Hey Guys and Gals
Just a few questions about the Shinnster.
They've had pretty good reviews through their existence, and just curious if this is still the case?
Are they pretty much a Surfboard replacement, or a extra bit of fun quiver?
Do any of you use them exclusively for downwinders, or just take it out now and then?
Are they nicer through chop than a glass/epoxy board?
Are they easier to gybe or harder?

I live/kite in the North West
My Nugget just does not get near enough use up here mainly due to: 1 lack of waves, 2 mostly kiting in big tides. (flats,rocks,banks)
After 2 fin box repairs on my last Nugget, and with freight costing more than the repair, my new one has seen lots more time in the bag.
Thinking a Shinnster would be a sensible alternative, in that they are still fairly light wind capable, bomb proof build in comparison to glass,
and I will assume, although no volume, they ride shallow once on the plane. The skim factor would be beneficial.
I do realiise the technique is slightly different riding these too compared to a surfboard.

Cant really pop in for a demo so just thought Id ask the current owners their thoughts.
Thanks in advance!
Happy Winter!

I have one in my quiver and find it is a pretty cool board although not a surfboard replacement.

I usually use it for downwinders when the wind is not so strong as it planes early and is a lot of fun even in tiny waves. In stronger wind you get overpowered a lot earlier than with a normal surfboard, the boards has very little drive which makes it difficult to handle in larger swell. It is a great board for riding smaller shorebreaks as when you crash it usually pops back behind the wave. No more broken fin box or cracked nose. Gybes are super easy, construction is solid.

It is a great addition to a quiver.

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techtonic said..
Hey Guys and Gals
Just a few questions about the Shinnster.
They've had pretty good reviews through their existence, and just curious if this is still the case?
Are they pretty much a Surfboard replacement, or a extra bit of fun quiver?
Do any of you use them exclusively for downwinders, or just take it out now and then?
Are they nicer through chop than a glass/epoxy board?
Are they easier to gybe or harder?

I live/kite in the North West
My Nugget just does not get near enough use up here mainly due to: 1 lack of waves, 2 mostly kiting in big tides. (flats,rocks,banks)
After 2 fin box repairs on my last Nugget, and with freight costing more than the repair, my new one has seen lots more time in the bag.
Thinking a Shinnster would be a sensible alternative, in that they are still fairly light wind capable, bomb proof build in comparison to glass,
and I will assume, although no volume, they ride shallow once on the plane. The skim factor would be beneficial.
I do realiise the technique is slightly different riding these too compared to a surfboard.

Cant really pop in for a demo so just thought Id ask the current owners their thoughts.
Thanks in advance!
Happy Winter!

I have the equivalent BRM Paipo and I use it in the surf and/or any other shallow location ......

At 100kg, it is not my light wind option, too thin for me, so I will generally switch over to a Nugget or big fish. But for moderate and high winds it is superb.
It has plenty of flex, so it is great in chop. If I could get a Paipo one to two inches wider, that would be my preferred light wind option.

For wave riding and downwinders, I initially struggled doing bottom hand turns because I kept losing the rear end. BUT.... I replaced the smaller BRM fins with some 70mm AXIS fins and now it is magic. it can certainly replace a surf board (it's light, easy to pack and easy to travel with!!).

I put a deck pad on mine and have no issues at all gybing, going toeside.

They are easy to jump and launch off waves and are virtually indestructible.

For super shallow conditions (one inch), I just remove the fins. It has such a long straight edge, it still goes upwind really well. Great skim board!!

If I had to dump all my boards and keep one, it would be a close call between the Nugget and Paipo.

Cheers for the replies guys.
Defo ticking some boxes.
Livit do you think bigger fins (70mm) would help with the lack of drive?
Bigtone can I ask did you get your BRM in Oz? I couldn't find any retailers.

I've had a Shinnster for 18 months and find I'm using more and more. It's not like a surfboard and not like a TT.

The TT construction allows you to use your rail like a TT and being 160cm long that long rail line makes it crank up wind. Easy to jibe and tack.
Fun in small surf and flat water.
You will use a kite size smaller for the equivalent TT conditions.
It planes early due to the wide tail and flat rocker. The flex helps in transitions and smooths out the chop.
Bullet proof construction but I did manage to strip the thread on one of my fins which are made of some sort of tough plastic. I've replaced them with fibreglass fins from my old Shinn Wave which are the same shape.
Get a deck pad. Waxing is a non event and soon becomes slippery.

Mark Shinn quote: "High performance machine for low performance conditions". I'd tend to agree.

Purchased it from Greg Drexler at BRM .... Nice guy, very helpful.

The price of the Paipo landed in Australia now is probably ridiculously expensive (I paid $700 back when the dollar was good) and the shinnster can be found for less than $700 (kitepower has them).

Most of the Gybes in the vids seem to show "shove it" type turns/tacks
Would this be how most are turning or is it pretty much a standard SB style gybe?

I love my shinnster!

Best way to describe it is just fun. Its my go-to board for flat water sessions.

As for turns/gybes, you can do it so many different ways. Big carves, spiny shove it sorta things, slide turns like a TT etc...
One of my fav moves is to do TT style slide turn, then ride out with the board going backwards, then pop and do a shove-it to get the board going forwards again Actually, its pretty rad riding it backwards, super loose...

Fun in small surf, but I find I slide out and face plant a bit trying to bottom turn. But thats just cause Im used to a surf board in waves.
Im happy on it in light and strong wind. When you need to you can really dig the edge in and hold it when the wind picks up.

Since joining the shinnster world, I very rarely touch my TT these days. I would 100% reccomend buying one.

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techtonic said...
Most of the Gybes in the vids seem to show "shove it" type turns/tacks
Would this be how most are turning or is it pretty much a standard SB style gybe?

All the general things you can do on a surfboard you can do on a Shinnster.