Ok boys here they are, we have just received the new Sunova Style range of longboard Sups. Three sizes at the moment:
9'6 X 28"
10' X 29"
10'6 X 30"
These boards are the real deal, thin noses, tail lift, pulled in tails.
Shapes by legendary W.A. shaper Bert Berger, these boards have been eagerly awaited.
Some pics:
Great looking boards. I tried a couple at the Merimbula Classic & was very impressed by their performance, shape, lay-up & very very light. Great value boards & I am definitely going to consider them when due for my next purchase.....
Oh, & had never seen or heard of them before the Merimbula Classic.....
(Thanks AA for bringing them down).
Yeah, these things look the goods - definitley a potential Laird/Nalu competitior.
I have tried one of the early Sunova Skate shortboard style SUP's, and it was suuuuuper light & really tough.
Would love to hear from anyone that has ridden one of these....
here is a little video explaining the Balsa composite construction.
Select to expand quotemrsdc78 said..
Thanks. What about the volume and thickness?
Here you go.
That's a good range of specs. It's good to see some more options becoming available in this segment. If they ride well, they could be a good alternative to the laird and step down from the nalu. Will definitely be checking them out soon.
Nice looking board. Like the specs on the 10'6".
Two questions;
What's with the handle? (Any close ups on how it works - I'd hate for that sucker to be up and about during an "oops").
Where is it made, and by whom?
i hate to say it but those liftsup handles, while great in concept, are pretty awful in practice. get some sand in there and the handle can get wedged shut. plus, when using it, your knuckles and fingers tend to get banged a bit. imho, here's the best handle now made: http://blueplanetsurf.com/products/sup-grip . it allows for a full grip such that you can pick the board up with one hand and there's no mechanism to get stuck. these days, i don't know why anyone would use anything else. sorry to go off topic here, but if it's not toooo late to change styles, you should really consider it.
I have had no experience at all with these handles,and was assured by a Sunova dealer that they are trouble free.I still feel the potential for problems down the track exist(hell I've been wrong before ).i would prefer the original old tried and true slot type handle.If I decided on a Sunova this probsbly would not be a game changer ,but don't see the need to re invent the wheel.Yes all the factors should be considered and not everyone has gorilla length arms ,and it probably would be better for smaller paddlers carrying wider boards..As boards seem to be trending lighter it may be less of an issue In future.
Has anyone tried these boards yet?? Am keen to hear a bit of feedback on how they go and compare to other boards out there at the moment.
Select to expand quoteTalkToMe said...
Are these scratched rails an effect?
Yeah, it's to help camouflage potential paddle strikes..
Yes, those boards are new. The silver covers the carbon rail but you can still see the carbon thru it. It's a bit like the brushed carbon effect on boards
Select to expand quoteScottsup said...
Has anyone tried these boards yet?? Am keen to hear a bit of feedback on how they go and compare to other boards out there at the moment.
Two of the boys here at the store have them in their quiver- a 10x29 and a 9'6x28". They are unique in the current marketplace and I think the word we would use to describe them is fun, they truly surf like a good longboard, in fact Guy had been seen getting super long nose rides and barrels over the last week 
PS: also look into the guys behind the SUP Thinktank who designed the LiftSUP system - Brian Szymanski is one of the designers. He is routing out the cavity in the video. These guys know what they are doing.
Great looking boards , I think the 10-0 Sup class has a big future with those . Re the handle I have had no issues with it ,my only negative feedback is you tend to hold on to it a lot more than normal walking out through the shore break because it's really easy to control the board. So you just have to be careful when you duck under a monster the wave doesn't suck the board over with your hand in handle. Other than that it works really well. Construction wise these boards are so strong, light , ding and whack proof they get 5 stars from me and you don't need rail tape.
have you tried the Sup Grip type handles that i linked to? if you haven't, then you don't know what you're missing. i've seen and used all the current handle styles and these are a quantum leap superior to them all. i have no affiliation w/ blueplanet but i'm seriously thinking of retrofitting an old board or two with its handle. they are that much better. but it's not something you'll totally get until you've tried one. so you really owe it to yourself to pick one up, ha ha, if you can. and in this instance i think i can confidently say, ym wont v .
A mate had the 10'x29 Style arrive yesterday. We went out for an evening session in knee high short period wind swell on a dropping tide. He's about 80kgs and 5'8. I'm 105kgs and 6'2, both in our late 30's.
My first impressions are this thing looks great. Nice and light and the construction looks pretty good. I dig the colours and the wood top is sweet. Our initial comments were that the nose is minion-esque. Lots of tail rocker. The lift-sup handle is something we hadn't seen before but was easy to use and didn't give us any troubles. Looks like it should hold up ok.
He generally rides a JP Wide Body 8'8. I ride a Starboard Blend 11'2. Longer boards work well for our mostly small windswell conditions here. We do get the occasional day where we get shoulder high, but generally it's choppy and waist high.
He had no troubles paddling out and easily caught the first wave he paddled for. Around waist high, he stepped back and got a nice turn in. Seemed very stable for him. We had an about an hour session and his wave count was pretty good. Much higher than on his JP in these conditions. He scored wave of the day with a chest high peak that came out of nowhere. A quick turn and 2 strokes and he was on. He never seemed to have to work too hard to catch anything.
I jumped on for a trial at the end of the session. At 130ltrs it's on the low side for my size. I expected to fall off straight away but it was more stable than I thought it would be. I paddled out with a few wobbles and caught the first wave I turned for. Easy onto the wave and felt nice once moving. Paddled back out and fell off while waiting for the next set. I was tired and found it really hard to stay on so called it a day.
My mate was happy with it and it will see a lot of use on the smaller days. Seems like it will go alright on the bigger days too. Yet to see what it's like for him when it's really choppy with a lot of water movement.
For my size it's definately a bit small. Maybe at 30/31 wide and 150ltrs it might be more suitable? Coming from riding the Blend at 170odd ltrs, which is stable and cruisey probably spoils me a bit. I'm out to have fun, not work hard. In super clean conditions, I think it would be just ok. The dome deck is interesting (quite pronounced) and I found it more comfortable to stand with my feet right out near the rails (maybe that was just due to the stability for me). Definatley for the smaller/average size person this would be a great board.
I'm keen to try out the 10'6 in small chop.
Select to expand quoteScottsup said..
Has anyone tried these boards yet?? Am keen to hear a bit of feedback on how they go and compare to other boards out there at the moment.
Scottsup, mine arrived yesterday (2 days ahead of what Toll Traker said which proves if you stare at it, it does speed it up
)
Quickly unwrapped it, stuck on some rail tape, wax and took it straight out, 2-3 foot, bit messy plus and windy.
Board felt real nice, just what I was looking for, it handled the chop no worries, both paddling out through and when making sections. Certainly got some good comments on how it looked out in the water also! These boards are sweet!!
Back out at sunrise this morning in 3-4 foot and clean, 1 word, far ken sensational.
I was looking for that Trad longboard feel for a point break wave and this delivers big time, some fairly steep take offs handled no worries, turns and plenty of speed, can't get the smile of my face
Normally I would take a prone board out today but you know, newbie needs to get run thing, after 2 hours and a heap of great waves I was truly stoked, buggerd and grinning like a Cheshire Cat
If you can demo one do, or if not JFDI and get one.
Big thanks to Andrew and Sam from Balmoral Surf for seeing me right and getting it up to me.
