Kalama Performance

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roachy said..
Dylan , what thruster setup are you running in indo ? Are your boards available in Perth the new shipment , especially the small one ??? thanks

Only 9'2 and 10' in next shipment. Available to ship in two weeks.
I ride FCS2 accelerator front and hardly Ingleby rear. Drive and release is incredible

Would be interesting to know how the 11' would compare to the 11' or 11'4" nalu, or the 10'6 nalu for that matter.
... in conditions where the nalus would be a natural option.
No doubt less stable and more manoeverable, but i wonder if that rocker setup would bring it's small powerless wave catchability factor up to smoething close to the nalus.

I just won the Shellharbour SUP festival both divisions of open men under and over 10ft. On the production KP boards. 9' x 28 at 108L
10' x 28 at 121L

I don't have much media at the moment from
the event but safe to say, Dave makes a beautiful board that is proven with results.

All KALAMA boards will be on special and demo at the Merimbula Classic event late November
Here's a YouTube snippet of the 10' in **** waves.

?si=J4JXvT6AphkDmBsn

I don't use rail saver and it's sweet. Mind you the only chips have been from letting them go out on demo! If your someone who paddles without hacking you'll be sweet.

Both the revolution and KALAMA are amazing boards. Iv competed on both and won events on both. I was on a 26.5" wide Sunova and then moved across to the 28" on the KALAMA coz it's the narrowest one. One big difference I could notice was the nose comes in more On the KP so less likely to catch a rail after a re entry. The KP is also a lot lighter and stronger which is a bonus.
with the boxes. I was riding FCS1 with that US adapter but now have HI Centre and accelerator fronts in both my 10 and 9.
if anyone is heading to Merimbula this week I'll have each size in demo! And a special is on too ??

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colas said..

O2P said..
Does anyone has already tried the center fin US box to FCS adaptator ? Is it a reliable accessory ?

I use it all the time (with a finjak). Very strong plastic, tight fit, perfect.

See: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/Quobba-Fins-?page=7#2683476

I just replaced the rear grub screw, the one slated at 45 degrees, with a wood screw digging into the rear of the fin tab. This way I do not run the risk of popping the fin out of the adapter when yanking it out to change position on the water.

Thanks Pohaku for your experience between Casey R. vs Kalama, boths seems full of innovation and performance. The light weight of Kalama is really a great carrying critery and certainly nice on the water.
Thanks Colas for all the details of FCS to US box adaptator, it looks nice and easy.
Making some research yesterday about small rear fin options, i saw Futures F6 Small (US box) honeycomb, it could be a good choice to avoid carbon in rear to loosen a bit more. For information : Futures F6 small fin and FCS to US adaptator prices are quite close in France. True Ames has also a lot of size choice for small US box fin : maybe more stiff than a F6 honeycomb ?

What a magic time in surfing!!! I can still remember the first time I saw Larry do that cutback on the big screen

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BigZ said..
I have a 9'2x30x126. Very good construction. Looks very similar if not identical to Infinity. Very light and bullet proof. Great shape for a heavyweight like me (240 pounds). Super stable, turns well, nose rides well. Not a high performance board but very versatile and super fun. And the steal at that price.

Old post here but dang BigZ at 240lbs your riding 126L reg sup,be curious as it's been awhile since your post but how are you getting along with the Kalama Sup? I'm a big guy too 225 dry and 90% foiler/sup/wing but looking for a reg sup for those pumping surf days but don't think 126L gonna cut it for me any heavier riders out there have any reports on the Kalamas? I really like the Kalama build quality as that's what I use for supfoiling for years now but just seems there volumes are a bit low for us heavier riders on reg sup boards

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pitbulldoug said..

BigZ said..
I have a 9'2x30x126. Very good construction. Looks very similar if not identical to Infinity. Very light and bullet proof. Great shape for a heavyweight like me (240 pounds). Super stable, turns well, nose rides well. Not a high performance board but very versatile and super fun. And the steal at that price.

Old post here but dang BigZ at 240lbs your riding 126L reg sup,be curious as it's been awhile since your post but how are you getting along with the Kalama Sup? I'm a big guy too 225 dry and 90% foiler/sup/wing but looking for a reg sup for those pumping surf days but don't think 126L gonna cut it for me any heavier riders out there have any reports on the Kalamas? I really like the Kalama build quality as that's what I use for supfoiling for years now but just seems there volumes are a bit low for us heavier riders on reg sup boards

Still using it occasionally. Nothing changed in my opinion. Great, great board. But since I lost some weight - 220 now - due to all the foiling - for SUP long boarding I am mostly on a smaller Jimmy Lewis HP (9x29x120l) these days.

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O2P said..

pohaku said..
Great footage of Dave riding the 10' here:
www.instagram.com/reel/C2IUpA2PezP/?igsh=MWp1azZocWpoeGNxbQ==

Thanks for this great video.
I plan to ride my first sessions on Kalama 10x28 end of february in Brittany (France, around La Torche spot), i'll share my first impressions.
Center fin will be 4.56 height (F6 honeycomb US box), with similar height fins on the edges (whith more carbon inside).
I'm a light rider (70 kg).

I share my feedback after first sessions with Kalama Performance 10x28@121 liters.
In comparison with my 2 precedent longsups :
- Starboard 10'3x28,5@ i guess 140 liters (from 2010's shape signed Scott Mc Kercher and Svein Rasmussen)
- Lokahi 9'6x27,5@118 liters (2017)

Unbox reactions :
- well built
- very light
- volume repartition is very regular, similar to a classic surf longboard, there's no excess of volume under the feet.
- The tail is thin but looks very large, will it be too large for a light rider (I'm 70 kg) ?

Fins : kind of hybrid thrusters
- Carbon FCS1 laterals that i know well (used a lot on a Superfrog longboard 9") - with adapters FCS1 to FCS2.
- Futures F6 Honeycomb central US box

Session#1
Conditions : beachbreak, 1 meter to 1,50m waves steep and relatively fast, left and right, 15 knots offshore, 8 surfers, lots of space.
- stability very good
- paddling to the peak is in the average speed, nothing outstanding. Pass through the white water very well.
- confirmation that there's not so much volume under the feet : the water comes near the pad at the level of the feet, where nose and tail are clearly out of the water, i appreaciate that.
- first take off : sensation to do 2 strokes less than with my 9'6x27,5 Lokahi (@118 liters), it takes really easily, the turnability is present even without being on the tail, sensation to not force to turn which is a key point.
- The light weight gives vivacity at the take off and on the wave. First wave = big validation.
- Kick tail looks generous so no worry to nose dive on late take off (i mean relatively late, wich is not my favorite sport on a 10')
- Some cross feet to the nose which is just enough wide.
- Another point to note : thanks to the thin rails, this big baby stays in the pocket easily than my 2 others Sup with more generous rails.
- I had the sensation to ride my 9" surf longboard in a Sup.
- Boards showed me friendly use and carving potential in bigger surf, promising.
- I'm much less tired than with my Lokahi 9'6x27,5, no subject with balance.

Session#2
Conditions : beachbreak, 1 meter wave not fast, 10 knots side shore, alone in the water
- Early take off in less power wave is present, it's really fun to ride and i know i could go even in smaller waves and keep fun.
- The board stay reactive at the end on the wave, no "go straight" mandatory when you go slow, you can still play a little turn and move.
- I valid my paddle height at my height (1,73 m), which was a bit too short with my 10'3 and ok with my 9'6.
- As ex-funboarder, following Dave Kalama story since the 80's, riding one of the creation of a waterman i deeply respect is an additional pleasure.

Session#3
Conditions : beachbreak, 2 meters waves steep and fast, 25 knots side-off, short gusts at 40 knots, few surfers in the water.
- my stability has been immediatly compromise with the wind, i felt unsafe with turning back to the beach during gusts.
- I swimmed several times and having a good leash and a lighter board than before made the pression on the leg lighter, a good point.
- I had difficulties to relax and breathe deeply, so i decided to make several breaks on the beach....and the wind started to move the board on the beach....not good.
- Conclusion : i could not ride a board less than 28 in hard conditions, i've to fold more my legs and i would not go out again with too strong winds, it impacts too much the security and the take-off.

Session#4
Conditions : Beachbreak, 2 meters waves steep and fast, 15 knots side-off, short gusts at 30 knots, some barrels, 70 surfers in the water, crowdy.
- a backwash was present and a bit annoying to paddle to the peak and was even noticable in the waiting zone.
- stability was OK in this lighter winds (but still challenging).
- I was waiting around 15 to 20 meters earlier than surfers, but they were present all 4 or 5 meters as a line of penguins to avoid just after take-off ! Source of stress, but i hade some good early take off, even if the strong wind was confusing the game : i lost many waves i was sure to take. I've avoided also some too risky late take-off. Timing was challenging but interesting.
- On those fast waves, i didn't had the sensation to have too many volume, the rails kept under control, but with this crowdy day, i was more riding toward the beach and tried to manage the explosion of the wave than making bottom + roller.
- This session was not easy for longboarding but if it had been less crowdy, i could have had much more fun (even if i'm not a big fan to deal with more than 15 knots on a sup and steep waves).
- Decision of the day : buying rail savers, i've been rolled many times and the paddle goes easily hurted the board in those conditions. Also when paddling, with a bit a stress with the crowd, the size wave and the wind, i saw my paddling being much less accurate than in Session 1 and 2 were i felt at home.

Overall, this Kalama answers to what i was looking for : longboard versatility + low volume + turning ability.
Fins choice is OK, i won't use bigger center fin to increase stability.

Now, i would like to share some pics of the tails of my 3 sups : Starboard round tail (my first wave sup, which became my flat sup, on the bottom), Lokahi small square tail (wave sup replaced by Kalama, the black on top). Interesting to visually compare thin to wide ratio and volume repartition.

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slsurf said..
Nice review, sounds like a great board. I like the idea of thinner rails.

Thanks, very good board.
My second choice would have been the Sunova Revolution Casey.