Demoed this board a couple times cuz my local retailer scored 5 new (old stock) from NSP here in the US. Aside from being slightly heavier and 4" wider than what I'm used to this things is really impressive, moves well and of course is super stable. Wondered if any of you have paddled it in downwind conditions and how you rate it. The appeal for me is as a second board for touring and as a first year down wind board. The price is pretty exceptional and I'm trying to talk myself out of it.

If it helps I have the 12'6 x 29 in coco and the 14x 29 in carbon. both are exceptional. Strong, light, stable. downbreezing is as far as I've got but you can feel the 14 picking up the bumps. Not surfed the 14 but can tell you the 12'6 goes great in small stuff. I'm not into racing so having the latest design means nothing to me, I'm sticking with these two boards. if the price is right I'd go for it.

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Yardsale said..
Demoed this board a couple times cuz my local retailer scored 5 new (old stock) from NSP here in the US. Aside from being slightly heavier and 4" wider than what I'm used to this things is really impressive, moves well and of course is super stable. Wondered if any of you have paddled it in downwind conditions and how you rate it. The appeal for me is as a second board for touring and as a first year down wind board. The price is pretty exceptional and I'm trying to talk myself out of it.

The 14 x 29 shape from a couple of years ago is super well-behaved in chop (I had one from new, sold it early this year, the new owner loves it too). In DW conditions it picks up smoothly and runs nicely, and with a little bit of vee in the tail it's makes it nice 'n surfy on a DW and small surf when you step back. You won't be disappointed.

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HumanCartoon said..

Yardsale said..
Demoed this board a couple times cuz my local retailer scored 5 new (old stock) from NSP here in the US. Aside from being slightly heavier and 4" wider than what I'm used to this things is really impressive, moves well and of course is super stable. Wondered if any of you have paddled it in downwind conditions and how you rate it. The appeal for me is as a second board for touring and as a first year down wind board. The price is pretty exceptional and I'm trying to talk myself out of it.

The 14 x 29 shape from a couple of years ago is super well-behaved in chop (I had one from new, sold it early this year, the new owner loves it too). In DW conditions it picks up smoothly and runs nicely, and with a little bit of vee in the tail it's makes it nice 'n surfy on a DW and small surf when you step back. You won't be disappointed.

Thanks for the input, i had a feeling it would be solid off the wind in swell, never hurts to ask. I think for practicing stepping back and forward for buoy turns and downwind it might be a wise choice. It's weird, it almost feels too comfortable... I feel like I should be developing my balancing muscles on a narrower board. I am comfortable in small chop on a 25" wide and have paddled a 23" Starboard Sprint... but I know in bigger water I'm gonna be getting wet a lot on something that narrow.

I loved mine great all round board. Really turned me on to surfing a 14 footer. In heavier downwind conditions i found it pearls a bit . Unlike some of the other nsp/dc with a bit more volume in the nose. But super stable so easy to get onto tail

Really nice board and good to know a few are up for sale. You must be demoing at Gorge Performance. Only a very small run of these boards were ever released for sale in the States, so it's cool that you got the option in Oregon at a discounted price. I was interested in one but the shipping costs are over the top, so I might go for a road trip after Christmas to the coast. Good luck.

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robon said..
Really nice board and good to know a few are up for sale. You must be demoing at Gorge Performance. Only a very small run of these boards were ever released for sale in the States, so it's cool that you got the option in Oregon at a discounted price. I was interested in one but the shipping costs are over the top, so I might go for a road trip after Christmas to the coast. Good luck.

Robon, you can always call Bob and put a deposit on one before you come down, he has 5 in stock. Check out the website for pricing.

I've learnt to downwind on one, still learning, I love it. Into the wind it helps to stand forward to keep the nose from blowing around, downwinding the higher the waves the further back I get. It's so comfortable I'm faster on it than my wife's 26" board and I reckon it's because I can lean into it and do the samba. I'm 100kg 6' and it's pretty hard to fall off it after a year. It's great fun to surf small stuff too although because the rails are boxy it doesn't turn but hey, it's not a surfboard. I'd recommend it highly for someone my size. I'd ride it in anything.