Chakra V3

The Chakra is Witchcrafts Freewave range. In production since 2008, another classical. The Chakra stands for easy sailing in a wide range of conditions, flat water, coastal waters and occasional wave sailing. Providing the probably biggest wind range any shape could offer. Handling chop, getting planing and up wind, no tail walking when overpowered, very good manoeuvrability for this board type, super easy jybing are all excellent traits still unseen today in this combination. The V2 shape was left unchanged from 2009 to 2017.

For 2017, the V3 has been upgraded with a new faster rockerline, the volume has moved back slightly and the boards have become shorter and wider. The new bottom shape is a V into double concave into V, handling chop very well with good planing power. As a result, the V3 now is faster and more exciting to sail in flat water. We tested the 95 in trifin mode against the single fin mode and it trifin mode it was faster on all point of sail with the biggest difference when sailing upwind, winning 75m on a 1200m stretch, at the same time, it felt more composed, handling chop better and easier to gybe.

Due to the very good chop handling and extremely high top end, the smaller Chakras are also excellent all round high wind boards.

Also the Chakra sports various details tipical for Witchcraft: Sharper rails in the back, the unique Witchcraft tri fin with pretwisted side fins reducing drag, short steps in volume, ergonomic straps and pads. 

The HDD construction comes in luminous red, the CBC in luminous green and the SDT in sky blue.

Read here a test review about the Chakra V2 95 on Windsurf.co.uk.

Read here a test review about the Chakra V2 90 on Windsurf.co.uk.

SHAPE CHAKRA

• Fast tail rocker with a higher nose
• V into double concave into V.
• Harmonical average plan shape for a more forgiving behaviour.
• progressiv rail shape for better and smoother turning.
• Planes as early as a FSW + much better upwind and wind range
• It turns better than some real wave boards.
  Tri fin convertible into single fin
• By playing with the fin set up, the range can be extended from a full on on shore wave board to an easy going FW.
• Low drag multi fin set up with flow optimised fin toe in angles through CFD research. Another area where Witchcraft is world leading. Comparative tests have shown the Chakra being faster in trifin mode than a same size FSW of a competing brand in single fin. The difference was the biggest sailing up wind and smaller on a broad reach but still noticable. At the same time the Chakra was turning better and sailed smoother.

• There is much less need to change the fins according to wind strength.
  The trifin has enough fin area to use with the biggest sail and have enough control for the smallest sail

BOARDS UK TESTED THE CHAKRA 88

WITCHCRAFT CHAKRA 88 SDT V1.0 (2010)

The Chakra is the second line of boards to be put into production by Witchcraft. It supposedly has more of a classic freestyle wave rocker line, but due to the progressive rail shape and tri fin system it also crosses over nicely into wave territory, hence its inclusion in this test. Witchraft tell us that the Chakra is the most versatile board for all coastal waters, and that it excels in onshore wave conditions. Six sizes are available from 76L to 106L.

Design: With a maximum width of 59.5cm and a quoted volume of 88L, It is one of the largest boards in this test. It has 7mm of tail rocker, which is an average amount for a wave board of this size, and it has a relatively long planing flat with the 2cm point at 148.5cm. It has quite a lot of vee in the tail, with a subtle double concave that flattens out as you move towards the nose. It also features the progressive rail shape synonymous with Witchcrafts.

On the water: As soon as you jump on the Witchcraft you are up and planing and about to hit your first ramp – this board was without a doubt one of the earliest to get going, making it an absolute joy to go jumping with in gusty onshore conditions. It wass not as loose as some of the other boards in this test, but was super smooth with plenty of drive in the bottom turn, and just as nice off the lip. It went upwind like a rocket and was always a favourite for sailing round to the upwind breaks, making it perfect for any tidal waters in the UK where you constantly feel like you are having to sail upwind. It was better suited to the bigger guys; some of the smaller riders said that it felt a little bit too large for 5.3m weather. It seemed absolutely bullet proof, and although it topped the scales at the weigh-in it never felt heavy on the water or in the air.

 Fittings: It comes with an 18.5cm G10 central fin with US box fitting, which is quite stiff throughout, plus two 13.5cm thrusters with mini Tuttle box fitting. It was fitted with Pro Limit kiteboard style straps which proved very comfortable, and thick, comfy deck pads. The Chakra also featured a very small mast track, giving little room for adjustment.

Overall: A very good board for coastal blasting, jumping, and riding. The tri fin system worked really well, giving great upwind performance and extra drive through turns. If you’re a big guy and worried about snapping boards, then this would surely suit you ‘re positive that you’d never break it, even in the standard construction that we used!