All,  I recently had the chance to demo both boards for a few sessions so thought I would share my thoughts.  Big thanks to Richard at seabreezesports.com for the demos.

Firstly, I have been riding 6 years, weigh 70+kgs and fly Rhino 07 10m and 14m with a 132 twintip.  I ride in the sea (Channel Islands) in surf, wind blown chop and sea swell. Style is freeride, forward and back rolls, big airs, surf, grabs off chop. Basic all round having fun. Not into powered wakestyle moves or big kiteloops.

Board quality seems v good. Comfy straps and pads etc. All good.

First session was light onshore wind, 14m, strong shore break. Swapped between boards and felt at home on each one when I swapped. No real adjustment to ride, just a little less edge pressure required to carve up wind. The 150 upwind is awesome. I dropped a board off for someone well down wind and made it back to my start point in one tack so very impressed with that. 140 also good upwind but not as good as the 150. Also noticed both were very smooth over the chop but also riding over the knee to waist high white water – almost as if it wasn’t there. Finally, after 2.5 hours I had to stop but felt I could have ridden all day. No leg fatigue at all, probably from the smooth ride.

Second session 27-34 kts on beach. 10m. Other riders on 9 and 7 said they were well powered. I was well powered. 140 handled it very well. Different location, cross shore with lots of wind blown chop and wavelets. Lot of fun and rode for two hours on the 140. Held the kite well and pulled some huge jumps with very little effort. Took a while to dial into that but less effort just before take off seemed to do the trick. Kite popped 180 very easily and also slid round on the surface very easily too. 2 hours and again, no leg fatigue.

Third session. Both boards, 20-25 kts, same location. Good on both boards but preferred 140 overall as felt a bit sportier – closer to my old twintip. 150 still fun though and easy to switch 180 popping or sliding. Easy to ride both boards slowly to ‘hunt’ for waves, suggesting good low end on both.

Fourth session. 14 kts average. Took 10m and 150 and had a great time. Plenty of power to ride the waves and the board carried me through the lulls. No problem going upwind either.

I read up on reviews before I tried out the boards and looking back I agree with the general review comments – smooths the chop, good low end, great upwind, great for jumping, saves the legs. 150 a bit more locked in, bit better low end and upwind.  Overall I really enjoyed both and they suit my style perfectly. Aside from these differences they felt similar, so easy to jump from one to the other. First choice for me is the 140, probably because it is a little sportier and more like the twin tip I am used to. I still liked the 150 though and let me get out on my 10m instead of the 14m.

So, million dollar question – which one?  140 and 150. Got a good deal on the 150 as scratched up through previous demos so I bought both and sold both of my old boards. I will ride both and will enjoy either in a range of conditions e.g. if I go out in light winds with the 150 and it picks up, no need to change to the 140. Generall, I think I will use the 150 when the waves are good or for lighter winds on the 14m / marginal on 10m. 140 for more powered sessions.

If you are looking for a new board these are definitely worth a try. Great fun.

Cheers,

Mike

Mikey likes it

sweet review dude!

Love it, thanks for such a thoughtful and thorough review Mike!

Oh, and -> Welcome to the Crew!

John Z

  if I read well, it seems I made the right decission…my Mako 140 is on its way..I was always wondering if I made the right choise…my only board right now is a spleene door 159…

I understand I will need a couple of weeks to get used to it, but from what I read…that seems not to be a problem, although , I entered kiting last year at 54y, so I am looking forward to improve my skills with my new Mako for the higher windranges (for me this is 14/15 knots till 25/26)

I hope I can fly my FS speed² 15 up to the 13/14 knots now with the mako…but maybe I wil take my ozone sport 11m sooner with the mako…who knows…but as soon as I found out I let you know, because it is important to other beginners too, they have not a lot to read about these things, as it seems only “cracks” are reporting back

anyways, till now I read and find I made the right choise.
Nd

Hi Dude,

Yep 140 is a good decision for you I think, as you already have a big board for light winds.  There is a lot of everlap between the boards so neither is a bad decision in my limited experience.  It is very easy to ride so you will be enjoying it in no time.

enjoy!

mike

Was the 150 better in big chop ?
I typically ride in lakes with huge chop and rollers.
I also want a board to travel with and I want to be able to ride in the flats and boost and do rolls and alos take it to the ocean and rip waves, is the 140 good enough for wave cuts ?
I think the 140 might be a nice (one board) for travle.
Thanks

dcole5,

Too early to give you advice - I had under an hour combined in big ocean swell / chop out back and both boards took it very well. As for real wave riding I’ve got a long way to go to really explore these boards potential…...forecast 30kts and big swell tomorrow though…

Cheers,

md

Maidentrip from our Mako’s and Zen 129…..WOW

Thank you Richard Thompson, from Seabreezesports.com, he turned the world upside down, to get these boards to us, due to that, we were able to go and test them on such a nice winterday! today sunday, it is ugly rainy weather, so all the pieces fell together at the right moment!
Thx Richard!!

7°c to 8° celcius, beautifull day, low tide, wind 18 to 20 knots…sometimes gusts…till wind turned south west, then steady wind.

Vinnie out with his 7m Ozone Sport II 65kg Advanced rider
I was out with my 11m Ozone Sport II 83kg Not a beginner…not a crack at all ,;:=))

We did not spend time to add the Go Joe , this will be done next time, now we wanted to get those boards on the water!!

The boards:

Mako 140   WOW….Vinnie says, ripping the little waves that came with the flood is made so easy with this board..just waiting for some bigger waves!!

For myself the mako was a real good experience! No nosediving..getting out against the running in mini choppy waves was a real treath….thank you Mako OR

The ZEN 129 WOW the better one for Vinnie’s Freetsyle tricks…so easy to master, ..what a POPPER!! Today on flat water he rode the Zen ( mako as wel) and was super happy with this board..

Vinnie says , they ( OR) make better boards than a brand with a “Noble” name, which he used to use!!

Vinnie has a 666 nobile, and a RRD Toxic wave, both are not even in the shadow of this Mako and Zen.

He said : just in this little session the Mako gave him more pleasure than he ever had with the RRD Toxic wave!!!

I know it is a short review…but why do we have to write a book about it, if we just could add a piece of music here it would be…the old Tina Turners song:
SIMPLY THE BEST!!!
Dude

Just been reading some old posts and thought it was about time to resurect this one now that people have had more time on both the 140 and 150 Mako.

Is it still the case that the 140 is just as good as the 150 but aimed more at the lighter rider? Some would say that the extra 10cm in length makes all the difference but does it? Was the 140 introduced purely to capture that part of the market that wanted the shorter length board? There have been some informative and interesting posts to read in the past and it would be good to read some more!

Also have many tried using their Mako 140/150 with the larger fin at one end as Evan did in Mexico earlier this year? How are they in the waves compared to the Mako Surf? Do they need as much power in the kite?

Hello All! I’ll give you my personal take on the boards.

If you intend to use the board in the surf you are best off with the 150. The added area of the bottom gives you more surface area to get up on the wave face with and to really be able to kill the kite and carry your momentum down the wave.

Both boards ride very well in coastal choppy conditions with the 140 being an easier board to pop around to toe side on, this gives the 140 a looser feel in riding it which can be a lot of fun but if you are looking to lock out at maximum speeds the 150 has a more solid feel as it is not quite as loose.

With regards to fins you can certainly experiment. I know many riders have played around with 2.5” to 3.5” fins on the board, though if you are to switch I would not recommend bigger than 3”. These new fins give the board a lot of bite in the turn but do also reduce your ability to easily pop around to toe side, requiring you to ollie the board and not slide it around. I’ve found from my own experimentation that I prefer the stock sized fins and to just focus on driving my weight forward in the turns with the board to ensure I carve all the way through the turn. Too much back foot pressure will wash the board out and will lead you to wanting to use the bigger fins.

Hope this helps!

JohnZ is spot on. I have both boards and, whilst I don’t get out much I rode them back to back again this weekend in a mix of conditions:

Saturday, average chop and waves with wind dropping so I took the 150. I was holding my line upwind on my 10m Rhino when my friend on a Rhino 14 was heading downwind on a normal size twintip. I think the reason was that with the smaller kite and bigger planing area I could get on the plane instantly and then generate speed very quickly, keeping my momentum out through the white water to get out back without losing ground downwind. It was almost cross shore.  On my old twintip I would power stroke, sink, try again and then eventually generate some speed to get through the waves.

Sunday was more powered and with huge swell so I took the 140. It felt great, like a very smooth twin tip, very lively in comparison to the 150 but bouncier through the swell out back and less ‘assured’ on the wave. I went back in for the 150 and it felt better instantly. It easily coped with the gusts, was smoother through the mixed chop and better on the waves - I echo everything Johnz says. It is really a ‘magic carpet’ ride for me. Heading out, as on Saturday I picked up speed on the first power stroke and this saved me on a few occasions from hitting a breaking wave head on as I had already passed over it! Also, helped me out when I went vertically down a steep face - it simple pulled out at the bottom and kept going where I’m sure the 140 would have stuffed the nose (my old twin definitely would!).

Overall these board have some similar characteristics but also differ more that 10cm might suggest. I can enjoy either board in any conditions - both plane earlier that other twintips I have tried, both very smooth, easy to hold the power, carving great. I would not choose between them based on rider weight but based on what style of riding you enjoy.

For waves and heavy ocean swell I will take the 150 every time - more of a cadillac feel. Also for marginal conditions, to get me out on the 10m rather than the 14m.
For flat water, jumping and tricks the 140 wins out - sportier feel and easier to throw around.

Buy both if you can!!!

Hope this helps. This is of course all my own opinion and based on my own riding style and local conditions.

Cheers,

Mike

Note: both boards have the stock fins - weight forward more as Johnz says and both boards carve beautifully.

I’ve been riding the 150 for a year now, and love it. Ordered the 140 and hope to get it soon. Love the 150 !!!

Tried the 140 today in our UK coastal chop. A very comfortable ride. Really made light work of the bumpy conditions experienced this afternoon. I really liked it! And I jumped big with it too

I bought the 140 about a month ago and tried it in heavy chop in the local lakes. Awesome, I never dug a tip and it handles very well and never tired me out.
Just got back from S. Padre and it was great in the flat water also. I was going back and forth between my Abords Z series and the 140 Mako and I was popping about the same on both and the upwind was very close. The landings were smooter on the Mako and the board is very forgiving. the Only thing I liked about the Aboard better was the very precise edge when just all out laying it down in flat water. Overall both incredible boards and I think it says a lot that the Mako can keep up with such a dedicated flat water board.
BTW, I saw quite a few 150 and 140 Mako wides in S. Padre. Everyone is digging the board.

Ok, I demo’d a ‘09 Mako Wide 140 this past weekend. I’m currently riding a Nobile EXT 139. Here are my thoughts:

The Mako 140 was very smooth through chop and waves, the pads were much more comfortable than the stock Nobile pads. The wind was between 15 and 20 knots and I was well powered on a 14m. I loved the board in waves and jumping, my only problem was that I had to fight to get it upwind. I took my EXT out and cruised upwind. I just could not get it to dig an edge and really race upwind, I could get it to somewhat stay upwind, but not as well as my EXT. The EXT just held an edge better it seemed like.

So I want the Mako mainly for waist high waves and chop. I want it to replace the EXT as my lightwind board. How much better is the 150 at going upwind. Unfortunately my local shop only has the 140 to demo, I really like the feel of the board, but I like to be able to stay upwind in pretty much any wind.

Oh, and I’m 6’0, 185 lbs. and typically riding in 12 - 25 knots.

Any suggestions?

ajones - 15 June 2009 08:45 AM

Ok, I demo’d a ‘09 Mako Wide 140 this past weekend. I’m currently riding a Nobile EXT 139. Here are my thoughts:

The Mako 140 was very smooth through chop and waves, the pads were much more comfortable than the stock Nobile pads. The wind was between 15 and 20 knots and I was well powered on a 14m. I loved the board in waves and jumping, my only problem was that I had to fight to get it upwind. I took my EXT out and cruised upwind. I just could not get it to dig an edge and really race upwind, I could get it to somewhat stay upwind, but not as well as my EXT. The EXT just held an edge better it seemed like.

So I want the Mako mainly for waist high waves and chop. I want it to replace the EXT as my lightwind board. How much better is the 150 at going upwind. Unfortunately my local shop only has the 140 to demo, I really like the feel of the board, but I like to be able to stay upwind in pretty much any wind.

Oh, and I’m 6’0, 185 lbs. and typically riding in 12 - 25 knots.

Any suggestions?

I’m not any expert on the Make wide, but I heard from several people that you distribute your weight more evenly between the footpads than most boards.  Try putting more weight on your front foot than you normally would on most boards.

Supposedly, the Mako wide 150 is supposed to ‘out point’ most boards upwind.

Allen