I have seen a few requests for 9'6 Prowave HRS info lately, so I am posting a Review I made.

I am 66, and in the "Big Brudda Club" so my experience is, what it is.

I figure they built this one for folks like me

I was a bit freaked out by the thickness of the rails... didn't seem to match any pictures I was able to find... but my fears were forgotten after a few good swells.... I can bury the forward rail during a turn and it carves a solid turns, so I am happy.

Since I made the review... I have taken it out on some crappy, small days. I was super stoked how comfortable it is in bumpy crap.

I find that it surfs well in all conditions.... it may be specific to the 9'6, due to it's sufficient volume and beefy rails.... but it is MUCH better than I have heard in crap conditions.

I use it in flat-water as well. I had it out on a tour with my daughter... she was on my 9'5 Mana (2014)
I swapped with her and was pretty amazed to find that the Mana felt heavy and sluggish off the paddle stroke compared to the Prowave.
I am quite happy paddling for hours on it... who knew???

I am 100 kg... I will include some stills taken on flat-water, so you can see how the board is with me on it.

Some stills of a few turns as well.... because the GoPro doesn't offer much perspective on turns.

excellent . Looking good on those waves

Mate I never come in here,but that is one hell of a review.

Love your work awesome.

Great review!

Excellent review! Thanks for posting.

Informative and enjoyable
Thanks Supthecreek!

Really enjoyed that

Love the review, made me feel great seeing you enjoying it. I love my 8'10" Allwave but am a lot lighter than you. Have tried a 9'3" Prowave and thought it was good but chose the Allwave instead.

Thanks for the great feedback

bailey... I had the 8'10 Allwave and loved it, but I picked up an 8'11 Hobie RAW that upped my game quite a bit... I bought the 9'6 Prowave for New England winters... lots of super cold, wind and big moving water (I ordered it it in early january, thought they were in stock).... I wanted more paddle power and something I could really lay into. I have a friend with an 8'10 Allwave... I'll have to do a little water swap with him and do a head to head comp.

I am pretty excited... every session I learn a bit more about the 9'6... it's better than I expected this time of year... when I could be on my smaller board, I am still happy to ride the Prowave.

You should be on Fanatics payroll! great review

Nice one STC.....upping the reviews up a notch or two even further! Like the dolphin

Hey Creek Forgive me if you've already mentioned this somewhere but Have you run your PW with Quads yet? If so, did you notice much of a difference compared to the stock thrusters? And, What kind/size quads?

Hi AkeG... my board was missing fins, or somehow I missed them in the packaging in my haste to check for damage at the freight office.

SO... I used a pair of old Allwave side bites and I had two very small center foil shortboard quads lying around, so I threw them in after my thruster sessions.

I gotta say I am odd in that fins don't excite me like they do everyone else. They work, or they don't.

I did not notice a real difference when I switched to quads. I surfed well in both set ups
#1 - Thruster with all 5" fins

#2 - Quad with 4" center foil fiberglass fins

The tail feels just as sold through a turn with the thrusters, and it has good tail control when I run up to the nose. I do that often, cuz I like to, but it bugs the "ride it from the tail" crowd. I like to do both.... and it works well as a quad. I don't feel any slide or loss of grip as a quad...but no huge benefits either. They just work.

I have never been compelled to even try the stock fins that were sent soon after I got the board... or to revert back to thruster. I'm happy with what I am running now.
(The stock fins wiggle in the boxes, and my fiberglass fins all fit perfectly)

Last shot is the thruster set up I used in the bigger surf in the video

This is not only a great review STC, but I'll be favouriting this one as just a great instructional SUP surfing video matey.

Cheers
Rory

Great post and review. My everyday board is the 9'3 prowave having only had my board for 4 months I'm still learning more about it each day, I've had my fair share of knee to chest high wind swell days, this board just keeps getting better. Like you mate, I'm an old school surfer having come over to SUP last year due to injuries, I'm 84 kgs and 54 yrs young and still stoked to be carving. Thanks for posting

that video fills me with joy, it really captures the essence of what is is to be an every day sup surfer, forget keahi shredding in indo or Kai lenny getting barrelled at jaws this is my new favourite sup video

Thanks so much... I figure there are a lot of guys just like us, that are starved for info on boards and gear.... making the videos is a blast, I am glad you find it useful

STP that is awesome. You are an inspiration for me. I thought I was an "old bugger", maybe too old to get too far, but with about 9 years to catch up to you I now have hope! I'm about 8-9 kg lighter with 15 months experience. Looking at your still shots of the PW - there doesn't seem to be much difference in shape/kick etc between your PW and my new AW 9'1 (other than the fins setup) Am I right, or is there something I'm not seeing? I love my AW 9'1, but as everyone on this forum seems to suggest we all need to gather together a quiver and I'm thinking about the next board already (I'm a bit biased toward Fanatic due to the way they've looked after me warranty-wise recently)
Basically, I'm wondering - do I look at the PW or stick with AW?

Hey ET.org

You are correct.... the rocker on the 9'6 Prowave is the same as the new Allwave line.... I guess the difference is in the tail and the rails.
I live a 400 miles from my Fanatic dealer... and no one around here has the new 9'1 or 8'10.
I have the ONLY Prowave I have ever seen... so no experience with the new Allwave's or smaller Prowaves.

I can tell you that my 9'6 , while be bigger than my l8'10 Allwave(last years)... does things better. It drives a harder turn and is easier off the top.. Having said that, my 9'6 is a pretty big board.... and is 153 liters ... the 9'1 Allwave is 150 liters, so I'm betting the Prowave has distributed it better.

I would probably be fine on the 9'3 Prowave (134 liters) but I needed to be sure it was enough for winter gear.

If you are happy with the 9'1, but want to expand your quiver.... get something that will suit you in different conditions.... maybe go smaller Allwave or Prowave.

Or a bigger board, more geared to flat-water cruising and small mushy waves.

have fun... if you can.... DEMO... if not... ask a breezer in your area if you can ride whatever they have.

Don't buy a new board just because people say to.... most people surf pretty much the same, regardless what they ride.

Get one that fits your style and ride the hell out of it.

Ohhhhhh I just picked up my demo board this arvo - Chose the 9'3 over the 9'6 (already have 9'6 Allwave)...

Took it out for a wee sesh at my local beach, peeling waist high, and was amazed at the ease with which it gets onto waves! As a bigger fella (100kg) I thought at best I'd be floundering around trying to keep the thing on the plane, but managed to catch a bunch of fun little runners. It actually reminded me a bit of the Allwave with how early it catches a wave, seems a bit more lively when surfing along though :)

Sadly/ kookishly I managed to snap my paddle so have been enduring many a lecture from unhappy wife who didn't even realise I was looking for a new SUP. Turns out being a trophy husband aint easy.


The good news is I have a 2 day pass to demo this beast and go score a bajillion waves down at Whangamata/ Mount Maunganui, the forecast is for 3-5ft and offshore. CANT WAIT!!!

PS Guys in NZ, go check out the boards at WSP on Barrys Point Road if you haven't already - Phil is a great dude, cutting some great deals on his 2014 boards at the moment! Not affilitated to the shop, just putting in a good word for him because he hooked me up today

Ok. So to finish off my review:

Took the 9'3 out in fairly solid 4 foot beachbreak at Whangamata. Got a couple of good set waves and was blown away at the speed and responsiveness of the board. Definitely a step up from the Allwave, however, a completely different way of surfing a wave than I am used to on SUPs. I kind of like the longboard style, but thought I'd give the performance boards a tryout.

The drawbacks were that I was probably a bit heavy for this board. I mean, it floated me, but with the high tide backwash, and the cross/ off shore breeze that picked up, it made for some really tough work. I like to be able to relax between waves and prefer a bit more volume under my feet, especially when conditions aren't perfect. I also cringe inside everytime I fall off my board due to the fact that the volume is a bit low, because I prefer my SUPing to be a little more relaxed and flowing than battling with a high performance toothpick.

The good news was, I went to drop back the 9'3 to the shop, and was planning to go away and have a bit of a think about things (not loving performance SUP's), however, there was a surprise shoulder high swell at the local by my house, so was invited to take the 9'6 out for a spin. I gotta say, my faith in pointy SUPs was restored! The board (while still a tiny bit more wobbly than the Allwave) was user friendly, and turned on a dime. It was also great at paddling into waves early, and put a big smile on my face.

I realise that the 2014 models are a year old now, but figured this review might be useful for somebody looking at buying old stock, or second hand gear.

If you are a bigger guy, the 9'6 Prowave is awesome.

For anybody less than 85kg the 9'3 would probably be sweet for you.

Hope you found this useful!

Thanks for sharing. What a great review I really enjoyed watching the surf. Great stuff.

Select to expand quote

nicowen said..
Thanks for sharing. What a great review I really enjoyed watching the surf. Great stuff.

Thanks nicowen!

Chris_M
When I was reading your first reply, I was thinking..."He might have preferred the 9'6".... glad that you got to try one
and thanks for the comp to the 9'3... it is quite a drop in Volume, I was curious about the difference, so your take is much appreciated.

First up - great vid supthecreek thanks! Fanatic should have you on payroll cos that convinced me to buy mine a fortnight ago.

For others that are interested I am 86 kegs and demo'd a 9'3" LTD at our local shorie and loved it. I ended up buying the 9'3" HRS, primarily for cost saving and potentially for better durability. I also didn't think the weight difference was significant enough, the HRS is still really light.

So the 9'3" is a bit tricky staying onboard in the chop/backwash, but I'm hoping my strength and endurance improves to suit. An occasional drop to the knees is a fair compromise for how awesome this thing goes on the waves! Acceleration is super quick and it's really easy getting on waist/chest high waves. This thing whips around just like a surfboard should. Totally obsessed with when I can get out for my next sesh.

I didn't get a chance to demo the 9'6 for comparison but I'm pretty happy with the way the 9'3 moves on the wave to want to give any of that up for idle stability.

I also demo'd a Naish Hokua x32 which I found too wild, and a Naish Mana which was nice and stable in the chop but sluggish for maneuvering on the wave.

hi, i'd love to hear more from the fellas with the 9'3. i'm 85kgs and right about to get buy one, but won't be able to get a demo. how are you getting on with it in smaller and weaker swells? does it work well in waist high stuff? is it hard to take off on slower waves? whats it like for getting out through the waves or covering a bit of ground. any feedback would be really appreciated.

I should add that the alternative is the 8'5 allwave. similar volume but i'm guessing pretty different experience.

The new Fanatics are hitting the shelves .... it sounds like you know that, from your 8'5 mention.

The Prowave is re-designed, and I think it seems like a good update..... sizes are a tad smaller and a bit more forgiving... look into them.

I am really interested in the 8'5 Allwave myself, because it is a TOTAL redesign for the smaller sizes (7'10, 8'3 & 8'5)

The Smaller Allwaves were designed for smaller, weaker waves... flatter rocker, more width overall and much thinner rails. They sound great. I would also like to hear some feedback on performance.

Select to expand quote

I just stopped watching some crap movie on TV to view this video! Awesome! Total entertainment! Ha ha... what a great production and review. Certainly gives a good appreciation for what the pro-wave is like. Mind you.. I suspect you are a bit of a legendary surfer who makes everything look very very easy! But.. I think you have also exposed some misconceptions about the prowave series.. one being that they are really twitchy and unforgiving. You seem to be very comfortable on it in those small and mushy conditions! Again.. well done and thanks!

Great review STC keep them coming. Top stuff keep ripping it!
Cheers oldboy

Great Review!!

Select to expand quote

supthecreek said..
The new Fanatics are hitting the shelves .... it sounds like you know that, from your 8'5 mention.

The Prowave is re-designed, and I think it seems like a good update..... sizes are a tad smaller and a bit more forgiving... look into them.

I am really interested in the 8'5 Allwave myself, because it is a TOTAL redesign for the smaller sizes (7'10, 8'3 & 8'5)

The Smaller Allwaves were designed for smaller, weaker waves... flatter rocker, more width overall and much thinner rails. They sound great. I would also like to hear some feedback on performance.

Well I went for the 9'3 pro wave and am super pleased with it. I'm 85kgs and even with a 5mm suit don't feel like its tool small. it is a bit tricky if there is wind / chop / rip - but i'm talking about a messy as it gets before you just don't even bother, apart from that the stability and glide are fine. had quite a few days in chest to head high and loving the board there, but we all knew that would be good. Extra rocker pays for late take offs and that with the narrow tail and rails really digs into the turn. Whats really great is that its loads of fun when its around thigh to waist high too - that's the bit I really wasn't sure about. I've still got bit more of an all round board (the other half likes it) but I don't really see any conditions where i'll turn to it.