Description
Custom X Drop Knee Bodyboard Review
This is Custom X’s drop knee bodyboard. It is designed with the drop knee template. At first look you can tell it’s a drop knee board. To me, it looks like a hybrid bodyboard/surfboard combo. But that’s realistically what’s intended. The board is literally perfect for drop knee bodyboarding. The board has a sick look to it – A solid black deck with yellow highlights. At the top of the board is the custom x logo in yellow which is where you would put a plug for your leash. On the bottom right side you have the XDK series branding. In my opinion this color scheme works very well and it looks awesome.
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Custom X Drop Knee Bodyboarding
As i mentioned, this board is the drop knee board to have. You still get all the same high end custom x quality features, but at the same time you get a different template than what is usually offered in custom x bodyboards. This the drop knee template. Typically with a drop knee bodyboard you want something stiffer as the bodyboard is going to be holding all of your weight as compared to just your torso with prone template bodyboards. If you’re looking for a board to really get into drop knee bodyboarding and you’re a fan of everything that custom x offers in their bodyboards then you need this board.
Check out this video of some sick drop knee bodyboarding on Custom X Bodyboards.
Custom X Bodyboard Review Features
What exactly is inside the XDK board? – Let’s take a look!
- Drop Knee Template
- Expanded Beaded Polypro
- Filmed TCD Deck
- High Grade Surlyn Slick Bottom
- Double Rails @ 60/40
- Full Crescent Tail
- Full Length Bottom Concave Channel
- Double Graphite Stringer w/ optional third graphite stringer
- Length:43″ Width: 21.25″ Nose: 8″ Tail: 18.25″
This board is stiff thanks to it’s core and stringers
Ideally what you want out of a drop knee bodyboard is very rigid and stiff properties that you’re not going to find in regular bodyboards. In this custom x bodyboard review you’re going to learn what the features of this drop knee bodyboard give the board it’s stiffness and rigidness. The expanded beaded polypro core that is featured for this custom x bodyboard is pretty much top of the line as far as cores are concerned. Expanded beaded polypro is going to give this board a ton of buoyancy, which means it will float very well and keep the board nice and stiff – the way you want it.
This board also comes with two graphite stringers. Typically the more stringers you have in your bodyboard the stiffer and more rigid the bodyboard is going to be. But like i keep saying, this bodyboard is all about drop-knee boarding and that’s what you want. What’s even nicer is if you’re a bigger guy – or you just like the added stiffness, you can opt in for a third graphite stringer. Basically there’s going to be three graphite rods running vertically down the bodyboard. As far is the flexibility of the board is concerned there’s not going to be much according to the specifications. But you really don’t want a whole lot of flex for drop-kneeing. It makes it that much harder to stay on your board. Think of it like this – surfing is standing up on the board and drop-kneeing isn’t too far off of that. A surfboard doesn’t flex at all and i think most surfers would agree that any board flex would be a pain in the ass. Anyways, the board is still going to be fairly light thanks to the graphite material the stringers are made out of.
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The bottom slick of this drop knee bodyboard is made form a high-grade surlyn plastic. As far as high end bodyboards are concerned, surlyn plastic is the best of the best for the bottom slick of bodyboards. It is widely accepted to be the best material for bodyboarding. The high grade surlyn slick is again, going to add more stiffness to this custom x drop knee bodyboard. Not only is it going to add a little stiffness to the board, but it’s also going to give the bodyboad a longer life – which is always good. The surlyn plastic makes this drop knee bodyboard a great investment.
This Drop Knee Bodyboard has a great amount of control
In my opinion, what you really want out of a drop knee bodyboard is a great deal of control over the board. When you are prone bodyboarding you gain quite a bit of control with the use of your fins and your legs in the water. However, when you’re drop knee bodyboarding you don’t get to use your legs at all in the water to help you control the board. You’re pretty much only controlling the direction of the board by twisting your torso and manipulating the board with your lower body. So the great part about this board is it comes with a crescent tail.
Crescent tail bodyboards offer the rider more control over what the board is doing. A crescent tail gives the board a better “bite” into the side of a wave. When describing the way a crescent tail feels versus a bat tail, mike stewart says that crescent tail bodyboards have a “sticky” feeling. While you give up some of the speed of the board by going with a crescent tail, you’re gaining that much more maneuverability over the board. This custom x drop knee bodyboard also has double rails @ 60/40.
Double rails give the board some added speed as well as some stiffness and longer life span. Double rails ensure the side of the boards durability. The rail ratio for this drop knee bodyboard is 60/40, which means that you get more speed out of the board. You have 60% of the bottom rail in the water which creates more surface area to allow the board to travel a greater velocity. More speed is never a bad thing!
When you’re riding on a bodyboard the part of the board that is in constant contact with the water is the back corners on either side of the board (depending on which way you’re catching the wave). Well this board has full length bottom concave channels which allow that back corner section of the drop knee bodyboard to retain its surface area while doing turns. The channels are full length, which means the channels travel all the way up the bottom side of the board. This gives you speed AND control over the board – it’s really a win, win here.
>>>Click here for pictures, reviews, and other information on amazon.com<<<
Lets get to the deck of his board. The deck is made out of this TCD material which stands for Tight Cell Deck and its has a filmed finish on it. The deck of this drop knee bodyboard is going to have a smooth feel to it and you could potentially go bodyboarding without a wetsuit or rashguard and not get a rash – thanks to this filmed tcd material.
If you’re into drop knee bodyboarding, then this is the bodyboard you want to get. Custom X makes great quality bodyboards and this is just another one of their awesome boards, but it’s made for drop knee bodyboarders. The Custom X XDK drop knee bodyboard is stiff, with multiple stringers, a rigid polypro core and double rails.The board offers a great deal of control on the wave – you have rails at 60/40 and a full crescent tail. However, you still gain quite a bit of speed thanks to the high-grade surlyn plastic slick and full length concave channels.
What’s the verdict on this drop knee bodyboard?
This thing is awesome! Fast, controllable, and it looks awesome.
