REVIEW : 2010 Flydoor XL

My first rideable board was the Airush Square One then I graduated to a 2007 Spleene Door 154x42, which I broke after a short time. Then I got the Flydoor XL from Ricardo ...

I chose the Flydoor XL 170x50 because it was the biggest modern twin-tip I could find and it had a wood core which even fatter riders than I told me was indestructible. They are right :D

The 2010 board has two 5cm fins on the heel-side and none on the toe-side, but has a different outline on the toes to ease toe-side riding.
Board has a wood core which I mentioned and 3D carved tips that extends around the heel- and toe-side edges - thinner than the body and this allow the tips to flex over chop and whatnot, smoothing out the ride ...
The rail itself is that anti-get-broken material (ABS?) all around, maybe 6mm thick top to bottom ... which is the flex part of the board.
There's a little rocker and a bit of concave too IIRC but details like that are best left to the experts. It's not as flat and unforgivingly stiff as my smaller boards though ... blah blah blah techinical stuff pooh boring.

I love the board!
I ride it all the time cos it's just so easy to ride. Yes it's big, yes it's heavier than a small freestyle board but it planes early & easily and edges well. I'm big and fat and throwing it's bulk around isn't all that hard for me.
Set a good edge and it'll carve though most chop like you're on a rail. In flatter water, stand on top of it, keep it flat-ish and push against the fins and you'll improve your upwind angle in light wind conditions.
I've set the pads to the widest foot position and I think that's best for the board length, my height and bulk etc.
It has pop and I guess a goodly amount - it's easy to load up the edge and bounce up - you can really feel the board flex and then spring. Easier than my smaller boards for sure, which just feel like steel planks ... I'm guessing the length and 3D tips help with that. It also makes gnarly landings easier to recover from.
Without fins, toe-side seems a bit slippery, you really have to drive the edge down and keep your feet properly weighted front to rear but it can be done well enough to play silly buggers smacking waves, dodging breaker etc.
Also, I find him easy enough to carve turns with, toe to heel or heel to toe ...

It's my opinion that you need to choose the board to suit your height and weight - a smaller, lighter guy will be able to ride the XL but probably won't enjoy it as much as I do when the wind picks up. They only do L and XL 'doors now, so for a Flydoor M you could also look at the Flyradical XL which has a similar outline but 4 conventionally laid-out fins ...
One day, when the wind had dropped so I couldn't ride, I let a couple of the locals ride it (a head shorter than me and probably half my weight) and they just shot upwind like you wouldn't believe! They liked that about it ... and they enjoyed the pop and tried some tricks but it was too big for them to throw around easily. One of them tried my Flyradical L when his heavily-rockered FS board wasn't going upwind and REALLY liked that ...

The one thing I don't like about the FSer boards are the straps ... they're tough to adjust, stretch or loosen during a session and the piping material along the edge of the neoprene cover of the buckles comes off quickly and looks really ratty I prefer the velcro system of other boards. The pads and straps are comfy though.

I'm very happy with the board, truly appreciate the effort Ricardo put in to get it to me ... and would have no reservations over buying another one to replace it should something terrible happen to it :D

Haven't tried the 2011 with the center fin there's a thread over at foilzone.com that I asked about it compared to the 2010, as the guy had ridden both - he said upwind was better than the '10. The Flyrace is even more potent but requires more skill.

Also, I have only had the 2007 Spleene Door ... and broke it :D

Flydoor XL 2011 ... a step forward

How's that?

I think if I were buying a door now, I'd wibble over the middle fin on the Flydoor or the carbon fibre on the Spleene but would probably go with the FSer again.

You can briefly see details of the 3D edges etc at 0:20 here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbT6DpZu_Z4

I have to agree with you Kami. I have had the 2010 flydoor xl for a year and a half and its a stellar board. Great light wind board or for when the wind picks up its a speed demon. I purchased mine to learn on and it made learning to ride very easy. The only weird thing about owning the board is the comments which, range for why would you buy that? to that is freaking huge. Anyways I don't get it when people say "why would you buy that?" They must be blind since I'm a heavy guy and the need is obvious. Hell I consider my 143 to be a small board.