful the board would ‘run away’ once taking off on a wave. In practise, with your back foot stomped over the fins you can stick a late sideways drop with plenty of rail engaged and it will race your sucky semi-closeout to the next section. The PRO loves to project up the wave and is happy taking itself, the rider, or a bucket of spray above the lip line. Once you tune into the quad experience this board has huge potential for carving big hacks out of the wave face and incredibly tight turns. Experienced riders should find the PRO has good vertical surfing ability.
On takeoff, the podgy outline lacks glide and it needs a high paddle cadence and good positioning on the peak so don’t expect to be swooping in from way out back. Likewise, the PRO is not suited to the mellow shoulder-soldiering sup style; a level of commitment is expected from the rider! Back foot placement is critical, especially going backside, but get it right and the grip for steep take offs is great and to PRO instantly engages allowing high, fast lines to be drawn ahead of zippy cutbacks and effortless lip assaults. The Wide Body PRO is definitely a good aspirational board for larger, powerful surfers who want to go hard as well as for regular guys who want a practical performance sup without the instability of a regular ‘pro’ model. Would also suit middle-weights who surf exposed seas looking for a loose, sharp board.