Has anyone got experience with this board? I'm looking to get one for next season to use in light wind, and also intro to surfboard and strappless riding for a change from the twinny.
Are they fun to ride, and also easy to carve turn and switch your feet.im on the pivots with 11 being the biggest kite, not interested in the big kites anymore, doesn't do it for me.
I'm 88kg, any info would be great?
Cheers

You'll be out in 12 knot havin fun in 14.

Will not find a more stable/easy to use board IMO.

I have the 5"2 2014 which is probable the size you need aswell IMO as a similar weight to you

Totally new shape for 2016 (had a peep at a proto at my local shop)

And yes ridiculously fun.

Awesome light wind board, you'll be out when others are on the beach

i reckon the 2012 model was their best, when mine started to crack on the top deck I had a local shaper make a replacement. I've got the 5'0.

I'm around 70 kegs, normally ride with an 8m Reo - if it drops to below 12 knots I've got a 12m

Carving is easy, lots of back foot pressure on the tail. Switching is also straight forward, as they have a lot of width

I also had the 5ft board, first modebut they don't handle too much jumping as the deck tends to crack! had that one replaced under warranty. The construction is just so rigid you get deck cracks rather than heal dents. Made a copy which goes as well if not better than the original. But I now tend to ride the BWS Drifter (another copy) in marginal conditions. Although it doesn't have the area and tail volume of the nugget, the extremely flat rocker and one less fin makes it much faster so you get a higher apparent wind. It also jumps better and is my go to board for marginal conditions. It isn't good for down the line or powered conditionns, just too fast for that.

I've been riding a Shinnster for about 8 months now. Best light wind fun board I've tried. Doesn't bounce around like fat railed boards and screams up wind. Worth trying one if you can get a demo. Totally indestructible since it's made the same as a TT.

Hi ste,

The North Nugget is one of those "odd" boards that you just can't appreciate without having a ride on one. They plane in very little wind and have so much tail area that a turn on the face in underpowered small wave conditions equates to speed instead of bogging down and losing the wave.

I reckon a Nugget will improve your linking orf turns by 100% and will increase your water time by getting you out earlier in better conditions before it gets crowded.

The Nugget is fast and loose. Forget the straps, this board is a must have in a board quiver IMHO. Pretty sure we still have a demo one you can ride.


DM

Agree with you 100% Darren, go and see them and grab one Steve you wont regret it. I will be soon hopefully

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KIT33R said..
I've been riding a Shinnster for about 8 months now. Best light wind fun board I've tried. Doesn't bounce around like fat railed boards and screams up wind. Worth trying one if you can get a demo. Totally indestructible since it's made the same as a TT.

I have both and love them both, but, the nugget is little bit more generous in wind lulls because of the volume.

And if you really want to do hard turning, the nugget fins are advantageous.

Hey thanks for all the advise on the nugget, sounds like a good addition to the quiver.
Cheers Darren, I will call in and grab the demo.
Burnsey pm your number and catch up for a kite

I hope they ride better than they look.....

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samokta said..
I hope they ride better than they look.....

I think that's why (at least in my area) you don't see many nuggets around, me & my mate bothe have nuggets and are usually the only ones out in the surf having fun on the really light days.

They look sh1thouse but go great when it's light, definitely a session saver.

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ste said...
Has anyone got experience with this board? I'm looking to get one for next season to use in light wind, and also intro to surfboard and strappless riding for a change from the twinny.
Are they fun to ride, and also easy to carve turn and switch your feet.im on the pivots with 11 being the biggest kite, not interested in the big kites anymore, doesn't do it for me.
I'm 88kg, any info would be great?
Cheers

Just grab a higher volume second hand surfboard, slap a deck pad on it and away you go, some people just don't like the interchange from a tt to a surfboard, those with a surfing background do most of the time, for me it's a bit boring in lower winds, with an 11 and one of these you'd have to be around the 15 + to have a satisfying session

Had the nugget 2014 and did not like it, way to bouncy in chop.
I ride this fish which handles chop better and rides the waves better
Best thing of all it was $50.
When there's no wind I paddle it out for a surf.
Come summer it will be its third season.
5'10 x21 and 3 inches thick in the middle.

... I love mine and plus one on the session saver!!! In fact it's my first choice board now. Short fat boards are fun man!

Just to add a bit more to the above comments, the older and newer nuggets are different and either has its benefits so if you can get your hands on either your gunna be a happy chappie.

The ones pictured above are the slightly older 2012/2013 models which have a wider tail and can get a tad bouncy as the wind pics up but man you can slide them off the top like a demon, really manouverable and makes you look like your doing it. Wicked upwind machine, slightly better upwind than the newer ones but at the expense of control at speed. Super easy to ride indeed.

The newer ones, 2014 and 2015's are slightly longer in the 5'2" and longer again with the 5'5" but both a narrower tail than the previous models. These are much more grippy and stable at speed and can handle more wind as they track straighter and can handle bigger waves than the PR department blurb says. I reckon the older ones top out at 17 or 18 knots of board speed in choppy water to remain comfortable but the newer ones are still controllable at 23 or 24 knots. With a change of fins you can change the feel too. You have to move your back foot around alot more on the newer nuggets to get the best and sliding them out is harder for sure, where as I found you can leave your back foot in one spot on the older round tail model and slide to your hearts content, mucho fun.

Oh, and the older ones seem to damage easier so if you take it easy then you'll be fine. A few of them (2012/2013) here have delaminated but the new ones nothing so far. It took ages for heal dents to show up too, nearly a year but my other branded boards only took a month or 2 for heal dents, and a year later, cracked and stuffed., plus I haven't had any fin box problems like the other brands of boards I used.

Good luck on ya hunt, and if you can try them first, even better.

cheers,

Robbie

I think most of Norths supply comes to Darwin it is the light wind capital.. As Robbie said there great, i don't think there is any one with out one up here.
There tough to, Robbie could heal dint in 3/4 inch plate if he tried hard enough and his survives a season.

I picked up a 2015 model last week, still frothin to get out on it as we maxed out at about 2kn in eastern vic over the weekend... The positive reviews here are keeping me going though. It came with 5 front pads, one large one, 4 small ones. What are the smaller pads for? Do you use them when water starting or different wind conditions?

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acitta said..
I picked up a 2015 model last week, still frothin to get out on it as we maxed out at about 2kn in eastern vic over the weekend... The positive reviews here are keeping me going though. It came with 5 front pads, one large one, 4 small ones. What are the smaller pads for? Do you use them when water starting or different wind conditions?

... the small ones are to fill in the deck area between the front and rear deck pads and generally for when your switching feet in transistions. Stick them on the board as they appear in the package.

Robbie

Great board, versatile and not too bad for pretend wave riders (like me) especially with a traditional Quad fin setup. It's my go to light wind board as well.

Eppo I know it's a different kind of board but, does it have a better bottom end than w18 speedball?

No idea only ever tried the w16. Heard the speedball has a good low end due to width. But chuck in volume (Length, but not as important) and the nugget finnage if I was a betting man id say I doubt it. Especially if currents, ocean are involved.

to add, I'm not a directional rider per say, TT man to the core, but this board (and I presume the other boards with a similar design intention) just turns a lot of light and crappy sessions into a ton of fun. More fun than on a light wind TT for me anyway.

Another thing to consider are these winter conditions with large gust ranges. You can afford to put up a much smaller kite to deal with the heavy gusts and still hold ground on the lulls...and chuck in some waves, can really turn what could be an unpleasant (even dangerous session) into a really good one. When the summer hit then it's bang up the largest kite and some that you can handle on the TT. But for the SB guys I ride with, the nug' is used for those less than ideal wave conditions...which become just ramps for me!

Nugget always goes to the beach with me. Haven't had a solid session on the 2016 yet, but the 2015/14 model and shape is super fun. I was out on a 5'2" Nugg & 12m Neo when my mate was on an 18m Juice with no depower pulled on, and he's only about 5-10kg heavier... go figure!

Make's light & ****e conditions super fun. And it's SOOOOO easy to ride. Can appreciate it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but definitely worth a try.

Drew

Hey Ste,
I was out last night on a 2012 Nugget testing my new 11m Pivot.
Love the kite and have to say it worked very well with the Nugget. The smooth power delivery from the Pivot seemed to really suit the riding style of the Nugget making for a really fun combination, dont think you can go wrong really.

Ridden the nugget on everything from wave kites to high aspect race kites, to even a foil From plenty of different brands ...ya pivots got fckall to do with this conversation.

Except that Ste has an 11m Pivot, if it had nothing to do with it, he wouldn't have mentioned it in his first post.
It might mean F all to you Eppo, but it might to Ste

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ste said..
Eppo I know it's a different kind of board but, does it have a better bottom end than w18 speedball?

I had the w18, and nugget has a lower bottom end.

Does anyone here know how a nugget compares to a sweet potato they look roughly the same shape (probably not as thick)?

imho youd be better taking advice from novice and early beginner directional riders, the reason I say this as $1300 ish is a lot of money( well for me) to shell out on a discipline of the sport that you may or may not pursue, if Darren will let you grab a demo for a good few days to let you have a run then thatd be the go,take it on some long downwinders so your not focussing on keeping ground, your 1st run especially in onshore slop is going to be frustrating< the second session will plant the seed the 3rd run should be showing signs of decent progression, only then imho would be the time to shell out some dosh, half the stuff on buy n sell and hanging in peoples garages are through impulse buying, I give my older model board to anyone here that wants a run , and last time I checked they were back on tts, a local I gave lessons to 2 years ago is progressing really well on a surfboard, he just uses different volume old surfboards, saying that the are a couple of nuggets on buy n sell that might be worth taking a punt at, aged directional riders would be better giving you some tips on getting into this discipline rather than pimping a certain or any brand of board, as youll soon find out it means squat

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cauncy said...
imho youd be better taking advice from novice and early beginner directional riders, the reason I say this as $1300 ish is a lot of money( well for me) to shell out on a discipline of the sport that you may or may not pursue, if Darren will let you grab a demo for a good few days to let you have a run then thatd be the go,take it on some long downwinders so your not focussing on keeping ground, your 1st run especially in onshore slop is going to be frustrating< the second session will plant the seed the 3rd run should be showing signs of decent progression, only then imho would be the time to shell out some dosh, half the stuff on buy n sell and hanging in peoples garages are through impulse buying, I give my older model board to anyone here that wants a run , and last time I checked they were back on tts, a local I gave lessons to 2 years ago is progressing really well on a surfboard, he just uses different volume old surfboards, saying that the are a couple of nuggets on buy n sell that might be worth taking a punt at, aged directional riders would be better giving you some tips on getting into this discipline rather than pimping a certain or any brand of board, as youll soon find out it means squat

I own both 2012 and 2014 for over a year.

talking to other beginners is probably a good idea although I don't consider myself one anymore.

I got the 2012 when I was learning (just getting up on the board but unable to stay up wind) first session on the nugget I was upwind for the first time and it became the only board I used for months until my technique improved.

The price of these things new is a good point. I picked up my 2012 in early 2013 for about $600. Over 250 sessions later it's now for sale for $150.

But where I have to disagree is finding any old high volume surfboard and it will do the same job. Rocker, deep double concave, overall shape, the fins, volume but still with turned down rails makes this board what it is.

I'm guessing you've never actually ridden one.

Can highly recommend this board, have the 2015 bamboo 5'2. Never been surfing (well) so absolutely sold on the TT. But due to an injury decided to buy one and cruise around trying new things. Learned jibing und tacking pretty quickly and can at 70kg go out with a 12m kite in just over 10-12 knots which is awesome. Never thought I would enjoy and actually able to ride strapless but this board makes it easy. Low wind and after a few sessions riding this board well powered and in control as well which surprised me. As others said you get away with a smaller more fun kite and it has enough volume to float through the lulls as well as not sinking on you when you try things. Opened up new fun options for me.

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bigtone667 said..

ste said..
Eppo I know it's a different kind of board but, does it have a better bottom end than w18 speedball?

I had the w18, and nugget has a lower bottom end.

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nigelw2 said..
Except that Ste has an 11m Pivot, if it had nothing to do with it, he wouldn't have mentioned it in his first post.
It might mean F all to you Eppo, but it might to Ste

Regardless, the point I was making is the kite is irrelevant. I could have pimped a number of kites I've ridden this board with (the pivot being one) but it's irrelevant to discussion regardless if Ste uses it.

What I can add is I can be on a 16m race kite on a 134 by 40 TT while a guy I ride with is doing is strapless air shenanigans on a 12m hybrid C kite and he is 10kg heavier!

Notice the kites used are not mentioned..because they don't need to be.

Infact rarely is this guy resigned to the shore except when I am just holding ground on the 16 and the nugget...whereby its hardly worth it anyway.

..and cauncy is right of course, demo it. it will feel very weird at first, so give it some time.