Board - 2015 Starboard 8” x 29” Pro – 111 Litres / Carbon
Rider – 3 yrs. sup exp
Weight – 84 kg
Disclosure – On da team
The new starboard pros have just landed and we wasted no time in organizing a boat surf mission to test these bad boys out!
Manourvability – I was surprised how lively this board was off the bottom and off the top, I was expecting with the extra inch of width you would lose some performance but from the first wave I could tell this was not the case. It responded well rail to rail and i was able to get it around to round house of the white water.
(the bit of extra V at the tail i think has made them a bit looser)
Stability – it was a tad choppy out there, but apart from one incident on a morphing bubble I did not fall off before getting into a wave, the stability was very good after coming off the 2014 x 28’ wide – perhaps 10 – 20% more stable.
Down the line – held a nice line on the face of the wave and had enough speed to get around the sections
Paddling in Glide – defiantly easier to paddle into the waves with the extra width and a bit more literage, this was a real plus in the some times testing conditions
Yawing – no noticeable yawing thought I am now used to paddling these shorter boards but it seemed to hold a good line on the paddle
Durability – they construction seems pretty similar to last year, just a bit more honed – they present very well
And I might as well add from my previous post
Love the new brighter graphics, the orange is a nice contrast down at the business end of the board!
New Fin System - The FCS 2 Fin box system has really stepped up this year, the fins fit much flusher and feel very sturdy when anchored home, apparently the take another type of FCS Fin system as well that is a load and snap fixing. (where you don’t need to use the grub screws at all)
New ergonomic carry handle, which fits into the fingers snugly
Weight seems about the same as last year, pretty light @ 6.81kg
I note the literage has slightly increased in the 2015 series, they say this does not alter the performance and was needed with the modifications that were made to the shape
Select to expand quoteCan555 said..
Nice review! Any idea how it compares to the 2012 8.0? Thx!
Can555 said..
Nice review! Any idea how it compares to the 2012 8.0? Thx!
Hey Can555, in brief... more stable, better acceleration, faster and turns way firmer/smoother - (for my stats!)
The 2012 - 8'0 x 28" Carbon Pro has been my go to for a while now so she's starting to show a few signs of wear, but still on weight and heaps life left!
I'm 173 cm tall and weigh around 92 kgs - in birthday suit! At 56 yrs young I'm often the last frother out there 
and keep reasonably fit.
Ioz and I recently tested the new 2015 - 8' x 29" Carbon Pro's in some fairly fat and sloppy head high but consistent conditions at Rottnest Island off WA.
The most immediate benefit I noticed was when paddling in, normally in these type of conditions I would feel bogged or the need to pump just to get on.
However, the 29" provides better acceleration with less input on take off which is fairly remarkable as they don't appear all that different until you check underneath!
The subtle changes made underneath offer huge gains in average conditions so (with all due respect) I'm now fairly keen to trial the 29" on a few waves of consequence!?
I'll keep you posted 
Cheers Gordon
