I'm carrying a shoulder injury so I picked up a bigger prone board to take the load of my shoulder paddling. Normally wouldn't have given this board a second look as I thought it was too chunky compared to my custom boards . Certainly glad I did & I was really stoked with it's performance. 4-8 x 19 x 36 litres 3.8kg and .5 kg heavier than my DC 4-5 x 19-3/4 x 32 Litres 3.3kg but that has no strap mounts and short boxes. The fuller nose I thought would really push water scratching for a wave but it did the opposite. It paddles amazingly fast and way less pressure on my shoulder plus super easy to pick up the smallest of waves .

The fuller nose let's you lay further forward on the board which In turn I ended up having the mast 75mm further forward , so no extra swing weight in front of the mast ., great for the pump . I love the long boxes 14" set at 130mm from the tail . I moved the mast forward 3 times and still have heaps more to go . Perfect for my Cabrinha. The longer boxes come at a cost of a bit of extra weight and makes the board slightly tail heavy . Well worth it in my books and should be the norm on all boards to suit all foil brands . Surfing wise it felt great and having that mast further forward made it super comfortable and rides like a smaller board . If I had the mast that far forward on my other boards I'd never make a take off , so this is a huge plus . I love the tail shape and the overall bottom hull shape . The board feels narrow as it's very pulled in nose and tail but again no issues popping up . The board releases amazingly well and it pops straight back up on a touchdown much better than any other board I've owned . Can't wait to ding this as well .

So well done Jimmy and Marcus I reckon this is the best 4-8 I've ridden . When the shoulder heals I'll drop back down again but for now I'm a very Happy Chappy

Cheers for the review Piros I've got one coming next month so stoked to hear some positive feedback.

No worries & you'll be impressed. Fun easy board to ride .

How does it feel pumping a 4'8 after coming from a 4'5?

Small feet adjustment is all it took , because the mast is further forward the swing weight is basically the same . It was onshore wind so might be different in an offshore with the bigger board . When it comes to pumping less is best but this is really easy to pump and throw around for a 4-8 .

I've had a quick search on he usual shop websites and not found the 2023 model advertised. Has this board been released yet?

Hey Spark, I ordered mine through Marcus at Stand up Freo.

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Spark said..
I've had a quick search on he usual shop websites and not found the 2023 model advertised. Has this board been released yet?

Sunova don't actually put year releases out but this will be the board for 2023 and it is only just available now but stock is still limited due to Covid hangover. SurfFX only had one of each size , so no more 4-8's that's why I just grabbed this .

I think they are on the Sunova website. Look under Casey, same with the downwind boards.