Anyone unhappy with Vanguard/Minion style shapes?

Back to the Slate JP 7-4 x 28 v my JP 8-6 pro and I agree on days the the 7-4 is a slug getting back out and really tuff on your back. Even if I come off a wave clean I drop down and paddle out prone to keep the legs fresh. They are not a board for all occasions , you need to pick your days. Those days for me are small clean beach breaks but on bigger winder days I'm on the 8-6.

I'm off to Fiji on friday and the forecast is looking pretty solid. I would love to take 2 boards but there is no way I'm doing that so the 8-6 gets the ticket , because Fiji always has wind and the clean up sets are brutal and you need paddle speed. Re the bigger Vanguards I have tried them and just don't see the point , they don't out surf a traditional shape but the shorter ones do.

When you drown a square nose board you stall and you have to push really hard to get them back up where as a pointy nose will surface more quickly , that can be the difference to you just scratching over the next set or copping it on the head and that's what makes all short Sup shapes a struggle.

The short vanguards do work really well and should be a board in your quiver (if you can afford it) but I only know a handful of guys that just ride them as their only board.

Just one more thing on the Vanguards don't under fin them they have super fat tails and are so easy to turn , keep your back foot on the kick and drive them around the more fin you have the more power return , it works....

Haha Kami just spoke to the Dogman we are now taking the JP 7-4 x 28 with the Mangina cam to Fiji. Watch this space

Hej Cola, I'm 80 kg and get really crappy windwaves. Knee to waist high. Want to make around 7 ft board because I can take it on a plane if I travel to surf spot, and you have inspired me.

Have a 9-2 Fanatic Allwave. It feels like a tank and slow to me. Have lots of wind and chop.

I can make a board, and am trying to decide between squared off nose vanguard type and Sims ( like L41 and Infinity Phoenix) type.

Have read here that square nose may be drawback.

What's your recommendation..

Morning I have moved to a Gulliver V box 6 months ago. I am a total fan and every second surf someone new has a go. Mostly intermediate and advance surf sup riders. I am still waiting to find someone who does not benefit from the speed and throw around rail to rail ability.
If you are 65 kg and can ride a 7 foot 80 ltr board you may not see the benefits unless going to a 6'5" style v box.
At 90kg I rode 30 inch plus wide boards to be able to ride a sub 8 ft board. Loved them until the v box. Main reason no need to move front foot side to side or offset front and back foot to get the rails in at speed. Watch a sup surfer on a wide board look at their feet placement when on the wave. Spin weight of a short board is another huge advantage of a short board. With the vanguard style boards is due to been surfed shorter my back foot is alway near the tail. Once again check out surf sup riders at your local break most have their back foot away from the tail pad or at least the front of the tail pad. Then the speed of straight rails is unbelievable.
So to try to answer your question I have surfed 20 plus boards in the last 6 months and now have ordered two more V box boards for my quiver for me and my two boys, who both rip.
Last comment and apologies I know you asked no comparison but feel misleading if I don't say all boards of the vanguard tomo style are not the same. Demo them

Can anyone compare the Vanguard shapes to SimSUP shapes? Only interested in first hand experience.

My my gut tells me they'd surf nearly identical to one another.

After nearly one year using this red board 6'5" <28", i can say square nose doesn't bother. Can be a trouble on hollow wave backside riding but can be it because of flat rocker...

I'm still thinking about my new one to get some waves in Indonesia this year with this design below here, design between round and square with a lot of rocker this time.

7' <27" 82 liters .


Cheers

Cheers Supgman, we both think the same and early this morning i redraw tail more as you said. More parallel rail/outline by the tail to give a shortboard attitude off the lip or high part of the curl and some more rail length less hips to go down the line.
Also some thickness in the tail to provide volume and balance paddling for taking off.
I will like to test by Impossible's left hander in Bali a real testing ground for me, i should be too old to go race track at Ulu's with this board.
Here below can be our same thought Do you better like this new one

I have been following the hype around the Vanguard/Minion style shapes for some time and have come to the conclusion that they make a great 2nd or 3rd board in your quiver for weaker waves. I am always on the hunt for smaller boards that rip but are also versatile and stable enough for the average rider who may only go out 2-3 times per month.
I am NOT interested in aboard that lifts your performance but is a challenge to paddle and stay upright. Till now I have not been able to get my hands on a Vanguard/Minion style that I could paddle comfortably.
Back in January I did score a session on the SUNOVA 8'5 27 3/4 x 4 3/8 112L Speeed.
Spec wise this board was right on the edge for me at 92kg (volume and width wise) but I was pleasantly surprised at how stable it was for 27 3/4"/112L.
Most importantly how easily it was to catch a wave. By far the easiest paddling sub 8'6 I have surfed.
I only had a short session on 2-3' but I was amazed at how it came alive when I dropped in and cranked a few turns. I knew straight away that this board had potential.
To get comfortable on it though it needed to be glassy, so it was unlikely to make it into my quiver permanently.

Now 3 months down we got our hands on the 8'10 29 1/8 x 4 5/8 130L Speeed.
This board is over spec'd for me as I usually like around 120L so I figured from what I had read that it would be a bit of a 'pig' being a bit on the portly side. Nothing could be further from the truth. I am in love with this board.
1. I cant fall off it. 2. It paddles fast 3. It is as playful as anything I have ridden in this size.
It is one really-fun-board. Super fast, very responsive and rails HARD!
I have now had 3 sessions ranging from 3-4' - always with 6-10 knots of wind - points and beach breaks. Absolutely love this board. It rips.

Being a Thruster some might argue that it is not in the true style of these boards, but Bert Burgers interpretation has hit the nail on the head for me.

It blows away everything I have read about the larger sized Vanguard/Minion style boards.
PS: I havent ridden the smaller Vanguard/Minion boards, but having read most of the threads and I had come to the conclusion that I would not find a board in this style
[i]that would deliver AND that I felt comfortable on. I love being wrong!

We have both the 8'5 27 3/4 x 4 3/8 112L and the 8'10 29 1/8 x 4 5/8 130L Speeed in demo if you want to give them a try.
The 7'11 26 1/8 x 4 1/8 94L is due to land next week and we will have it at the SUNOVA demo day and Day with Bert Burger - Sunday May 10th.

Grab one and prove me wrong!













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Thanks AA.... first news of the 8'10.... awesome!

I have been closely watching all the chatter and stoke about the "Tomo" or square nose boards.
I liked the fact that I could go sub 30" wide.... but I am not a fan of flat wide tails.
While interesting, they did not sound like anything I would actually buy..... till I saw the SPEEED.

The hips to a narrower tail, combined with rocker and a super thin nose made it jump out at me!
Add what I believe to be ground breaking construction, of both light AND strong.... yowza, I'm all over it.

Meaningful that you seem to have reservations about the Square nose boards but found the 8'10 SPEEED to be so impressive.

I can't wait