Calibrated Telum 50

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Mike Armstrong of Calibrated Wakesurfers dropped by my office with two boards. The first one we got to test was the Telum 50. The Telum is their basic skimstyle board. Their top of the line model is the Lovett Pro. As far as a skimstyle board goes, the Telum is on par with the best. The rails could use a little help with shape, but it's nothing drastic and the Lovett Pro has addressed that issue. This board comes in 3 lengths the 50", 53" and 56". The board we tested was probably just a bit small for James who now weighs in at 160, but not overly small.

James called it a shuv-it machine At one point he threw 11 shuv's in a row. In terms of rotational tricks the Telum is one of the best skimstyle boards.

To give you an idea of weight, here is a lineup of three comparable boards, the Walzer in 4'4", the Telum in 4'2" and the Walker Project Team in 4'5".

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Now in looking at the three boards you might think the Poly U surfboard is the lightest and you'd be wrong. The Walzer weighs in at 5 pounds with traction and fins, the Telum weighs in at 7 pounds with traction and fin and the Walker Project Team weighs in at 8 pounds with traction fins and stickers

One of the issues with a too light skim board is that it can get away from you during shuv's.

The Lovett Pro model is supposed to weigh in close to the Walzer and I think that probably is a good weight. The Telum is by no means heavy, but a little less swing weight wouldn't be a bad thing.

If you get a chance, this is a fun little video:

http://www.wakepics.com/img/20468

If you pay attention, there is a segment where James throws a shuv - the fin is then up front and he does a surface 3 or what we call a revert 3. James, of course, is incredibly talented but the board rides well enough in revert to allow him to spin a surface 3 without a fin. Very sweet - also check the surface 7 at the very end.

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James called the Telum a "shuv machine". At one point he did 11 in a row. The shape and design of the Telum do allow it to perform rotational tricks with ease. The surface 3's require a bit more work than say the Walzer work the fin is so far aft on the board, but Calibrated has done a good job of locating and picking the correct fin.

James added 3 new tricks to his bag 'o tricks yesterday - the revert 3, a 7 and this indy shuv - not a great picture, but he made the grab.

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The downside of any skimstyle board is that they just don't have the sort of drive required to boost huge air. James managed to get some air, but it was hard work and the result isn't as stellar as with the Walzer or Walker Project Team.

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Overall, a good solid skimstyle board. Shuv machine, rotational tricks are easy enough and if you're willing to expend the effort, capable of aerial tricks. The BIGGEST downside is that you can't get one at retail. Calibrated is working hard on actually getting their boards to market, but as yet...you can't buy one. Once they are available at retail, I think the Telum will be one of the best skimstyle boards available.