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I have an 6'4 FG sup that I have a lot of fun on and have no problem catching waves on. The main location I surf is an offshore sandbar at an inlet that can get choppy and mixed up but also has very good clean days. There are days where some of the waves look like they may peak up and break but don't. They have such good shape watching them go by. I was wondering if the kalama E3 with it V tail and earlier release would make catching these types of waves. Found a good used one at a reduced price so it had me curious. Or even the new sunova downwind foil boards. I eventually will get a foil drive to help iincrease the days I can ride out there.
Have not paddled the Armstrong. The Kalama shape is legit. Not a gimmick. That's why so many brands are rushing to make their versions of the Kalama style.
Just FYI, when considering a Kalama without trying one first. The volume feels less that numbers say. My opinion is you can go longer and not feel like you are paddling a monster. The tail is less stable. The shape relies on the nose width for stability.
Go big to deal with the wonky water at shark shoals. I hope to get my foil drive out at shark shoals eventually. On the Surfline cam it looks like shark shoals has become more shallow. Can you confirm? Looks almost too shallow for foil some days.
I have 5'10" E3 @ 90kgs and find it very stable in glassy, smooth waves. I do get tipped off easier in chop (well hello ) but I have my FoilDrive Plus permanently fitted to this board now and with my cruise set to 28% it makes choppy wave surfing so much easier as the constant forward movement on cruise gives stability. I've become a very lazy paddler with FD
just this weekend I moved my FD battery box even further forward and had a quick wing session and noticed that the board planed much flatter and got onto foil without the typical rocket launch nose up attitude.
looking forward to SUP foiling with the new battery box position (slightly forward of the mast now)
if you can get an E3 at a good price I'd snap it up
Thanks cg for the info.
The shoals is still plenty deep even with that little peak that looks shallow. I have been riding my 85cm mast out there with no issues. I have not touched the bottom with my foil or my feet.
Can't speak to the Armstrong board. But I've got a 6'1"x26" Kalama. (wide DW version).Combined with (getting) progressively better at 'rocking' the board with Riggs's pop up technique certainly makes catching things easier. I find the board relatively stable, all things considered, but watched a friend get humbled by not being able to even kneel on it in choppy water.
when I was shopping prior to order I was talking to guys at the shop in Oregan (big winds ?); they had summed it up as Kalama-less stable earlier release. FG-more stable slightly later release. They are one of the few places I found that stocked both and could give a direct comparison.
long story short. I'd recommend it if you can get a used one at a decent price. Worst case it's not any better and you turn around and ssell it.
I couldn't get it up on these tinny unbreaking rollers on my old board. It certainly makes a difference.
Ninja, are you looking at the 6'0" x 30?
For the same volume, the Kalama will be shorter, tippier, and harder to paddle in a straight line. So for ease of catching offshore waves, I'd stick with what you have. But, with the add of a Foil Drive, that would tip the scales towards a shorter board. Dave's newr E3 Downwind boards are longer, narrower, and made for catching unbroken waves easier.
No I was looking at the 6'5 wide downwind board. But it turned out it was the 6 x 30 board which I do not want. There was a real good discussion on the progression podcast forum I found after posting here. Still thinking about the idea. Still researching...
Hey Hilly, There was no 6'5 x 30, the board ended up being the 6' by 30. I was hoping it was the 6'5 x 27.5. The add did not give the dimensions, just 130L so I thought it was the 6'5 wide downwind board. It ended up being the 6' x 30 wing/sup board at 131L.
