First up- I'm 78kgs, 175cms was riding the north nugget 5'2L 21W and I have 12 years experience in waves, freestyle and all things kite.

Recently I had a session on a mates north Nugget 5'2 2014 and instantly fell in love with this board. It takes away all the things I dislike about wave riding (particularly in Perth) and just leaves you with nothing but fun wave smashing. The following list explains what I mean.

Things I dislike about wave riding

1.going up wind after you have caught a wave- The wide body of the nugget allows amazing upwind the only thing better I have found is a course board

2.Onshore or side onshore wind- The width and floatation of the nugget allows you to continue to have forward speed and ride a wave even when your kite is stalling where as conventional boards will sink.

3. Riding waves in the 12-20 knot range- with conventional boards getting out in the lighter days is hard work and usually requires a bigger slower kite. When I tried the nugget it was 12-18 knots I was powered on my ten. No one else was out and the waves had awesome shape because the wind hadn't got to them.

The only negative I can think of is if you where out in Margaret river sized waves, because of the width and fish shape, you may find it bouncy down the face. However it is perfect for any conditions that Perth can through at us and I recommend you do yourself a favour and give it a go.

If you want to Demo it let me know and I can organise it.

Give me a text on 0450105063

Cheers

Dan

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Dan Anderson said..
Recently I had a session on a mates north Nugget 5'2 2014 and instantly fell in love with this board.
If you want to Demo it let me know and I can organise it.

That's very generous of you to demo out your mates board, what does he think of it?
I'm sure it does go well in the lighter wind, but 12-18 knot? Seriously, don't you mean 10-14 knot?
Col

No, it works on windy days too.
You just need to consider taking a few meters less kite.

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Dan Anderson said..
The only negative I can think of is if you where out in Margaret river sized waves, because of the width and fish shape, you may find it bouncy down the face. However it is perfect for any conditions that Perth can through at us and I recommend you do yourself a favour and give it a go.

What about Perth on a decent swell/wind? I question this board's ability when it's 20-25kn and shoulder-head, but would love to hear some feedback.

Out of interest Dan what boards were you riding before, and thus comparing to the nugget? Cheers

Dan, good to see you are riding again.
Back in Qld know ,saw a guy last weekend on what I thought was a nugget and he was ripping it apart in the small chop at Margate .

Can someone post some pics of the new nugget, sounds like they may have made a few changes from the original design.

Any first hand comparisons between the 2012/13 nugget and the new shape?

Anyone kiting on a Firewire Sweet Potato? Basically the same board as the Nugget but lighter construction. Wonder how it holds up...?

Yeah the photos on the north site don't really show or explain the construction build double concave single concave, single to double ect.

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PRAWNDOG said...
Yeah the photos on the north site don't really show or explain the construction build double concave single concave, single to double ect.

Have a look at the FireWire Baked Potato as they look very similar, just like the 2013 Nugget looks the same as the Sweet Potato.

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Dan Anderson said..

Things I dislike about wave riding

1.going up wind after you have caught a wave- The wide body of the nugget allows amazing upwind the only thing better I have found is a course board

2.Onshore or side onshore wind- The width and floatation of the nugget allows you to continue to have forward speed and ride a wave even when your kite is stalling where as conventional boards will sink.

3. Riding waves in the 12-20 knot range- with conventional boards getting out in the lighter days is hard work and usually requires a bigger slower kite. When I tried the nugget it was 12-18 knots I was powered on my ten. No one else was out and the waves had awesome shape because the wind hadn't got to them.

The only negative I can think of is if you where out in Margaret river sized waves, because of the width and fish shape, you may find it bouncy down the face. However it is perfect for any conditions that Perth can through at us and I recommend you do yourself a favour and give it a go.

Dan

It's best all-round board I own, great in all winds. Really floats well.

But.... because it is so flat, it really slaps the chop hard.

Hi Guys,

I was always a bit of a fan of the 2012/13 Nugget as a purely light wind surf board but found it a bit "bouncy" as soon as the wind or surf started getting up. This year we bought into the new 2014 Nuggets and went with the 5'5" version. The two boards couldn't be more different. I spent a bit of time whilst in Exmouth during our brief demo visit riding the new Nugget with a 7m Dice in moderate winds.

The 5'5" Nugget is smoooooooth! I think the additional length makes a big difference, it greatly reduces the slap, slap, and bounce the previous model suffered. I was very happy on it in moderate choppy conditions and waves of up to around head high. This is definitely a board worth demoing if you have an interest in something that will handle light to moderate conditions.

The old Nuggets were kind of a supplementary board to your regular ride and thus were a bit of a luxury board. For the first time, I reckon you could almost get away with the Nugget as a primary board, it has a much wider range in terms of conditions (wind strength and wave size).

A few peeps, very happy after demoing it. We will have it available for demo at tomorrows 27/10 demo day at Leighton.

DM

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toppleover said..

PRAWNDOG said...
Yeah the photos on the north site don't really show or explain the construction build double concave single concave, single to double ect.

Have a look at the FireWire Baked Potato as they look very similar, just like the 2013 Nugget looks the same as the Sweet Potato.

Yeah right. The new nugget is almost identical to the baked potato.

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bigtone667 said..

It's best all-round board I own, great in all winds. Really floats well.

But.... because it is so flat, it really slaps the chop hard.

I'd love to hear from anyone using it in bigger surf.

The extreme double concave creates "lift" which gives the board it's early planing ability. Usually the lift on boards like this put it too far out of the water making the board difficult to turn or put on rail when they pick up speed (like in bigger waves or strong wind). Sometimes a "vee" through the tail will counteract this, as does the quad fins somewhat... so it could be possible for the board to go ok in slightly bigger waves.

EDIT: just saw Darren's response.

How does the Low End of the 5' 5 Nugget compare to the 2013 Nuggs?

14

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bigtone667 said...


It's best all-round board I own, great in all winds. Really floats well.

But.... because it is so flat, it really slaps the chop hard.

Do you have the 2013 or 2014 Nugget

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toppleover said..

bigtone667 said...


It's best all-round board I own, great in all winds. Really floats well.

But.... because it is so flat, it really slaps the chop hard.

Do you have the 2013 or 2014 Nugget

Excellent question .... there is no date on the board, but i picked it up 2 months ago and it is 5'5 in length. I am assuming it is 2014 model, but i really cannot tell.

Well I had a look at one yesterday in a shop 2014 model its 5'5 long, 21" wide, it's blue and its definitely not flat on the bottom, it has a massive double concave from the tail right through the middle which seems to fade out through the nose of the board , looks like it would be a fun board, can't remember the thickness though. Interesting they opted to use a really big double concave as the trend in alot of fish or, bullet style surfboards is a big single concave which has less drag as its meant to create less surface area touching the water when your up and riding. I'm thinking maybe it would be to loose for kite boarding as those single concave boards are really fast and really release through the turn, in saying all that I prefer surfing double concave boards everything feels more controlled for me

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PRAWNDOG said..

Well I had a look at one yesterday in a shop 2014 model its 5'5 long, 21" wide, it's blue and its definitely not flat on the bottom, it has a massive double concave from the tail right through the middle which seems to fade out through the nose of the board , looks like it would be a fun board, can't remember the thickness though. Interesting they opted to use a really big double concave as the trend in alot of fish or, bullet style surfboards is a big single concave which has less drag as its meant to create less surface area touching the water when your up and riding. I'm thinking maybe it would be to loose for kite boarding as those single concave boards are really fast and really release through the turn, in saying all that I prefer surfing double concave boards everything feels more controlled for me

Sorry, when I say flat I am referring to the overall rocker compared to my surfboard. There is almost no rocker at all in the nugget but there is a double concave.

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PRAWNDOG said..

Well I had a look at one yesterday in a shop 2014 model its 5'5 long, 21" wide, it's blue and its definitely not flat on the bottom, it has a massive double concave from the tail right through the middle which seems to fade out through the nose of the board , looks like it would be a fun board, can't remember the thickness though.

Yes massive double concave. FireWire refer to the "V Spine". My understanding is that with such a wide tail the "v spine" channels the water through the middle of the fins - the spine acts almost like a fin itself between the quads. Seems pretty common with wide tail quad boards like this.

Interesting that AKS only have the 5'5 demo as I would've thought the 5'2 would be more suited to most riders. 5'5 would be way to big for me. The website has the dims:

5'2" x 21" x 2 3/8" ------ 29L -------- 65-85kg
5'5" x 21" x 2 7/16" ------- 32L -------- +80kg

Check out that volume! I could easily paddle either of those. So if it were me I'd be seriously considering a Baked Potato as a lighter weight alternative, which would also double as a paddle surfboard.

Yeah it does look very similar to the baked potato, I've never owned a FireWire board do you think the construction would be as good as the north board and the baked potato comes with the fifth fin option as well which is cool.

No doubt the North would be a lot stronger and durable.

WA Surf has a 5'2 Demo if anyone wants to take it for a spin.

Drew @ WA Surf

I was on my 7'1" mini mal in light wind with a 18mtr North dino. I tried a 5'2" 2013 Nugget a punter had at mullaz and found it planned as easy if not easier than the surf board. Ordred one today. They're that good. Loose to boot. I can't see any downside to these boards in small surf or on very light wind days. I did go for the 5'5" however just for a bit more floatation.

BTW I have a mini mal for sale if anyone wants one. $50

Hey hosh, pretty sure I was the punter at mullaz. Thanks for the go on the North Dyno - so fun. IMHO I can't think of a better board for Perth. The only issue I have found is that the Nugget struggles to take a steep drop on a good size face. So, super keen to see if the 2014 5'5", being a bit longer, is an improvement in that area. Otherwise my formula is Nugget for anything under 4ft and a Wam 6' for anything bigger - which you won't get in the Metro anyway.

Thanks for the spin D, I'll return the favor as soon as AKS get the 5"5' for me.

Just some info for those who may be tossing up getting a Nugget or Baked Potato - compared the weight of my 5'0 nug to a mates FW 5'1 Baked Potato (kiteboard construction with inserts) - the nugget felt to be much lighter than the BP.

^ Are you saying that your mates BP is strengthened plus has inserts?

Or is a regular surfboard. If it's a regular surfboard I am amazed!!

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bene313 said...
^ Are you saying that your mates BP is strengthened plus has inserts?

Or is a regular surfboard. If it's a regular surfboard I am amazed!!

FW make a kiteboard version of the BP their available now.
They are strong but heavy, his BP felt like it was twice the weight of the (2013) Nugget.

Right. I was thinking about the BP surfboard itself but reports are that they don't hold up kiting very well.

Pretty keen to try the 5'2 NN

I'll take some side by side shots of the 5'2 & 5'5 nugget for you all to drool over. Get them posted online tomorrow morning