Lieuwe, Dutch handcrafted twin tips

Recognisable by the wooden look and -of course – the orange logo, the Dutch brand Lieuwe delivers handcrafted custom boards. We see more and more people riding with those stylish twin tips and yes at least one of the three different twin tips is a hit in the bulls eye.  It is the fourth brand we have tested so far which produces twin tips trying to out perform in quality the boards from more established brands like F-one and North. And to our judgement Lieuwe does that clearly with succes.

Lieuwe

Lieuwe arose, like some other brands as Saul customs, from a hobby to a profession. Out of interest in riding a perfect twin tip themselves Florian, the main shaper of Lieuwe, turned the board shaping for friends slowly but steadily into a board shop from 2014 onward. Florian’s second name, Lieuwe , stands for a young, small group of guys who are full of fresh energy, ready to conquer the world.

Three boards

The 2016 Lieuwe line up consists of three different twin tips (they stopped selling the fourth -fin less- one, al though it may still be on the webpage).

One board that is described to be for beginners, one for freestyle and all round use and a wake style boards. We had a chance to test the Shotgun, meant for all round and freestyle,  and the Say No More wake style board.

Prices of those two boards start at 700 Euro. Adding specific “custom” looks will quickly add  a hundred or two, but since the wooden looks remain mostly visible it is not very outstanding to the standard looks. We wouldn’t be bothered to pay extra for some distinguished looks, but that remains something personal.

700 Euro is a lot of money, but for a twin tip these days it can be marked as an cheap to average price. For example a F-one acid HRD carbon costs the same but comes without pads. Prices are without straps, which seems to be quite common now, but those of Lieuwe are including pads&straps. Too bad Lieuwe currently isn’t offering prices without pads&straps. In that case it would mean the boards could start at around 600 euro’s. (see also the reaction from Lieuwe below this review)

Speaking of carbon, there is non present in the Lieuwe boards. Lieuwe, similar as Alvaro Onieva’s Clash and for example Saul customs, is not really fan of using carbon in their boards. Main reason is that it doen’t add too much quality in the ride and on top of it the boards tend to break much sooner.

We really liked the options the Lieuwe boards offer for different types of bindings. It has 10 inserts (!) for each strap or boot, just to be sure all straps or boots will fit.  And yes not only the “unbreakable” wakestyle Say No More can be ridden with boots but also the “freestyle/ allround” Shotgun is able to deal with the hammering from riding with boots. Lieuwe doesn’t mention this on it’s site though.

The standard provided straps are okay and it is nice to be able to choose from different colours, but are nothing special. For example the Naish Apex are more comfortable, more expensive but we think it is worth it.

A small bonus is the possibility to choose for either normal or wake style fins (as preferred by most boots riders) including a stylish Lieuwe logo on them. It seems like an open door, but not every brand will offer the possibility to get the board with wake style fins.

The test

To start with the conclusion; the Shotgun was our favourite. It has a perfect combination of delivering a super nice to aggressive pop, speed and up wind riding. Don’t get distracted by the all round wording on this board, it clearly doen’t ride specifically as a beginners board. Most of the kiters will benefit endless from this board. The Shotgun is shaped a bit straighter than the Say No More. The shape, flex  and -great- feeling is quite comparable with the Ride Clash 2.1.  Both boards are remarkably fast. Faster than most other twin tips and are very well shaped to cut through rough choppy water. The speed in combination with the aggressive en responsive pop can be used to perfectly hit a wave and jump as high you dare to come.

The website described playfulness is there, but different than that -for example- of a F-one Acid. An Acid lays much looser (and feels softer) on the water where the Shotgun is more on a fast track which can be ridden with lots of power on the rail. The Shotgun will especially be loved by riders that are a tiny bit more experienced than average. On top of that these boards will probably last a lot longer than other twin tips. No soft bending, vulnerable fins as on the F-one boards and inserts that look like (and promised) to be bulletproof. There are 4 different sizes of the Shotgun and for a 80 kg rider the 136 by 41 Shotgun (second to biggest one) is perfect.

In that view the Wake style Say No More board is a bit over the top for most riders. Promised to be unbreakable (first stated selling point on the Say No More on the Lieuwe website!) and as expected it is more curved (rocker), stiffer and heavier than the Shotgun. These aspects, especially the amount of rocker, almost automatically bring a reduction in speed and reduces the up wind capabilities but will bring a more aggressive pop.

The Say No More felt not as radical as the Airush Livewire, which is also wider and it has not as much rocker as the Crossover from Saul Customs but still is only a perfect match for the rider who we don’t need to explain they have to go for a wake style board.

We, and probably most other riders, however just loved the Shotgun.

List prices

Lieuwe Shotgun (with fins, pads&straps, standard looks) 699,- Euro.

Lieuwe Say No More (with fins, pads&straps, standard looks) 699,- Euro.

Reaction From Lieuwe on the review

We are really happy with the review. Currently we put all our time& efforts in building and shaping of the boards, but we will update the website on some parts soon. Don’t worry about some statement’s about “sold at dealers only”, they cán be bought at Lieuwe directly by the website Lieuweboards.com