We have been flying around for a while around the AK Phazer V2 5’6″ that we wrote about earlier. In the meantime, we also have the AK Phazer V2 5’10” in our test center. Time to test that board and compare it with the 5’6″. How will we like to go a size bigger again or is this secretly a very nice uncompromising board?
AK Phazer V2 5’10”, advantage extra volume and width
Price € 1449,- | Length 167, 6 cm | Width 73.4 cm | Volume 110 litres | Weight 6.8 kg | Carbon sandwich
A few months ago we wrote extensively about the AK Phazer V2 5’6″. A wonderful playful board with a lot of feeling and feedback. The bigger brother is less than 10 cm longer and almost 8 cm wider and has 20 liters more volume. If you see the boards next to each other, then you have to look carefully at which is the small and which is the big one. For the rest, the boards are identical in design, shape. You can also mount foot straps on the big brother. If you lift the board in direct comparison, you feel that the AK Phazer 5’10” is slightly heavier than the Phazer 5’6″ but it is still a very light board.
We go fairly under powered on the water with the Starboard x Airush Freewing V2 4.0m2 with the AK Tracer with a front wing of 1300 cm2. When we get on, we immediately notice the 20 liters of extra volume and that the board is about 8 cm wider. This makes it a lot easier for us to get on. Even with the departure we immediately feel the advantage of the extra volume. Speeding up is simply easier. In the air we also notice the extra width well. As a result, we are just a little more stable.
Most wingfoilers prefer to fly on as small a board as possible, so that the feel, directness and handling is as direct as possible. Because AK has managed to keep this board relatively short, this board still feels very direct and playful. In a direct comparison with the AK Phazer V5’6″ you hand in something, but it surprises us how playful and fun this board is to wingfoil with. We even had the feeling that because of the extra width the carving went with a little more conviction and also upwind wingfoiling went a little easier. The rigid and light construction of the board certainly contributes to the board feeling so playful and light.
Extra comfort of the volume
During the testing of this board, the wind sometimes dropped considerably. In addition to an easier start and take-off, we now also benefited from the extra volume and we could now float quietly, without having to balance up to our knees in the water. The board felt so familiar and similar to the 5’6″ during wingfoiling that we wondered if if we tested the board blindly (which is not useful with wingfoiling ;)) we would notice the difference. In a direct comparison, perhaps, but otherwise maybe not even.
Choose that extra piece of comfort from the AK Phazer V2 5’10”
In our pursuit of smaller and lighter, we sometimes forget the bit of comfort of that little extra volume. As far as we are concerned, the AK Phazer V2 5’10” is a perfect balance between very good handling, playful and light-footed sailing and the comfort of extra volume. This simply increases the range of use of this board. We have not yet tested the board in the higher wind range, but given our experiences now and the feeling of extra stability, we expect that this board is not inferior to its smaller brother even in the higher wind range.
The ultimate question then is which one would we choose? Well our wingfoil ego would say, as small as possible of course! But we were really impressed by the light-footedness of the board with the extra comfort of the volume, the AK Phazer V2 5’10” delivers just a little more of a big smile on our face.
Want to experience the difference between the AK Phazer V2 5’6″ and 5’10” yourself?
By appointment it is possible to test the AK Phazer V 5’10” and 5’6″. This is only possible if you can already wingfoil yourself. If you want advice or want to test the board of foil, please send us an email.