2021 Witchcraft Shaman

2021 Witchcraft Shaman

In production since 2012, the Shaman has established itself as a classic and has a growing community of fans. The first Shamans were originally designed as an on shore wave board for Pozo and similar spots. It is shorter, wider and flatter with the straps a bit further back. This makes it early planing, fast and loose. Since these traits are also (or especially) welcome in bigger boards, the bigger sizes Shaman have also become very popular. Like for like, a Shaman planes as early as a Chakra but is more sporty where the Chakra is more forgiving.

The Shaman sports various details tipical for Witchcraft: Sharper rails in the back, tail a bit thinner, trifin, short steps in volume, ergonomic straps and pads. The Shaman HDD constructions come with heel cushions for saving the riders joints on hard landings and giving a softer ride.

All boards incl. pretwistet CNC G10 fins and ergonomic straps CBC and HDD incl. heel cushion

Outline:  Wide-nosed tear drop outline with trademark Witchcraft snub nose tapering into narrow squashtail. Wide point at back of mast track.

Deck: Flat with deck staying mostly level from nose to stance area helping volume distribution making nose kick deceptive.

Rail Profile: Thick and bulbous tucked nose sharpening aggressively by front strap where they remain noticeably sharp to tail.

Bottom Shape: Almost rounded under shape in nose, into sloping rolled shoulder-style vee forward of track. Double concave and sharper raised vee by track, deepening by front straps through to fins where concave disappears and only soft vee remains to tail.

Rocker Line: Flat section at front strap – on centre line  – even straighter in concave. A lot of overall nose lift. Curve steepens aft towards fins.
Fin Configuration: Thruster  – or true trifin really – carbon, super swept-back, asymmetric, pre-twisted flexible tips – no progressive flex. Back 14 cm and 2 x 13.5 cm front sidebites.

Pads: Dual density own-brand pads with slight instep lift. Tail kick at rear.
Straps: ProLimit with excellent adjustment, placed right in middle of thruster cluster.

Constructions: SDT , CBC and HDD

PERFORMANCE

So what does a board primarily intended for onshore wave riding need to deliver? Pretty much the same as a ‘regular’ wave board really – deal with current by get going quickly from shallow water, reach ramps swiftly and slice the living bejaysus out of a wave – but with welcome added extras that won’t exactly hinder you in down-the-line conditions. Namely, excel in sailing and staying upwind, turn tight to keep right in the pocket, generate drive to keep speed through slacker sections when the wave’s hiding the wind. Well, stepping aboard the Shaman 88 you feel as if you’re on a hard-core sideshore board, but the added benefits, particularly early planing, are all there in great force. The trademark sharp Withcraft rails absolutely stonk upwind. Those edges are remarkable as they never seem to dig in too tight or dictate the radius of turn as you’d expect. There’s also amazing acceleration out of the bottom turn and positive glide across the flat spots. With plenty of float for bigger guys the outline feels small and loose and compact but the corkiness has the sensation of a 90-plus-litre board. Obviously revelling in the dead onshore setup we had on this trip, the Shaman impressed with it’s ability to carve tight and at speed in challenging conditions.