Been a while since we did some board tests, sorry about that. Our fault, we lagged, had a bunch of boards to test and havent really had time to write down the reviews.
We recently surfed a NMD Winny 3D 41 (2012/13 Model), actually surfed it quite a lot this summer and really liked it. Shape works well in all conditions, template likes fast lines and barrels, trimming down the line and speed. The Winny board is kinda straighter (straighter rails) than the Player NMD board template we reckon. It makes the Player board a bit easier to turn and bottom turn than the Winny board maybe but it’s really probaly just a personal thing. We ended up using the Winny 41 3D most of the time when waves were a bit smaller and a Player 3D 40.5 when waves were heavier. It’s hard to compare boards but this can give you an idea of what we felt when we rode the board and how we felt the template works. The Winny goes fast and is working well for spins and airs. Carves were made easier with the Player template as we said but pure speed and racing down the line were probably made easier with the Winny. So we felt at least…
The Winny 3D core has the sames template as the PE core board we previously surfed and we were stoked to be able to ride the same board but just a bit stiffer. 3D is stiffer, being a sandwich of both PE and PP cores. It takes a bit of time to “break” the core a little bit and get some flex in the 3D core but once you’ve got that flex it’s perfect and lasts longer then classic PE boards. The 3D core seems to be a good mix between the flex of the PE and stiffness of the PP boards and it works in a wide range of conditions and temperatures. Can totally work in colder waters if you’ve used the board a little bit already and have made it flexier, or in Indo waters for example if your board is new and stiff. We’ve tested the 3D core in tropical waters as well as tempered waters and really liked the versatility of the board and its core.
We rode the board in DK a bit but the 41 is a little too small for us for DK (being 5′11 – 1.80m). The board would be better in 42 if you wanna DK more on the board (if you’re the soze size as us of course). We reckon 41 is too small for us to ride DK properly on it. The template will allow you to DK on it for sure (see Winny!) but Winny has a bigger board than a 41. This is not a DK board though, it’s way better for prone.
PE will probably slightly disapear and maybe 3D as well but the 3D and PE should be replaced by lower density PP (Polypro Core) which should be fun to ride. We will definitely test-ride a low density PP core ASAP and write down a little review here as well.
About NMD: NMD boards are made in Indo, at the Broady Factory managed by Nick “Mez” Mesritz (the man behind the NMD Brand), in the same factory that produces brands such as VS, HB, SCIENCE, SNIPER, TOYS, MOREY, BZ, HUBBOARDS and more… They’re all really good boards with a solid construction (Buzz Tech Laminators), CNC Machine precision for the cut of the core blanks, and hand shaped finishing touches for all boards (rails, nose and tail bumpers, nose bulbs & lamination process).
