Tough full-wood construction, solid grip and control with eye-catching graphics
THIS TEST FIRST APPEARED IN ISSUE #93 IN JUNE, 2018
TEST TEAM NOTES:
Takoon’s most all-round twin-tip is quite a spectacle. You’re not going to lose sight of it in the sea when you fall off! The wood core is nice and visible beyond the colourful top sheet and in general this is a well made board that’s available at a budget price. The bonding between the top and bottom sheet is really well done and there are no rough joins anywhere. You may recognise the pads and straps as being remarkably similar to Naish’s, which are easily one of the best designs on the market in terms of adaptability and comfort. Takoon have obviously used the same mould, but there’s a bit less detailing in the material finish and the pads are less contoured, but the result is a soft but supportive set-up that should fit all feet with no problem areas and skin rub.
The Source is pleasingly light as a freeride board and although it doesn’t have the sort of tough base that you can use to ride up a stoney beach very often, it’s robust enough for all the usual demands you might throw at it. In terms of the freeride spectrum, the Source is bang in the middle, in both ride feel and manufacture. It’s fairly light, pretty well produced and is perfectly acceptable. When it comes to the ride it’s a solid all-rounder, so beginners, intermediates and advanced riders could all get on this and have fun straight away.
We had the 133 on test for the longest, which ordinarily would be quite small for us, but given the strong conditions of Cape Town, we had plenty of power and actually found the smaller size to be nice and manoeuvrable and really easy to hold down against a powerful kite pull. Ideally, if you’re 65 kilos and above you should be looking at the 136 or bigger, but if you’re small, or you ride in strong winds a lot, then the 133 is surprisingly versatile and we rode it for several sessions without feeling restricted because it’s small. The versatile nature of it just seems to work regardless.
So what did we like? Well, the Source literally does everything to a good standard. It’s quick and lively but also has a lovely looseness to it, so it’s fun without feeling too locked in and working your legs really hard. Beginners will probably like a bit more bite for tracking upwind, but as soon as you start learning your slide turns or want to make choppy conditions feel smooth, then the Source offers a nice mix of directional ability with loose release. It’s actually a very easy board to ride from the first time you get on it.
There’s plenty of rail grip for carving and the flex is more suited to a flowing carvey style of riding than an aggressive load and pop style. If you’re using your kite for lift, then the Source easy to hold a rail in and then carve up into wind on take-off. Also what’s really nice, considering both the price and the intermediate nature of this board, is that there is a pretty good feel of performance feedback for your back foot, which is a very current design trait of the freeride sector’s leading models. So we were pleased to feel that element in the Source.
SUMMARY:
The Source has enough of everything. It’s fairly quick, offers lots of control and is efficient enough to have plenty of drive without needing to be very stiff. There’s no obvious detailing in the deck of the board to shout about, yet there’s plenty of grip for easy access and yet it’s loose enough for comfort and fun popped trick progression in choppy conditions. Takoon have produced a very general all-round twin-tip that offers quite crisp performance levels with enough comfort for all-day riding.
KW LIKED:
Everything about the Source is about comfort mixed with accessible good performance. It does that very well and it’s well fitted out, too.
KW WOULD CHANGE:
The colours won’t be to everyone’s tastes.
SOURCE BALANCE POINTS:
Build quality: 7
Fixtures and fittings: 8
Speed: 6.5
Pop: 6.5
Drive: 6.5
Flex: 7.5
Comfort: 8
Looseness: 7
Grip: 6
Upwind: 7
Slider proof: No
Boots applicable: No
Freeriding: 8
Freestyle: 6.5
Ease-of-use: 8.5
SIZES: 146 x 43, 139 x 42, 136 x 41 and 133 x 40cm
