Board
2007 (just released) SPLEENE ZONE. 1.59 x 43 pintail directional. Thruster setup, 6cm fins. Snowboard construction. German design.

Rider
“Senior” sportsman, 95 kg before dinner. Intermediate+ ability, lots of experience.
Using a 12m Flexifoil Atom SLE. For the last year I have been riding an Airush Hammer 144 twin tip and a Delta Designs “Antman” 6ft surfboard (strapped and strapless).


Conditions
Scarborough to Trigg last Friday in a late sea breeze (15 knots?) and 0.5m waves.

The Experience

Ian Young offered me the board to try as he headed for home at around 6 pm on a Friday evening, so I figured I had nothing to lose at the end of the working week.

Being of snowboard type construction, the board was light, and wickedly handsome (IMO), with quite a lot of flex. Flat across the bottom, lots of nose lift and very little tail lift. Teardrop outline with quite a narrow nose compared to other directionals. Ultra thin tail exit, then stepped up for fin screws and rear footpad.

The board is very lively and cuts easily through the chop when ridden on the rail as well as the fins. Acceleration onto the plane is almost instant. There is no buoyancy in the board, so think “thin wakeboard” when it comes to floating through the lulls, or turning in the lulls. To compensate, a quick dive of the kite and I was planing at speed again. The board’s turning radius was (...here comes the hype…) amazing! It can be snapped around on the spot, or - if the power of wave or wind is there – kept on the plane for a more drawn out carving turn.

Cutting upwind was impressive. I was expecting to bog as I tried to point high, but found the speed and lightness of the board when planing kept me pointing where I wanted to go. This aspect was again confirmed when I found I could keep comfortably positioned on the faces of the waves (such as they were) as I headed upwind, rather than working to avoid being pulled off the front of the wave or stalling off the back. When it came time to try to squeeze a re-entry from those little faces, I was able to turn the board surprisingly far into the wave for the re-entry.

Down-the-line surfing was not really tested because of the small wave size and wind strength. I expect the board would need to be ridden more powered up than a surfboard in these conditions (lack of planing area). I imagine this board would come into its own in bigger surf, where more wave power could be utilised. Can’t wait try it in bigger waves……..

Even though I am used to riding the high-volume Delta, I felt like there was definitely the potential for gibing and strapless riding on this board in smaller surf. But yet to be proven!

For my weight I would be interested in trying a bigger board with bigger fins, but right now the Zone is only made in the one size.

Overall Impressions

That downwind run of 30 – 40 minutes was great fun in poor conditions. The experience was of riding something between the Hammer TT and the Delta surfboard, but with some of the best aspects of each available in the one board. I am well aware that the conditions were not ideal for the Delta. All in all a pleasure to ride – fast and fun where my other boards would not have performed to their potential.

I reckon this board will have a strong appeal to anyone who is into surf, and wants a blend of TT ease and speed together with wave face performance of a directional. A great “Scarbs” board.


Conclusion

If you’re interested in trying the board when I am at the beach and I’m not on it, look out for the white van and grey hair, and call me Graham.
And give me a go on your new Rev !

Airush Hammer 144 for sale.
Delta Antman 6ft for sale.
Phone Graham on 0411 051 845 or reply to this post.

The Spleene Zone can be seen on Ian’s website: www.flysurf.com.au

Me Again
It's been a week and 5 sessions since I first posted.
Tues - repeat conditions as above,
Wed - 18-23 knots and 1m swell on a 12m Atom. (Nicely powered)
Thur - can't remember. (I'm getting tired.)
Fri - 20-30 knots, gusty and 1.5m swell on a 9m Atom. (Mostly powered)
Sat - 10-15 knots and 2m+ swell on a 9m Atom. (Way underpowered.)

I have had time to dial into the board and get it performing more each session. All sessions have left me feeling mightily impressed with this board and confirmed my initial impressions in the post above, with a couple of exceptions:
- I am no longer thinking that a bigger board with bigger fins would be better for me. At 159cm x 43 cm and very curved plan shape, this board defies logic with its ability to plane early and at speed. I think it's a combination of lightness, generous planing area in the back of the board, and flat tail. As I get to grips with the feel of the board I am using the curved outline more to bite through turns and rail-to-rail transitions and thereby keep the speed up. (Having said that, I do think the board could support a bigger centre fin for more bite when the going really gets tough.)
- haven't tried to gybe yet, but toeside gets easier and more comfortable each session. I 've been able to give my right leg some relief by spinning the board end for end and riding backwards for a while. (Very skatey of course, but does the trick.) Would be nice if it had a swivelling deck!

On bigger waves there is a feeling of security and confidence I haven't had before. It is so easy to position myself on the wave, with a choice of hanging back or cutting back while the wave steepens, then accelerating through a critical section. Have had a few off-the-wind down-the-liners and just have to learn to control my balance better to get the most out of it. The board turns so easily it can catch me leaning too far into the wave face on my backhand before the next turn. And the damn kite - I have to remember not to sine it too far or it just doesn't keep up. (Need to work on that, but backhand is a challenge for me with a worn out left hip joint.)

Reo's are much friendlier than before. With no bouyancy the board keeps on track in the breaking section and is much less likely to be tossed around in the washing machine than on my high-volume surfboard.

This board has done more to increase my enjoyment of this fantastic sport than any other piece of new kit.
(And I have had plenty of new kit over the last 6.5 years!)


NO COMPLAINTS

NO CRITICISMS

ONE VERY HAPPY CAMPER.

I reckon the rocker has a lot to do with the easy planing of the board and is very similar to what would be used on a small wave surfboard - it is completely flat from the tail to just behind the front foot. I thought it could have done with a smidgen of a Vee from the tail to just in front of the front fins, but watching the Tribal Elder slash his turns and swivel on a sixpence, I am thinking my mindset might be locked into surfboard design!!
I have ridden the Spleene twice - both times in less than ideal conditions, but on both those occasions found it gets to plane very easily, and seemed a great board - even on the backhand, but need a few more sessions to better judge it.