Hello - have had a lot of good ideas and information come my way - I have the Smik longboard Bonzer, which is now a keeper - after good advice! After a shorter beach break board - Many options out there, but why hasn't anybody mentioned the Smik " mini style lord " it looks brilliant! Any body own one? 9'0" by 32" and 135? Litres. Please, some comments from owners!
Have the 9'9" longboard bonzer - really after a different size - 9 foot or less. Had a surf today on the Smik hipster twin 8'10" - stable and fast - very different to anything I have been on! A wave hit me as I was finishing turning round to catch it, no momentum, just leaned forward and with one paddle stroke as well - and into it! Yahoo
HI mate, I posted this comparison last year between a Mini Style Lord that was a custom 9'1x31 132 ltrs from memory and a stock Hipster Twin 8'6x31.5 132 ltrs. You can find there full thread on the, Board talk and review page from the 27th December 2022.
"They are both great boards, and I could easily have one or the other as an only board, but life too short for that!
Stability wise, I was surprised how stable the Hipster is, looking at the outline it should not have been a surprise. Between them there is not much if any difference that I noticed with stability. Everyone is different, but I have had no real problem on either board waiting out the back for waves or for that matter paddling out. My favourite beach has a strong rip along a rock/cliff face that causes a lot of bumps and it sends them through the take off spot on large days. So stability wise it's even between the two boards.
As for riding waves again I could live with one or the other, as to which one well that would depend on the size of surf I would ride the most. Again the Hipster surprised me with how easy it catches small waves. I am talking below waist to knee high, the board never really gets going in this size but is still fun. In the smaller surf the Style Lord is just more fun, it's a longboard shape and you can easily use the full length of the board to make the most of the wave. I find it very easy to get toward the nose and it glides though flat sections too, and can catch any bump coming through.
As the surf gets waist high or up with a little push the Style Lord is fun to ride off the tail, indeed I have done possibly my best close out re-entry on the Style Lord. Also back hand I really like the rounded pin tail of the S.L. It flows nicely on my back hand, the width of the nose is my only concern as the waves get larger and more powerful. Most of the waves around here pack a punch if it's overhead, the rounded nose takes a little bit of attention to make sure you don't catch a rail on take off. I have only done that a few times so its not to hard to manage.
I have only had five or so days out on the Hipster, I injured my neck at work and have been out of the water since the start of January. But in those surfs I was riding waves how I felt I have wanted to on a SUP. I have surfed all sorts of surfboards over the last forty years, the last ten or so not so frequently, my first time on a SUP was in the surf and I was catching and riding waves that first morning around three years ago.
So the Hipster just feels right to me on a wave, that it can catch and glide along on gutless waves is handy. However when the waves give you some open face and a little power it comes alive. On my last surf, there were a few other SUP surfers out that I did not know and one of them asked me what I was riding. I told him and he said the the board seem to turn really well, nothing to do with me I suppose :)
So in summary I suppose the if where you live is mostly waist high or below surf, lacking a little power the Style Lord would be the pick. It's versatile enough to handle large days too, and is an excellent one board quiver. The Hipster can certainly ride gutless waves, but likes a little more size to get the magic happening. It's fast, loose and a lot of fun when everything links up.
I love them both and will keep them and pick and choose depending on the surf conditions of the day. But with the last six weeks out of the water, the board I am dreaming of riding is the Hipster."
After a few more months of riding both boards I ended up selling the Mini Style Lord as the Hipster was the board I wanted to ride most of the time. And I brought a Sunova Casey REVO 10x30 so that became the small wave board of choice. That left the Style lord as the third option for me most days, if I only could have one board it works well, but for me the Hipster is more fun to ride and in the size I have it can ride anything. It's super stable but has the ability to come alive unlike another SUP I have ridden.
The Mini Style Lord is also very versatile just in a more longboard way, and as the waves around here are punchy beach breaks the Hipster is way more fun. And if you are keeping the Bonza the Hipster might be a better match for it.
Hope that helps.
Steve.
P.S a couple of the photos I took when selling the Style lord.
Thanks - I am going for a custom Smik. Finally settled, after discussions with Scotty, on an 8"10" - this shorter version at 31 and five eights wide by 130 litres was inspired by Tardy's effort with his new shorter Sunova. Plus Rick out there on all sorts of boards. The brief was that it worked well in waist high partly choppy beachbreak. From mellow take off to half hollow sandbar screamers - he has come up with a sort of blend between the hipster and mini style lord!
Be about two months! Swallow tail version, for speed.
