I know this subject has been thrashed about but I need some advice. I currently have a JP WB 8'8" and a JP Surf 9'2". The 8'8" is my goto board and it gets used a lot. I need cleaner conditions for the JP Surf 9'2" and consequently doesn't get used as much so thinking about trading down to a Hyper nut. I have been thinking about a vanguard style board for the small days and looked at JP Slate but think the 7'6" by 29 is too small for me. The Naish Raptor looks so so and very yellow but I think the Hypernut looks the best option. Demo of the new board will be impossible so thats why I have posted.
So my stats are weight 95Kgs plus wetsuit probably close to 98kgs, Intermediate ability, can handle most conditions. Local conditions can be confused so stability makes for a more enjoyable session. I have read that you can go smaller on these types of boards. Having said that would the HYPERNUT 8'0 x 31.5" x 4" @ 133 L be too big or too similar to my WB 8'8" @134L. Maybe a 7'8" x 30 @115 L would be better as it offers more differences. Any suggestions would be appreciated
Cheers Bruce

I don't have any one of those boards you are talking about . Any way, my suggestion is the HyperNut 7'8" x 30 @115 L to your 98kg with intermediate ability and if you can handle most conditions , you will have to challenge the confused condition from your home break with it . Don't give up you will succeed .

I just tried yesterday the Hypernut 105 L 28" (I am 90 kg without wetsuit) and could barely stand on it, still I could feel the potential for these boards. For sure around the ones close to 8' would be fine

i get the feeling the 8' would be good for me. Just need to find an AST version and pull the trigger. Cheers Bruce

For your weight, the 115l should be fine for all around surfing.
The 133l will be more cumbersome in powerful conditions, but will be stabler and glide more for weak waves. So it depends which role you want it to play in your quiver.

i'm about 95 kgs myself, and was considering the 8'0" but after trying the 7'8" board, i'm convinced it would be the correct size. It was more stable than I expected. My usual board is a 136L, so I'm coming from about the same volume board as your 8'8". The 7'8" HN just felt like a bigger board under foot than its size suggests. and btw, I've also tried the JP Slate 7'6", and I could barely stand on it. The HN was far more stable. Cannot comment on surf-ability as there were no waves during HN demo...just moderate chop.

I was also impressed by the potential to be stable, maybe because of the rectangular shape, despite I got a too small board.

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colas said..
For your weight, the 115l should be fine for all around surfing.
The 133l will be more cumbersome in powerful conditions, but will be stabler and glide more for weak waves. So it depends which role you want it to play in your quiver.

Thanks for the replies.
@colas - yes i hope its not too cumbersome as well. We have lots of days where waves are fat and only just catchable by the long boarders surfers and they seem to be having all the fun. I was tempted to get a longer all-round board between 10 and 11' but not a fan of being dragged all over the place. I have broken too many leashes and want a more manageable board. I hope the 8' HyperNut will allow me to catch some of these waves and also be fun on smaller days as well. I have one coming next week.

BTW The weight suggestions from Starboard seem quite specific re the upper limit i.e. 8' is 65 to 100kgs, 7'8" is 65 to 95 etc. I guess these are aimed at intermediate suppers as I wouldn't see a beginner getting a hyperNut. I could only imagine what the ride would be like if you were 65 kgs and using a 133L board. I will try and weigh myself with my wetsuit on but think it will be almost 100kgs.

I will try and post some comments when I get my new board hopefully next weekend.

I have the 115l Hypernut and I weigh in at, or actually did weigh in at 105kg when I bought it. I am now down to 105kg. The good bits about the board is tht for 115l its super stable, but not really stable compared to the 8ft hypernut. If I had my time to do over I would have bought the 8ft as I think the 7'8 is just not an all around board.

So if it was me, buy the 8fter and get good fins

what about the 8'6" Hypernut ? way too big ?

Hi Brusier, are you considering the carbon or wood for the HN ?

There is no big difference in weight (600g) between the wood and carbon for the 8' model only $$$

or this small difference can make a lot ?

not a big fan of carbon , too brittle and tried to get a wood one. Distributor only had AST so that will do. Similar construction but not full wood deck.
Dont think weight difference of board when I'm 100kgs will make a difference. Its a small percentage of overall package.
I think they made a mistake on Starboards web page re the weight as all the other AST models were only 0.2 kgs heavier than the wood ones. I think its supposed to be 8.8kgs

Hi Brusier,
have you got finally your HN 8' ? what are first impressions ?
Cheers

nope, been a delay , not sure why. I think its on the slow train. Maybe tomorrow or Friday. Local surf conditions look poor so not too bothered.

All i can say is I'm stoked with my 8.0 wood HP ...

it's the loosest board I've owned ... And I'm not joking it feel's as fast maybe faster than my 8.10 sunova speed which is 29 wide .. Seriously I'm hardly riding the speed any more & considering moving it ..

HP is looser & more stable ... Kinda have to stay on the rail when it gets bigger but had that sorted in a couple of sessions ..

I would love to try the 7.8 and i will one day but i also feel like any looser and ill be out of control LOL ..

Paddle's just like any 9ft board to ..

Go the 8.0 i reckon ..

P.s Brusier im 95kg s with out a wettie 2 .. Also spent a bit of time on the Jp 9.2 & AB 8, but having way more fun on the HP ..

yea the wood is an awesome construction and so pretty to look at. I reckon that Starby should have made the 8ft about 125 litres that would have been perfect, I think the jump from 115 to 134 is way too much.

Hi everybody. Just came from THe beach where i tested my 7'8 hypernut wood finish.

First of all. You can put it inside of my Hyundai i10 !!!!!! Iiiuuujjjuuuuuuu

I'm 90 with wetsuit. Dreamy conditions. Glassy. Sligthy over head. 6-7 feet (looking THe front of THe peak) Green and beatiful water.

Súper stable. Even when the breeZe came with some strong current from THe River mouth, there was no issue with THe stability.

No glide. You hace to change your technique to catch waves. Once you get this dialaled (read some colas post, btw:thanks) is ALL fun

Very fast. Goes UP and down with ease. When THe raíl catches and you have your foot in THe stomp pad, you can actually acelerate

On THe bigger waves at first some sence of "out of control" but when you stay near THe raíl it holds.

You have to stay moré with THe prone surfers in THe line UP and you dont Get as much waves as with THe hokua 9'5 but it has a place in your quiver.

Over ALL. If you aré looking to start with "short súp" this is a very friendly and fun board to start with. On THe wave it has so much potential.

Hoping that my wife let me go surfing tomorrow too.

I am a 2 paddle man , that is if it take more than 2 paddles to catch the wave its not steep enough :-)

@Nachosup - the hypernut sounds like what i am after , re position and timing on wave. I always use surfer stance when I catch waves on my JP anyway.

Hopefully my board wll arrive Monday and I can see whats happening on Monday night after work. Surf Forecast is good all week :-) with 1.5 to 1.9m set face.

Would be very interesting to compare the nut vs the minion in 7'8 my guess is the nut will be for stable at least on paper being wider for a start

@ guys who have tried the nut, how good does it pierce the waves when paddling to the line-up, with such nose ?

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Wavesareus said..
Would be very interesting to compare the nut vs the minion in 7'8 my guess is the nut will be for stable at least on paper being wider for a start

ive got the minion 8.4 x 30 and just picked up the 8.6 hyper nut. the hyper nut is a fair bit more stable and paddles better and catches waves easier. on a wave though the minion is a much faster and looser board.

hey Sameh, not too bulky the 8'6 ? I am hesitating between the 8 and 8'6, just for the extra stability but also speed

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olly73 said..
hey Sameh, not too bulky the 8'6 ? I am hesitating between the 8 and 8'6, just for the extra stability but also speed

at around 106 kg its pretty comfortable. its not as quick or as loose as the minion but i havn't fallen off the hyper nut yet. on the minion after the first couple of hours when fatigue sets in and the seas become anything less than glassy its a regular dunking. shapewise the hypernut has a narrower tail and a pointier nose. only comes as a quad. the minion has a wider tail, really goes better with the small nubster and although only 2 inches and 8 litres smaller is a much faster and looser board. I considered the 8 footer but really wanted a tomo/simmons style board that was more stable when it wasn't glassy. if you were after performance over comfort then id probably go the shorter 8 foot hyper nut. as for getting through waves, its a matter of technique. the hyper nut and minion being short tend to bury the nose if you stand where you think you should. if you paddle in a semi surf stance ie one foot slightly in front of the other and closer to the centreline of the board you can keep the nose above the water and punch through waves fine. Id really recommend trying both boards as they both surf great for their length. They are pigs to catch waves on compared to longer traditional sups. The heavier you are the less glide they have so you have to re learn where and how to catch waves again. i find that i take off only slightly behind the short boarders on these style boards. ive seen much lighter guys though catching waves really early and easily on them at Cott. Once you get over the lack of glide and readjust where you take off from these boards are worth the effort. In my mind there is no doubt that the minion is a better board on the wave in the larger sizes. The bigger hyper nut is way more stable. Construction wise i have the vacuum bagged minion and the blue carbon hyper nut. The hyper nut is slightly lighter and in my opinion better built. The minion is great but ive put a number of compression dings on the bottom. I'm learning how to surf these style boards coming off a 9 foot lopez and 8.8 jp. For anyone under 100kg the 8.6 hyper nut will be too big. for the larger guys its great.

Arrived and looks big but just about to get in at mid tide to test, with very mushy waves. Might just be a balance session .

I have ordered some new fins already as the plastics won't do.

So rail taped and ready to go -

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brusier said..
Arrived and looks big but just about to get in at mid tide to test, with very mushy waves. Might just be a balance session .

I have ordered some new fins already as the plastics won't do.

So rail taped and ready to go -

Can you post some pics of the AST version if you get the chance? How's the build quality look?

cheers

I just ordered the 8 footer out of the next container. So a mid december delivery I hope and a new board to take to the Gold Coast. When I have the 8footer I will be putting the 7'8 up for sale.

Hi GregC, what do you take ? Carbon ? I will order soon mine in (likely wood but hesitating in carbon...) but it will take 2-3 months to get it in Europe...

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Wicksy said..

brusier said..
Arrived and looks big but just about to get in at mid tide to test, with very mushy waves. Might just be a balance session .

I have ordered some new fins already as the plastics won't do.

So rail taped and ready to go -

Can you post some pics of the AST version if you get the chance? How's the build quality look?

cheers

I very happy with the build. Its it hard to compress using thumb and the rails are polished. Its seems quite light cf to my JP WB ast 8'8".

First test - incredible stability both sideways and fore and aft. Paddles ok and went through white water ok. waves were maybe 3-4ft but fat and I found I had to be in exactly the right place. Caught more then I would have on JP and it will only get better as I sort it out. The waves I caught showed me that the board turn so quickly and one wave I fell of the back due to the rapid acceleration. Need to get my back foot back but I need slightly puncher waves as well. Too many short boarders fighting for the steeper beach break but hopefully tomorrow morning I can catch a few of those. So after my first 2 1/2 hr session i am very happy considering how crappy the waves were. My third starboard sup and I think the best one so far by a mile.

Nah just the wood construction for me. I really do like the way it feels. I kinda miss my carbon Airborn but the wood Hyper will do nicely

Hi bruiser

are you happy with the size ? You were concerned that you maybe should of got the shorter 7'8