Appletree Klokhouse Noseless White Line Review

This is the model I have picked as a dedicated waveriding board. Likewise I picked it in the White Line construction. I have been riding this board pretty much exclusively for the last 6 months, starting with a trip to Ireland, and then through the winter storms.

Construction

Appletree are famous for their super bombproof constructions. Whilst many pro riders are smashing their way through boards endlessly, the Appletree riders just dont break their boards. This is a massive bonus for strapless freestyle, but for waveriding, this can also mean they are quite stiff. More on that later.

The core of the Appletree construction is their proprietary 50k closed cell foam. This is great as it offers durability, and also means boards dont take on water if dinged. The White Line construction offers more flex than the carbon, so I opted for that. The bonus being it is cheaper, the downside being a small weight penalty and maybe slightly less durable.

Shape

The Klokhouse is the most wave oriented shape, with the Malus Domestica being one of the more freestyle oriented, and the Applino sitting inbetween. I wanted a board which could handle small to pretty big waves but was not too fussed about jumping. 

Noseless

When you are not used to sizing on noseless boards, it can be a bit tricky. A lot of the length of a traditional shortboard shape is in the nose, so you go from looking at boards between 5'8 and 6'0 all the way down to 5'0 to 5'4. I followed the weight based sizing Appletree suggest and ended up with a 5'2 which seems right.

This took some getting used to on the first session. As I went to swap my feet round, I stepped too far forward and sunk the nose. Getting used to the volume distribution came pretty quickly though. In bigger waves, I thought I might miss the nose, but the fairly aggressive scoop meant this was never an issue.

The shorter overall dimensions make simple things like traveling much simpler. The rounder shaped noseless design also seems more durable and less likely to get damaged. 

Conclusion

Having spent some time on a couple of the other Appletree models and constructions, I can see where they fit in and how they work for different conditions. The Klockhouse Noseless is still the one to look at if you are mostly looking at wave riding and not so much jumping. The softer flex in the White Line construction makes it a bit more forgiving. It feels the most comfortable at speed too, whilst still being fun in the smaller stuff. The carbon construction would make a more durable board, ideal for those into strapless freestyle, but would also be stiffer. This could work for heavier riders.