Author Topic: Mistral M1 Race 14 Ft. (Read 11630 times)

Area 10 · « **Reply #15 on:** March 03, 2015, 01:39:49 PM »

Quote from: robon on March 03, 2015, 12:38:14 PM

I'm confused. The topic of Mistral SUPs came up on here before with similar comments that go both ways in terms of quality and performance. So, the newer Ventura touring boards are basically the old M1 race boards, but lower quality or am I missing something? Has the fin box been updated to a standard size? I like the specs and if it really is stable at 27.5", then the Ventura sounds like a great option for having a fast touring board.

I'm confused as to why you're confused

I'm no Mistral expert, but I think in the new line-up there is a new touring board that is called the Ventura and that shares similarities with the 2013-4 M1. Then there are some new raceboards which are high-performance (read: fast but tippy). The raceboards are likely to be light but fairly fragile, like most low-weight raceboards. I don't see any comments about any lowering in quality. The Mistral 2015 webpages explain the range fairly well. Is that any clearer?

capobeachboy · « **Reply #16 on:** March 04, 2015, 03:43:44 PM »

Yes the Mistral Ventura is based on the old M1 but has a different deck pad, wood exposed on part of the deck, some bungee tie downs and a standard fin box. It is a very high quality board - the wood is part of the construction and wraps the entire board (I always wanted to sand one down to the wood & gloss coat it). The M1 Open Ocean is a Steve Brom design that is a nice rough water/downwind design, and the M2 Flatwater is just over 24" wide and not super tippy when you get used to it and fast as hell. The old M1 is a nice board as I described in the previous post. You're not going to win the BOP on it but it's fast, stable, rugged and a really nice looking board. If you're just getting in to racing it's a good place to start.

robon · « **Reply #17 on:** March 04, 2015, 05:03:40 PM »

Quote from: capobeachboy on March 04, 2015, 03:43:44 PM

Yes the Mistral Ventura is based on the old M1 but has a different deck pad, wood exposed on part of the deck, some bungee tie downs and a standard fin box. It is a very high quality board - the wood is part of the construction and wraps the entire board (I always wanted to sand one down to the wood & gloss coat it). The M1 Open Ocean is a Steve Brom design that is a nice rough water/downwind design, and the M2 Flatwater is just over 24" wide and not super tippy when you get used to it and fast as hell. The old M1 is a nice board as I described in the previous post. You're not going to win the BOP on it but it's fast, stable, rugged and a really nice looking board. If you're just getting in to racing it's a good place to start.

Thanks. The Ventura is interesting because most boards with that amount of volume are usually 30"+ wide and quite slow. Stability is a relative term, but if it is relatively stable and handles ok in rough water, then the Ventura is a board that I will definitely consider.

PonoBill · « **Reply #18 on:** March 04, 2015, 09:30:44 PM »

Cool, someone who is older than me (68), Your windsurfing days may be over but wait 'till you get a good downwinder under your belt. I still windsurf a little, though I do it on an SUP instead of a windsurfer, but if it's blowing in the Gorge or Maui, I'd rather downwind. It's like crack, only a lot more addictive.