2013 Surftech Laird 11.0 vs 10.6 vs Lopez 10.6

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Ok to make a long story short. I am living in Waikiki and the Surftech Hawaii show room here has a program where if you rent a board, your rental fees go toward a purchase. Over 2 years, I have built up enough credit to get a new board. I started off liking various boards on the bigger side (e.g. 11'2 x 32" 2014 Gerry Lopez Big Darling) but now I am a bit better at balancing and SUP surfing. So I can go for a board 30 inches or less and 10-11 feet long. The smalllest boards I've balanced on are 10.0" x 30".


2013 Surftech Laird Pearson Arrow 11.0 x 29.5 (4+1) in red (my favorite-nearly new)
2013 Surftech Laird Pearson Arrow 10.6 x 29.8 (4+1) in blue (new)
2013 Surftech Gerry Lopez 10.6 x 29 (4+1) used but water tight. Purple. Nose much pointer.

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So for a long time I debated between the Lairds and the Gerry. The pointed nose of the Jerry makes it a little more tuppy, unstable and harder to balance, and harder to get on a wave, but I felt like I've gone the fastest on this board - but caught much less waves.

As of today, I think I like the Lairds - they are more flexible. E.g. Better glide when paddling on the open ocean, easier to do a 360" turn by just stepping back, and (the main one) - to make all the sections of the waves in Waikiki - I can step forward on the board to get some more oomph/speed, and then step back to mid-section to stop any pearling that starts to happen. I think I like the 11'0 better because per Surftech, the Wide section is further up front, meaning you don't have to step back as far.

Because I've only learned surfing on a SUP, I am still not used to stepping all the way back, or hanging out in the back on the fins - like the Gerry board needs more of. I have never tried to nose-ride, but I wouldn't have too, so that's not really a factor.

I am pretty stable (say fall only 10-20% more) on the 10.6 laird and that one is a tad lighter. The model I demoed was red - but used and quite scratched - but there may be a blue one new in the box to be had. But they were saying that the wide part of the board is further back so I may need to hang out more near the back. Has anyone had this experience, riding both the Laird 10.6 and 11'0?
The 11.0" is a tad heavy and doesn't fit in my van - but my wife says that should not matter because I'l be getting a SUP locker on the beach. I think I like the 11"0 better however I am worried about growing out of it too soon. It was only 1.5 -2 years ago when I started SUPing on a 12.2 x 36" board.. and back then the 11'0 Laird seemed tippy. For a very long time my favorite board was the 11.2" x 32 " 2014 Gerry Lopez Big Darling -- but now that board is too wide for me.

BTW I am 100 kg / 220 lbs and 5.9" -- so I am a big guy (not quite as tall as Laird though!) My abs did get a huge workout on both 10'6s while they did not hurt after today. Today on the 11" I didn't think of balance at all, and I hit more waves in one session than I ever had.

This is a really tough decision. Thoughts? How different are the 10.6 and 11.0 Lairds in your estimation, in how they surf and feel? (Even if you have the newer Laird fEBPS rom Laird Stand Up - I think the dimensions are still the same (except for the very latest ones coming out of their factory).

Bump - anybody ridden both the 10.6 and 11.0 Laird? Or compared one or the other of these to the Lopez Big Darling series?

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marvinhecht said..
Bump - anybody ridden both the 10.6 and 11.0 Laird? Or compared one or the other of these to the Lopez Big Darling series?

I am pretty much thinking to go with the 10.6 .... the advantages of having a board that is lighter, easier to travel with (if needed), fits in my car.. are all worth a lot. And I have an NSP 11'0 which I am already repairing (adding a pintail) so it will be more similar to the 11.0 Laird in case I need a longer board some days..

though not really, i'm in kind of a similar situation. don't need a new board but, well, gee, i can buy a brand new laird surfer 10-6 x 32 for $1k u.s., which is a helluva deal. otoh, the width of the nose -- while great for noseriding -- has me wondering if a/ it's going to catch on the wave b/ be a huge pain in the arse in any kind of wind c/ be difficult to deal when there's chop on the water and/or lots of water moving around. i've got one or two days to make a go/no-go decision. anyone care to help me out?

Linter -- can you get the 10.6 x 29.8 or 30-ish instead?
32" may be too wide. I used to love 32" wide SUP's but now I don't need that width.

btw in offshore wind I still caught a decent amount of waves on the 10.6 x 29.8 surftech laird vs the pointier Gerry lopez 10.6 x 29 because when the wind pushed me back or at an angle on the gerry - i caught a rail. but on the laird the thin "garbage pail" nose kept me stable enough even while slip- sliding around until i could negotiate the drop. the nose is really very thin and mostly helps not hurts. it is quite magical how well engineered the pearson board is... and better good glide when just paddling out...

thanks for the thoughts and insights. unfortunately, the 32" is the only one the shop has at that low low low price. plus, well, i like 32" in general though i've never had 32" in a board w/ the outline of the laird. wish they'd let me demo it. then again, if i bought it for 1k and hated it, i could probably sell is for 750 or 800 and chalk it up to a new experience. dunno.

Hard to see how you could go far wrong at that price.

that's what i was thinking earlier today, so i decided if the surf shop answered the phone before 5 pm and still had the board in stock, i'd tell them, sold! but if they didn't answer the phone, no go. it is now 5:15 pm. no answer. guess i'll have to rethink the deal i made w/ myself, right?

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linter said..
that's what i was thinking earlier today, so i decided if the surf shop answered the phone before 5 pm and still had the board in stock, i'd tell them, sold! but if they didn't answer the phone, no go. it is now 5:15 pm. no answer. guess i'll have to rethink the deal i made w/ myself, right?

Linter

What do you currently surf or have?

If you cant demo it - don't buy it. Or just order the right size directy from laird and gabby for $1.3k , and get the 10 feet x 28.75 inch surfer-hybrid which has the pointier nose for better performance, and a money back guarantee:

http://lairdstandup.com/Surfer-Hybrid.htmlcan


Honestly if I were you I'd try to get on of those new Tom Carroll surf SUPS - they are not even available in the US yet.

Or hop on a plane-- there are some places I know locally that have these Lairds in various sizes for a similarly good deal!

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marvinhecht said...
Bump - anybody ridden both the 10.6 and 11.0 Laird? Or compared one or the other of these to the Lopez Big Darling series?

Hi marvin.

I've ridden all 3 boards a heap.

My take:

the lairds 10'6 , 11'
are similar in performance just a size difference. Very flat rocker in nose area epic for nose riding but lacked a smooth rail to rail transition thru some open faced turns.

The Lopez 10'6
Late nose rocker kick with a slightly pulled in nose area, not as epic for nose riding(than the laird) but off the tail would lay down some sweet smooth rail to rail transitions and hold down a long drawn out cutback(way better than the laird)

Summary:
even being a higher volumed board the the Lopez Drew better lines but once you got on the nose the Laird would really shine.

thanks for the feedback. from what you say, the 10-6 laird sounds like just the ticket. i'm trying to find my way into some traditional longboard moves -- as opposed to progressive longboard riding -- and the laird seems as though it might be better suited than the lopez for a point-and-shoot, trim, stall, pivot turn kind of deal. at least, i hope that's the case, since i just bought one .

Linter - congrats!! We need some pics!! Did it come with 5 fins, and what setup are you going to try first?

I went to Surftech to take pics of my own 2 boards that I am deciding between. So they actually have 2 Laird 10.6's (one blue, one red) and 2 Laird 11.0's (one blue, one red). But I am only considering the 2 that have 5 fin boxes, which are the taller red one (11.0) and the shorter blue one (10.6). The taller red one is nearly new (I've used it once, and it looks like someone may have used it once or twice). The 10.6 blue is new in the box - or was, until we unboxed it together, and put it on the shelf..so it i has never been in the water. The 10.6 has a little metal bar inside the handle which would make it more secure to lock up, and the whole thing is ligher, and would fit in my car. On the other hand - I seem to have had a better time catching waves on the 11.0 with quads than when I demo-ed the 10.6 - but I could only demo the 10.6 red one (used) which doesn't have the ability to put in quads -- and it was a windier day.

Dogman - could you tell any difference between the 10.6 and 11.0 in terms of how it surfed? Is the 10.6 easier to turn. I am dieting now, and if I can lose some weight then maybe I'd better get the 10.6 now. Even when I was on the 10.6 I only fell slightly - it was almost as stable as the 11.0 for me. What I am worried about is - at the breaks I am at - in Waikiki - there a are a lot of mushy, small waves (especially now in Winder) and the fact that I felt better out there on the 11.0 *may* have to do with the break/conditions. I may just have to do a bake-off between the 10.6 and 11.0 (reds) and make them both have 2+1 or twinzers .. and go out on the same day, same place, with my son, and we both change off on the boards and nail this once and for all.

As far as getting into "longboard" style moves - it doesn't really matter to me - I just want to have fun out there. Comparing the Lairds to the Jerry- I did not catch nearly as many on the Jerry - and cruising around between breaks on the lairds gave me better Glide. If I was living on the North Shore and had a lot of steep fast waves nearby I'd probably change this around and go for the Jerry.

Ok enough for now- gotta get some sleep.

are the surftech lairds the same shape as the new epoxy ones, the model called the surfer, i think?

my first go out was not so much fun. out of the 20 or so SUPs in the water, i was the worst. in 2.5 hrs, i think i caught four waves, maybe five. i have many many excuses i could trot out, but why bother? all that said (and not said), once on the wave, the board was super fast (compared to what i'm used to) -- so fast that to slow it down a little, i paddled in and swapped the 9-3/4" greenough 4A fin out for a big whopping 11" Jimmy Lewis fin. that made me somewhat happier. anyway, i guess it'll take time to get acclimated to the thing. i will persevere.

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linter said..
are the surftech lairds the same shape as the new epoxy ones, the model called the surfer, i think?

my first go out was not so much fun. out of the 20 or so SUPs in the water, i was the worst. in 2.5 hrs, i think i caught four waves, maybe five. i have many many excuses i could trot out, but why bother? all that said (and not said), once on the wave, the board was super fast (compared to what i'm used to) -- so fast that to slow it down a little, i paddled in and swapped the 9-3/4" greenough 4A fin out for a big whopping 11" Jimmy Lewis fin. that made me somewhat happier. anyway, i guess it'll take time to get acclimated to the thing. i will persevere.

Looks like the dimensions of the new Laird EPS surfers are slightly changed now versus the surftech ones (see the Laird EPS thread). And Surftech never had the 32" wide model that you have. Glad you lilke your board overall. I've decided on the 11'0 because I just could not catch any waves on the 10'6 when I tried it for a final run. I remember the prior session with the 10'6 as better than it was because there was a very pretty woman surfing that day near me. But taking the 10'6 out again made me realize that the 11'0 was the best. I rode the 11.0 with Gerry Lopez GL1 quads - hoping Surftech can get me those with the board.

So i went to Surftech and tallied my credit and they suggested to give the 10.6 x 29 Lopez little darling one more try.. But take it to a steeper wave like tennis courts or any of the other steeper breaks at ala moana beach park (Honolulu). They also loosened it up with some v2f4 futures quads. I will report back.

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marvinhecht said...
I went to Surftech to take pics of my own 2 boards that I am deciding between. So they actually have 2 Laird 10.6's (one blue, one red) and 2 Laird 11.0's (one blue, one red). But I am only considering the 2 that have 5 fin boxes, which are the taller red one (11.0) and the shorter blue one (10.6). The taller red one is nearly new (I've used it once, and it looks like someone may have used it once or twice). The 10.6 blue is new in the box - or was, until we unboxed it together, and put it on the shelf..so it i has never been in the water. The 10.6 has a little metal bar inside the handle which would make it more secure to lock up, and the whole thing is ligher, and would fit in my car. On the other hand - I seem to have had a better time catching waves on the 11.0 with quads than when I demo-ed the 10.6 - but I could only demo the 10.6 red one (used) which doesn't have the ability to put in quads -- and it was a windier day.

Dogman - could you tell any difference between the 10.6 and 11.0 in terms of how it surfed? Is the 10.6 easier to turn. I am dieting now, and if I can lose some weight then maybe I'd better get the 10.6 now. Even when I was on the 10.6 I only fell slightly - it was almost as stable as the 11.0 for me. What I am worried about is - at the breaks I am at - in Waikiki - there a are a lot of mushy, small waves (especially now in Winder) and the fact that I felt better out there on the 11.0 *may* have to do with the break/conditions. I may just have to do a bake-off between the 10.6 and 11.0 (reds) and make them both have 2+1 or twinzers .. and go out on the same day, same place, with my son, and we both change off on the boards and nail this once and for all.

As far as getting into "longboard" style moves - it doesn't really matter to me -

I had more fun on the 11fter just for the fact it had more glide for the small clean waves that i surfed the laird in....

If the waves were better id jump onto the Laguna Bay surftech models. They are the "bomb" longboard styled sup shapes.

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linter said...
thanks for the feedback. from what you say, the 10-6 laird sounds like just the ticket. i'm trying to find my way into some traditional longboard moves -- as opposed to progressive longboard riding -- and the laird seems as though it might be better suited than the lopez for a point-and-shoot, trim, stall, pivot turn kind of deal. at least, i hope that's the case, since i just bought one .

Paddle, glide, stall point n trim then into a pivot all day long and into the night with the laird.

Youll love it

Exactly what you are wanting by the sounds of it

Yewwwwww enjoy

Hello - just purchased the 10'6" 32 wide laird surfer and went for my first surf YESTERDAY. The board was purchased for long fattish slow waves at a local point. It catches waves from ankle high upwards and means that I get to surf the point when no one else can get waves - cruises really well also, so will be a good touring board.
Did demo the board (10'6" by 30" in Hawaii for 5 days and I ripped - now have two boards - 9'1" laguna bay for beacies and hollower waves and the laird to complement this on the other mellow small days.
Steve

After reading my post , thought I BETTER ADD - "I ripped" - was relative to how I normally go, still heaps of people out there that day were surfing much better than me

Steve