Starboard Splice or Smik Spifire

I haven,t paddled the Splice but shouldnt you compare it to the hipster instead of the Spitfire? I have the 8.6 Spitfire V2 and 8.3 Hipster and they surf completely different and what I have seen from the Splice it is more Hipster Style as drawn out Spitfire turns.

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Jeroensurf said..
I haven,t paddled the Splice but shouldnt you compare it to the hipster instead of the Spitfire? I have the 8.6 Spitfire V2 and 8.3 Hipster and they surf completely different and what I have seen from the Splice it is more Hipster Style as drawn out Spitfire turns.

How does the Spitfire go in small surf?

I have an 8'8 X 30 hipster mini mal custom and also owned an 8'8 spitfire latest model. I like the hipster better on the wave but the spitfire was more stable... extra width makes a difference! Both great boards though and much lighter than my Sunova of similar volume. Hipster and Spitfire both heaps of fun on small waves.

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drivethebus said..
Hi Jeroen, don't want to hijack the thread, how do you find the Hipster? and how much do you weigh? looking to buy the 8'6" this week and I wonder if the 8'3" would be ok at my weight of 95 kgs.

Also would like your thoughts on the Spitfire as that's on my bucket list down the track.

Hi mate I had the 8 10 hipster think it was 140ltr from memory great fun board, great speed for a wide board turn easy. to much volume for my weight at 85kg though corky and not as stable as I would have thought
at 32 wide, wide nose harder to paddle then expected I ended up offloading it to my brother who's taller and heavier he loves it.

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drivethebus said..
Hi Jeroen, don't want to hijack the thread, how do you find the Hipster? and how much do you weigh? looking to buy the 8'6" this week and I wonder if the 8'3" would be ok at my weight of 95 kgs.

Also would like your thoughts on the Spitfire as that's on my bucket list down the track.

No worries, if the mods don,t like it we can change to PM,s.I,m 95 kg, non sponsored, 48y old fart with some balance issues (1 foot is disfunctiong) so ad a 4mm suit etc. and its close to a 100kg. Background: I can prone surf but my background is mostly wavesailing. Unlike people who come from prone I like a fronmtfoot driven kinda board with a bit looser tail where most proner want haps of tailgrip to push against. Nothing wrong with that but it gives a bit of perspective on WHY some boards suit me better as others while it csn be completely the opposite for some else. The 8.3 Hipster is for me fine in pretty much everything up to waisthigh chop and wind.
Volume is always a debatable thing but the Smiks feel the same as most Starboards, Naish for example feels for me a bit smaller.
Surfwise: I really really like the Hipster, Its speed is okay, but the magic is in the turning and tightening the turns awhile keeping going with a rare combo of enough grip and loose enough in the tail to tailwhip on the lip or in the whitewater.

I live in the netherlands/europe and if you look at the map the UK blocks almost all our waves so in the netherlands we only have decent waves when there is a strong storm somewhere deep in the Northsea pushing up a decent Northswell. On those days we got a awesome day that in France/ Portugal or Ireland would be a 4+ maybe a 5 out of 10. Most days the waves arent fast enough for the Hipster and I grab my Hypernut 7.10x131l, so the Smiks are most of the time "holiday" boards.

Last august+sept we stayed 3-4weeks in Ireland (wich can get really good) and paddled most days the Hipster and Spitfire.
The days with waves upto head high that allowed plenty of turns (most of the time) the Hipster was awesome. It remined me a bit off my Starboard Pro 8.5x112l from 2015 when using it with an softer plastic centrefin from K4.
The Spitfire 8.6x30x125l is comnied with the Quabas fins aprox 800gram heavier as the Hipster, paddling faster,better tracking, catching waves faster, more acceleration but also stiffer in the turns due the faster rocker. Still fun, but less playfull and more locked in as the Hipster.
We had 2 bigger days with 4m+ wavefaces and that is where the Hipster is more scetchy and the Spitfire shines. It gives a really solid thrustfull feel with grip, grip and more grip instead of the looser squirly hipster. I can use the hipster in conditions like that, but it needs very precise positioning and this aren,t comditions I get on a daily basis so its also a bit getting used to and that was a lot easier with the Spitfire.
In the netherlands with our small, slow chaos short period waves the spitfire is imo complete useless. I mean you can paddle it and catch waves with it, but for small and slow waves there are IMO simply better boards. But when its fast..its a great board, so for me it makes completely sense to have the Spitfire and Hipster as an couple. :)

Next month I go for a week to Fuerteventura-Canary Island to escape the cold (last weekend we were skating on the canals) and based on the forecast I decide what board to bring: small: hipster, big Spitfire.

btw: I have the Spitfire V2 because when I ordered the V3 wasnt launched yet. The V3 was anounched while my board was on the boat to Europe otherwise I might went for the V3, but on the positive side: I really like the sizes of my 8.6x30x125l.

Hope it helps., if you need more info: let me know

The winters and waves are horrible here. I,m always looking for a nice family on Maui or so to adopt me, as a climate refugee, but so far havent succeed. Till then: tommorow it will be airtemp of+6C and 25knots. water will be around 8 and still hoping to squeez a wingfoil session somewhere in my day.

I have a Spitfire 8'3" v2, super stable and amazing range but I also have a Hipster 7'10". I struggle a bit with the hipster in smaller stuff unless it has good shape as it's a little sticky at the bottom end, I believe the mk2 ironed that out. Comes alive once chest high and the flow rail to rail and turns are incredible! The Spitfire is still super wide for a performance shape at 29.5" but surfs amazingly through a huge range of conditions, fuller nose and rails definitely helps in the stability department when there's water moving or bump on the surface. Great allrounder and easy to paddle and surf. I'm 86 and a bit kg at mo and just added a 7'2 Hypernut to the quiver (105) for bottom end spark, hoping we some some more new Smik products in the UK next year! Had a good look at Beau Nixon's custom round pin twin a little while back, thing of beauty!

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justaddwater said..
Kovert ,More about Beau's custom please

One of the nicest sup boards I've had the joy of handling! Foil end to end, rails, tail outline all just blend beautifully. Super thin round tail with wing, 7'6 x 26" and 90 litres. Great to see tinted resin instead of the not so robust paint on mine. Not quite sure how he does it, talented for sure! Can see it in action here

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Kovert said..

justaddwater said..
Kovert ,More about Beau's custom please

One of the nicest sup boards I've had the joy of handling! Foil end to end, rails, tail outline all just blend beautifully. Super thin round tail with wing, 7'6 x 26" and 90 litres. Great to see tinted resin instead of the not so robust paint on mine. Not quite sure how he does it, talented for sure! Can see it in action here

No idea what this has to do with a Starboard Splice or Smik Spitfire but thanks for sharing any feedback on the Splice board ?

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Scotchman72 said..

Kovert said..

justaddwater said..
Kovert ,More about Beau's custom please

One of the nicest sup boards I've had the joy of handling! Foil end to end, rails, tail outline all just blend beautifully. Super thin round tail with wing, 7'6 x 26" and 90 litres. Great to see tinted resin instead of the not so robust paint on mine. Not quite sure how he does it, talented for sure! Can see it in action here

No idea what this has to do with a Starboard Splice or Smik Spitfire but thanks for sharing any feedback on the Splice board ?

I think BN has a review of Spice dropping shortly on their website so does come full circle :)

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justaddwater said..
Scotchman,,sorry, apologies for the highjack,have a safe Xmas with waves

You too mate all good Merry Christmas and Happy New Year