Select to expand quote1fox said..
Hottie just landed :D
Now this looks interesting! 9' x 90 litres. Performance long board shape? Tell us more!
Bob
Like most of us, I've followed the evolution of sup boards... getting shorter in each iteration. (also the paddles).
I ended up on a hokua 7'8 LE. It was nice on the wave, specially on glassy days. But the trade off was slower peak return and stressful balance in the chop.
After owning a Style 9'6 and a Nalu LE (that had an infant dead related to intrinsic reliability issues), I asked Bert a custom. I wanted a longboad that was ready for both small, but specially big conditions. The specs: 9'1 x 26.75" 95 Lts (I'm 185 Lbs, 6'1) . Bert understood my wish and made his magic. The result was spot on.
This board left all the older boards getting dust. Not even new additions to the quiver ( NEW DEAL, Custom FLASH) changed the paradigm.
It's a board that works no matter the conditions, It's brilliant: When It's medium or small, I use a 10" FCS flow and have a ball playing towards 'classic'. When it's big, the longer board let's you in early and the bigger outline it's not an issue because you have momentum. It handles juice with confidence (although the full nose requires some proper handling) - Usually I surf point breaks.
Through the years, as I was getting older (now 47) and had experience surf in multiple boards I understood clearly what I liked: Longer boards, like in the early days of SUP, but narrower, thinner and with lower volume.
Since I started living sometime on a different town, despite of the fact that I have some "secondary" boards, I quickly realized I needed a twin. So I asked for a tweaked sister:
9'0 x 26.5" 90 Lts + minor change in the side fins location. That's the board in the pics.
I am truly grateful to Bert and all Sunova team for these awesome toys :)
Select to expand quote1fox said..
Like most of us, I've followed the evolution of sup boards... getting shorter in each iteration. (also the paddles).
I ended up on a hokua 7'8 LE. It was nice on the wave, specially on glassy days. But the trade off was slower peak return and stressful balance in the chop.
After owning a Style 9'6 and a Nalu LE (that had an infant dead related to intrinsic reliability issues), I asked Bert a custom. I wanted a longboad that was ready for both small, but specially big conditions. The specs: 9'1 x 26.75" 95 Lts (I'm 185 Lbs, 6'1) . Bert understood my wish and made his magic. The result was spot on.
This board left all the older boards getting dust. Not even new additions to the quiver ( NEW DEAL, Custom FLASH) changed the paradigm.
It's a board that works no matter the conditions, It's brilliant: When It's medium or small, I use a 10" FCS flow and have a ball playing towards 'classic'. When it's big, the longer board let's you in early and the bigger outline it's not an issue because you have momentum. It handles juice with confidence (although the full nose requires some proper handling) - Usually I surf point breaks.
Through the years, as I was getting older (now 47) and had experience surf in multiple boards I understood clearly what I liked: Longer boards, like in the early days of SUP, but narrower, thinner and with lower volume.
Since I started living sometime on a different town, despite of the fact that I have some "secondary" boards, I quickly realized I needed a twin. So I asked for a tweaked sister:
9'0 x 26.5" 90 Lts + minor change in the side fins location. That's the board in the pics.
I am truly grateful to Bert and all Sunova team for these awesome toys :)
Flying machine..
Fox
Could you tell us a bit more about your goals with these boards. Performance longboard vs traditional log styling? Are you able to get to the nose? Did you change anything with the 9' board other than dimensions? How is stability overall and is there a noticeable difference between the two lengths? I am very interested in a 8'10" up to 9' board, 90-100 litres with traditional nose riding, cross stepping, down the line cruising and yet reasonable stability (70 kg older guy).
Cheers
Bob
Select to expand quoteFRP said..
Fox
Could you tell us a bit more about your goals with these boards. Performance longboard vs traditional log styling? Are you able to get to the nose? Did you change anything with the 9' board other than dimensions? How is stability overall and is there a noticeable difference between the two lengths? I am very interested in a 8'10" up to 9' board, 90-100 litres with traditional nose riding, cross stepping, down the line cruising and yet reasonable stability (70 kg older guy).
Cheers
Bob
Hi Bob,
The board is designed for performance and that was my main goal.
For instance, the rails are hard in the tail zone and the rocker is very balanced.
For traditional log style, I do own another board that I use basically when it's very small
Select to expand quote1fox said..FRP said..
Fox
Could you tell us a bit more about your goals with these boards. Performance longboard vs traditional log styling? Are you able to get to the nose? Did you change anything with the 9' board other than dimensions? How is stability overall and is there a noticeable difference between the two lengths? I am very interested in a 8'10" up to 9' board, 90-100 litres with traditional nose riding, cross stepping, down the line cruising and yet reasonable stability (70 kg older guy).
Cheers
Bob
Hi Bob,
The board is designed for performance and that was my main goal.
For instance, the rails are hard in the tail zone and the rocker is very balanced.
For traditional log style, I do own another board that I use basically when it's very small
(the square nose one).
I can nose ride the custom Sunovas. Using a 10" FCS flow or connect helps. But is not as straight forward as the above mentioned retro one. It's a more unstable game.
The 1 inch difference in size is negligible. Just wanted it smaller because more bags are available (the 9'1 also fits in 9'0 bags... but more tight).
Minimal increase in the longitudinal distance between the side fins and center in order to increase a bit the turning trajectory.
The reduction in width and particularly in volume is an attempt to amplify the benefits I felt concerning nimbleness of the original.
Cheers
Thanks Fox
Great video. Yes that is what I aspire to. I wonder if it would help if I grew my beard out? I have had a few brutal wipeouts surfing those small waves in shallow water and trying to walk the board. Very lucky to have an impact vest on yesterday. Smacked the bottom hard and came up a bit disoriented. Don't tell my wife!
Cheers
Bob
