had my first paddle on this board this arvo. trained on a borrowed ace 14 this morning.
what i expected- could be tippy and i wont like the fin.
what i got- a lot more stable then the ace 14' even at only 12'6 long. this board is pretty fast. time trailed my usual. equal to any other board there abouts and probably the fastest 12'6 for me- well the ones i can stay on and paddle. handled chop very nicely paddling back into the wind.
i liked the 2012 race, but always thought what if it was narrower and the nose a bit narrower too. throw in a dropped standing area- not too deep and thin walls to allow for a wider stance if you desire= all star 12'6 x 25".
another way to look at this board is a combo race and ace = 25' all star.
a narrower nose then both these boards but the semi canoe deck high volume nose smells of ace while the last half seems like a race cut and paste job.
i really like that race and all star 25" rounded nose into flat pretty quick with tucked edged bottom rails.
i'll try to get into some surf soon on it.
and lastly- the fin. stuck it in the centre and paddled off with the phillips head screwdriver in my boardies convinced i wont like the fin and the position will be wrong.
didn't touch it. but i will see how it goes for me in the surf etc. this years red hexlight type fin seems to have more foil than the white dagger of last year
my impressions at this stage are a very good all round 12'6 as per the race but faster. certainly the board looks amazing.
so with this board and the 14' more refined version2 of alain's dc is making me now looks like happy canoeing here we come. can't wait for that after tasting a little dw ing delight on it the day before it went to nz
turn coat- yep.
seeing as no rules look like being made i'm pretty sure most of us will be on them with in 2 to 3 years
cheers
ps i'm liking them too
What I love about my 12'6 x 25 is how different it is to the 14 x 25 All Star. Way thicker in the nose and tail, with the nose I feel a bit more like the Ace with the extra volume. Good to see that Starboard have realised that a 12'6 x 25 will perform differently to a 14 x 25 and made adjustments to suit this.
When you look at them together like that, I would say the 12'6" would outperform the 14' in downwind conditions. So much volume in the nose and tail, it's going to catch the bumps, that's for sure.
been surfing and doing ins and outs.
i use a futures salty fin. boy this is a good fin. stability, no noticeable lose of speed and provides great control.
the main thing i notice about this board is back wheel drive rather than front wheel which i'm more used too. i think i've missed out then a second or two later im' flying.
so the timing is a little different.
this board has really really fast planning speed
Hey guys, 1st post!
Jumped in as these are the two boards I have been giving a lot of thought over, well perhaps the 26" wide for the 14'. I don't own a SUP as yet so 25 wide might be a big ask straight of the bat, but hopefully coming from paddling thin Ski's background and do some surfing I will be OK? Plus I would like to challenge myself and not have to sell/buy a year later. Ive been hitting the gym for 18months building up my core strength after a bad lower back disc injury, which is why I sold my SKi's. Im 85Kg, 6'1".
Main intention is for paddling some distance (usually offshore) for fitness and core work, perhaps mucking around in light surf for fun. Ive demo'd a 12'6 GLide and 14' Dart. Something about these Starboards that have me going though
Anyway lads Ill keep in tune with this one. Hard to test paddle these as local dealer is Surf SUP's mainly but has some deals on these currently.
Stevo
Steve, there's one thing to be aware of with the 25" and 26" in the 14' range and that is the narrowest board actually has a little more volume than the 26". I haven't been able to do a head-to-head comparison but I've heard others say the 25" may in fact be slightly more stable than the 26", strange as that may seem.
Thanks guys and sorry for hijacking your thread Lacey
I might try and get up north for a few demo's
I think realistically I should consider the 14 x 27.5 as front contender seeing as I usually (on Skis but intended to do similar) paddle inshore and through chop and cover some distance and Im still new to the sport.
Cheers