When shaper Werner Gnigler built the first prototypes of new generation of Ultimate Waves, he blended the Magic Wave tail with the Ultimate Wave nose. The result was a board that allowed riders to go more vertical, hit lips with greater confidence and control, and plane much more quickly than the previous Ultimates. These hybrid boards are fun to ride and incredibly controllable, regardless of wave height.

For 2024 edition shapers made some significant changes. The centre scoop rocker line became straighter, while maintaining more bottom curve along the rails. Werner also developed an interesting Vee transformation that starts with a moderate Vee in the nose area, changes to a single concave between the straps, and finishes off with a slight Vee at the tail. These changes have improved early planing and pace, allowing you to ride waves with more speed, confidence, control, and a noticeably more radical style.

The smooth outline and thin, soft rails finish off into a refined swallow tail – a must have feature on this kind of board for maximum grip in high speed turns and ultimate acceleration carving tight turns in smaller surf.

The fin box and standing positions have been moved back slightly, giving riders the ability to adjust their turns at any time with either front or back foot pressure. This allows for greater control and manoeuvrability on the wave, letting riders truly unleash their skills and creativity from small to giant surf.

This year, all five fin boxes are slot boxes, with the ones for the side fins being even shorter. Also, the layup was adjusted slightly and the light boards provide a surfboard-like feel, making them easy to control and fun to ride.

RIDER TALK

Morgan Noireaux:

"I've personally never been so excited for a board before. The new Ultimate wave has a completely new shape and I think it is better in every way.  It's faster, smoother, and turns better. It's the culmination of a lot hard work by Werner and the team these past few years. I've spent a lot of time on it and I've never felt so comfortable or confident on a board in all conditions. It's super dependable on the wave, it never does anything strange and goes exactly where I want it to. It's also a lot faster overall which is amazing in lighter winds and more onshore conditions. It's an easier board to sail but has the ability to be super radical. I think Werner was absolutely spot on with this board and I'm really looking forward to sailing and competing on it this season!"

Robby Swift:

“The first prototypes Werner made for me were a hybrid of the Magic Wave tail with the Ultimate Wave nose and I knew we were already on a magic pathway as they quickly became the only boards I used.

I feel like I can go more vertical than ever and hit lips or pull critical carves with far more confidence and control. This added to the fact that the new board planes much quicker than the previous ultimate wave makes me think that sailors across the world are going to really appreciate this entirely new board in JP’s line-up. I have used the board in 2 foot waves at Ho’okipa and 40 foot waves at Jaws and find it equally fun to ride and controllable at each end of the spectrum and all the way in between.”