2024 Duotone Sky Series Wingboards Overview

Tucker and Jeff chat about the new Sky Series Wingboards. You may be familiar with these as the Fanatic Sky boards, but they've been rebranded to Duotone for 2024. Find out what else is new besides the name change.

Tucker: There are quite a few models in the Sky Series, but there are some changes that are universal, including the change of their brand name. While it's always been under the same parent umbrella, now they're bringing it all under Duotone to simplify things, and, of course, it looks cool when your whole quiver has the same logo on it.

Jeff: Yes, that's the first change. I'm going to go over some of the basic differences between the boards. There's been a reshaping and a new design. When you compare the 2024 to last year's model, you'll notice right away that it's got more of a blunt nose on the board. They're both the same volume and the same length at 4'11" despite the blunt nose.

On the bottom of the board is where you're going to see a lot of the changes. On the sides of the board we have what is called a chine. It's now at an angle where it meets the bottom, and that's a big difference compared to the previous edition where the sides met the bottom nearly at a right angle.

Another difference is the width of the board. Last year's board was 23.5cm. The 2024 is 24cm, so it's a little bit wider. That's where some of the volume has moved to because of the blunt nose with the same length, and the chine which have taken off some of the literage. It's also a little thinner, though that's very subtle. But overall it's the same volume of 75 liters.

They kept the same track box length and position on the board, so they didn't make any changes to that.

Tucker: Actually, that's compared to the Team Edition model, which is the latest generation of shape that morphed into the 2024. But on the 2023 Sky Wing board, the box was a little further back by about an inch-and-a-half. The 2024 Sky Wing is essentially two generations forward in terms of the shape, even though it's only a span of one year. They redesigned the Sky Wing TE this past year but kept the Sky Wing 2023 the same as 2022.

Jeff: It's a very cool design. The color and the scheme are a little different. They still have that concave area on the top where you stand on the board, and maybe a little less volume in the nose.

Tucker: Yeah, just slightly. It's got the recessed deck with a little bit of a kick up in the tail to get another push-off. This is one we've been really stoked on, and we're amped to see that Team Edition shape coming to the more affordable, standard bamboo construction rather than just the carbon, high-density foam construction. That's the Sky Style, and they also have the Sky Free, which is the larger sizes.

The carbon and high density foam sandwich, rather than the carbon bamboo sandwich, is what they call the SLS. This is the new version of the Team Edition. It is the same shape and dimensions as the Sky Free and Sky Style, but in that upgraded construction. It's a different colorway because you've got to show everybody you spent the big bucks and you're the premium bro.

It isn't crazy light. It's light, but compared to the standard version it's about the same weight. The advantage is that it's super bomb-proof. We treated the 2023 TE roughly all year with not one repair. We beat it up; it wasn't treated nicely at all. We never used a board bag with it and we played hard and enjoyed it. I was jumping on it and slamming down flat with no issues, and it's the same construction for the SLS to give you that ultimate durability. If you're out there doing huge jumps, you definitely want this kind of construction. Not that you can't jump on the standard construction, and I definitely have in years past without any issues, but if you're going huge, it's probably a good idea to have the SLS.

It also gives you a little bit more stiffness. As you're throwing around a lot of weight, making those hard maneuvers, the stiffer the board, the better. That's going to transfer into the foil and back to your feet, and that feedback is just incrementally better. So this is the cream of the crop in terms of their board construction for 2024.

Jeff: If you had the Team Edition in the past, it's now the SLS. I got a little time on this the other day, but we're going to do a full review on these down the road once we get more time on them.

Tucker: Yep, we've dipped our finger into the pot and tasted a little bit, but we want the full experience so we can come with an informed review.

Hopefully this overview gives you the nuts and bolts of the lineup, as well as some of the changes that they've made. We'll come back to you with a formal review and what we've thought of those changes and whether they're worthwhile.

Jeff: That 75 liter was one of my go-to boards last year. I rode it in all kinds of different conditions and loved it. My first impression on the new board was very similar, with nothing really standing out as completely different from the ride experience, but I do want to ride a little bit more because it was very light wind conditions when I was on it.

Tucker: I'm pretty amped to ride them. Honestly, they look great and it's the kind of board I would use as a daily driver/one-board quiver.

Jeff: Yeah, Duotone makes a great product, which a lot of our customers are aware of. They do a good job. They're going to brand the Fanatic foils as Duotone as well.

Tucker: Yes, there were Duotone foils previously, but they were primarily for kiting. The bigger stuff for wing and SUP and windsurf was all branded Fanatic, but they're bringing that together to make it all Duotone. That way all your gear looks matchy-matchy.

Jeff: If you have any questions, hit us up here at MACkite. Give us a call, send us an email, or hop on a chat.

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