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LIQUID FORCE Messenger
Sizes Available: 5’2″ x 18.5″ x 2 3/8″ 24.7L
Sizes Tested: 5’2″ x 18.5″ x 2 3/8″ 24.7L

Liquid Force Says:

Delivering confidence in the surf and high precision performance for strapless freestyle, the Messenger is more reliable than your mailman. This board has a blunt nose shape with a deep double concave that fades to a quad soft channel out the tail, allowing the board to handle down-the-line speed while keeping the board predictable and precise in the pocket. A 3+2 FCS compatible fin configuration rounds out the bottom design highlights, giving you a choice between a fast quad fin setup or a thruster for pivotal turning. The top deck shape features a slight contour under foot that delivers a non-fatiguing and controlled feel. Superior technical construction offers the best strength-to-weight ratio of any strapless kiteboard by utilizing an EPS precision-shaped core that’s laminated with S-glass and vector net carbon weave in critical impact zones.

Visit for more info: https://liquidforcekites.com/product/messenger-52/

Our Testers Say:

“Well built with stylish look, handled chop well with solid edging, good level of flex. Traction pads were a bit coarse and not sticky ”” makes a nice light wind strapless board.” // Bryan Waldberg

“Holds edge really well even in choppy conditions. Feels big for its length with wide nose and tail and probably the biggest of the 5’2” sized tomos in the test; great for heavier riders and those transitioning to directionals. ” // Dray Murray

“Beautiful board, pretty light and solidly built. Easy to start riding, fun and playful in the chop. Great strapless board to play in the swell with windy conditions.” // Marko Bartscherer

Meet Our Testers

Tkb Says:

We were pleasantly surprised when LF plunked down the brand new Messenger with its techy-looking glass layup and fun looking lines. The Messenger comes with FCS quad or thruster fin box configurations and we were given the board in the quad setup. The bottom features a double concave from the tip all the way to the back where it fades into a subtle quad concave. There’s a nice gentle concave on the deck that you can feel and nothing really in the way of indentations on the domed rail for grabbing. The Messenger comes with a nice split deck pad featuring the standard diamond weave which yields good grip and solid comfort. It doesn’t seem to have inserts yet there are black markings that seem to indicate strap placement and cutouts in the pad along the centerline. One of the first things we noticed about this board is that it sports a wider template with a longer nose than some of the other cutoff shapes. There’s a substantial amount of rocker both in the nose and in the tail and you definitely feel the extra rocker in the tail in terms of turning response. When you stomp on the tail it really likes to turn which makes us think this board is probably going to dominate the fun factor in smaller crappier conditions where you’re snapping quicker turns on some smaller sized waves. The Messenger rolls from rail to rail really easily and it felt a lot more maneuverable and active than some of the other compact shapes that we rode. It does track upwind pretty well without any annoying rail chatter. Despite the substantial amount of rocker in the nose and tail, this board still has a flat section in the center that helps it in lighter wind and still likes to lock in a solid edge, which gives this board a nice compromise between a board that is user-friendly busting upwind back to the top of the reef but also ends up being really fun, playful and active. In terms of freestyle, the Messenger sports a nice medium to light weight that makes it a very capable strapless freestyle option. The tail rocker made popping it into the air easy and the wider width helped keep the board compressed to our feet through rotations. The landings were comfortable and easy with the deckpad’s diamond grip delivering a nice balance between plushness and hardness that makes sure inputs translate into the board for excellent response and feedback. The Messenger is an excellent freeride all arounder with good range, offering lively fun carving for small to medium/small waves and user-friendliness for strapless airs.


With the help of 14 testers from all walks of kiteboarding, Tkb’s staff assembled detailed gear reviews with objective performance criteria of the latest 2019 kites, twin tips and foilboards all packed into one neat and tidy 180-page digital package. Get all the reviews in convenient digital guide here: https://www.thekiteboarder.com/product/2019-freeride-gear-review-guide/