Boat Insider
SHORTER. WIDER.
FATTER. BETTER. PHOTO: DAN CALDWELL
TAKE A LONG, THIN STRIP of paper, put a twist in it, at- tach the ends and you create the Möbius
strip—a continu-
ous curve discovered by Ger- man mathematicians in the 1800s that, because of a simple change, seems to defy logic. When boat designer Hans
Nutz showed us Wave Sport’s latest freestyle kayak, the Mobi- us, he told us how a few simple design twists can yield surpris- ing results. Comparing the Mobius to
Wave Sport’s previous free- style machine, the Project X, you notice a few of the twists right away. The medium-sized Mobius is three inches shorter, half an inch wider and has a gallon of volume on the medi- um-sized Project X. The result? A boat that is actually faster, easier to throw around and ex- plodes more forcefully out of the water. So how does the shorter Mo-
bius gain its wave speed? “We have a little trick on the stern of this boat that actually helps it to catch waves,” Nutz explains. He’s referring to a stern release edge that’s paired with the new boat’s continuous rocker. “The combination of those two things
helps the Mobius catch waves and then shoot right down them,” says Nutz. A few quick surfs on catch-on-the-fly waves confirms it. Since the Mobius is only five-
feet and eight inches long, I expected to have way less foot room than in the Project X, but I was wrong. With more volume around the cockpit my knees are held in a higher, and slight- ly wider position,
effectively
bringing my feet closer in, and out of the shallower bow where there’s less room. This puts me in an aggressive paddling posi- tion that makes it easier to shift edge to edge. Because of the volume around the cockpit, there’s plenty of pop to go huge on loops and the bow is slicey enough to initiate hole moves like cartwheels. Wave Sport’s Core Whiteout
Outfitting is their most com- fortable offering yet. The Ad- justable Ratcheting Leg Lifter raises the front of the seat to support my thighs and is a quick and easy way to lock or unlock myself from the boat. There’s a tried and true foam foot block in the bow. The Mobius will no doubt be a weapon of choice for seasoned
freestyle kayakers but it’s also a great option for those just get- ting into the sport. It’s a truly confidence inspiring ride when paddling downriver. The wide hull is super stable, and the vo- luminous, water-shedding stern means the Mobius glides over eddy lines and bobs through boils and seams without letting grabby water flip it over. When I got lazy and leaned back, though, the bow was picked up and toppled over backwards— there just isn’t enough stern to lean on. Using small features and
waves to surf around and across the river maximizes the boat’s speed and gets me where I need to be quickly. Like the mind-boggling Mö-
bius strip that gives the boat its name, Wave Sport’s design fea- tures a few simple twists that result in a fantastically fun and friendly freestyle design. The new Mobius will add twists and turns, speed and pop to your ride. DAN CALDWELL
DIGITAL EXTRA: Click
here to watch the Wave Sport Mobius in action.
WAVE SPORT MOBIUS
THE NEW FREESTYLE KAYAK, WITH A TWIST
Wave Sport Mobius 49/57/65 LENGTH 5’6”/5’8”/6’ WIDTH 24.75”/26.25”/26.75” VOLUME 49/57/65 GAL WEIGHT 30/32/34 LBS PADDLER WEIGHT 90–160/130–200/250 LBS MSRP $1,149 USD
www.wavesport.com
www.rapidmag.com | 41
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