Got my Spleene Zone today.

I've had this board for the best part of two months now and have had it out in all sorts of conditions. I feel that i know it well enough now put up a review.

I've now ridden the board in the surf, in chop-chop and in beautiful smooth water. I've been out super powered up and under powered. I've tested it in pretty much everything that Sydney and the surrounds can throw at ya.... except 6foot, double overhead, heaving barrels ;) I'd need to demo the balls-of-steel attachment first!

In summary: this board rocks! It absolutely kills it in nearly every way. The only time this board is outclassed is by a TT for holding down the power for freestyle moves and by a bigger surfboard for low wind and mushy surf. Having said that, Ian Young won the hangtime comp in WA on one of these so I am sure that holding down the edge is just my lack of technique. As for the surf, this board goes very well in light wind but at the limits (9knots and small mushy surf) I have seen riders on bigger, floatier surfboards doing better. This is only at the very limit though, as soon as it hits 12knots it's rock'n'roll time (with my 15m). This is jumping and riding upwind, ie having fun!

The first thing you'll notice about riding this board is just how smooth the ride is. The thin rails, flex and high nose make it super smooth through the chop. Both of my shorter TTs can't equal this board through chop. On of the great things about the shape is that it is virtually impossible to get off balance and bury the nose (nosedive) in really choppy stuff. The thin high nose just pulls its self up over the top of the water and you can ride through it rather than hitting a bit faceplant.

The zone is also very quick to accelerate. From the front foot to the tail it is pretty much flat. This makes it easy to gain speed and adds to the lightwind performance. If it is light (10-12kn) and the water is 'smooth as' (like in a lake) then my flx148x46 is great fun. But that board is virtually flat and is a real handful in any chop. The zone has about the same bottom end as the flx lightwind board but kills the flx in the surf where there is chop and waves. In smoothwater the zone is great fun carve and throw some water around. Setup as a directional, riding toeside in smooth water is great. It's easy to crank it right over and slide one hand over the glassy water and then just throw it into a huge heelside carve. Of course you can do that on a TT too but with a directional pad setup and standing on thin pads feels unreal. I haven't tried it yet but doing this sort of thing strapless would be a hoot, it would be almost like having a Skim in your quiver.

Jumping the zone is different to a TT. With less board behind your rear leg the motion to get pop is different. Holding the edge before the jump is just like a TT but that last carve requires more steering the board off the fins rather than digging the tail in. I often switch boards during a session and can find it hard to adjust to the technique required for the zone but that is only when trying to go large. For regular jumps and smaller front/back rolls it is very easy. Only when going for the big ones does it feel different to a TT. Maybe Mr Ian 'Hang Time' Young wants to give me some tips here! Being constructed like a TT there is no risk of breaking this thing on hard landings. And i must say, throwing some spins or tweating out a jump feels so sweet with a directional board.... think of that smooth robbie naish or flash austin style...niiiiice.

In the waves the zone is awsome fun. I'd like to say it is just like a surfboard but I don't surf so i can't say...... Again the high nose stops you from catching the nose in a steep take off and being able to dig the fins in and ride off the backfoot makes it very snappy. You can ride with very little kite as the board accelerates so well and stays on the plane very easily.... this is very good when you crash in the impact zone and need to get out of there in a hurry. Toeside water starts are very quick and easy as the board is thin and light so you can pop out of the water grab an edge quickly.

I got this board because i wanted to ride waves and also to get a good toeside technique going on. The board certainly satisfied those needs. I got it over the competition; skywalker d-wave, shinn wave, brunotti wave; due to price. They are all quality boards but the zone is priced best. I got it over a surfboard because of the TT style construction, ie I won't break or ding it. Overall i am stoked with it. I'd only ever ridden one other directional, a Rocket fish. That board was fun but just too bouncy in the chop. As far as a directional goes the zone is great as it has a lot of the benefits of a TT, it's tough, it has a smooth ride and holds down a heap of power.

mike