At 83kg I had fun with this board and in my opinion its great for beginner to intermediate and I reckon to advanced downwinder that dont like falling off on those rougher ocean swells ;)

It's stable on flat water and i could go on for 2hrs+ no probs. I feel my balance was stable during paddle stroke and not trying to balance during paddle stroke on those less than 27 wide narrow boards. Out on the windy bay and ocean bumps was a challenge as expected though once you find both you and board's limit it's a nice ride. Also i must say it's a great looking sup! Thanks to Zuboards and Paul for the board

Best way to look at things when buying a board is breakdown what you want to do with it such as 20% flatwater 60% downwind and 20% waves then you would buy a dw board, i find this works best with most people, the main thing is buy the board for what you really want to do with it and the rest you can make do as all boards will catch waves paddle in the flat and dw.

If you want a allstar and want to dw paddle it then yes it can be done but it is much harder work as it will require much more foot work and triming to really get the best out of it, if you want to paddle flat water and only try dw every now and then then it will be fine and it surfs ok as well.

Personally i hate these heavy so called hybrid race boards as really the extra weight would drive me nuts!! Yes i know they are cheaper but for a tiny bit more there are options out there now that are far lighter. But this is just my opinion so please don't hate on me for it as I'm sure many think its fine.

I agree with paul.j

The 2017 allstar as per website specs = 27" is 322ltr and 28" is 309ltr and you would think the 28" has more volume ltrs but it be must a thickness deference, im not 100% sure.

I think you must decide which brand catches your eyes as most known brands got you covered on all type of sup boards. Any of the boards you mention apart from the ace will do you good though you put a pro on that ace and they make surfing look easy ;)

Also look at the jimmy sidewinder, nsp puma, naish maliko, bark vapor, 404 v3 etc... lots to choose?
If your a lucky one then buy 2 specific boards = ocean and flat.

Never done ocean dw on any sup board so I would leave that question with the seebreeze community to answer. I have surf experience on other surf craft but im not good on sup surf. I've only dw on little ocean bay ripples at least 100mtrs from the shore.

Paul.j there's a few reason why some us choose the hybrid construction = cost of the full carbon, wanted now/new toy and there's only an average of 1kg-ish deference to full carbon board ;) I must admit carbon is nice, light and strong from my past experience but = $ though those cheap brand are getting better.
Its individual and you could buy last years carbon or demo for the price of the latest hybrid but its a personal choice.

Area10

To SUP manufactorers and keep this a sectret ;)
Stop combining carbon with other mixed materials you either go a minimum mixed of foam core with carbon outer shell or go full carbon board of multiple layers!
Get your designers together to look into ASAP and send the boards to me to do an average joe test ;)

JEG said..

Area10

To SUP manufactorers and keep this a sectret ;)
Stop combining carbon with other mixed materials you either go a minimum mixed of foam core with carbon outer shell or go full carbon board of multiple layers!
Get your designers together to look into ASAP and send the boards to me to do an average joe test ;)

I agree in theory.... but I would say sandwich construction is stronger in something that large-just layering carbon alone doesn't make for a strong, long lasting SUP especially if your are riding in chop and ocean swell a lot. I think it can certainly vary depending on the weight of the rider and conditions. Cheers!

Hi,
Just like Krist I would like to know how the Hybrid carbon construction is like?
Is it that much slower than the CS construction or is it more about difference in flex and reactivity?
If you want to do a few fun beachraces and do some downwind sessions for fun, do you really need that CS?
Cheers, Karl

I've had a Hybrid 14x27 since January this year. Seems fairly sturdy. I paddle it every week and have the occasional small surf. I've only had to do one repair, but that was caused while transporting.

The only thing I don't like about it is how the wind catches the nose when paddling across the wind.

Wouldn't the falcons nose be bigger ? I didn't find that to rough in side wind on the short paddle I did

As Slab pointed out no issue with the hybrid. You either pay extra $ with 1.3kg less weight to the full carbon and or wait for the next year after sales or find an xdemo & new. Any board will suffer from side on wind/chop though some can handle better than others and the individual skill level does help. I would like to see a mutiple board test results to see which board brand is better in those condition? For some reason the allstar model are hard to find on either carbon or hybrid & costly for 2nds & new. Depends on your weight and skill level I think the allstar 27" is an all rounder if your into allstar and any narrower than 27" is more specific board category. Other brands have 26" wide and that looks like my limit of an all rounder board. Those 23 or 24 or 25 wide boards I think are for advance sup riders or your super light weight at mid 70kg and below. I find the narrower board hard work to balance when paddling like a pro ;)

Nice one PTWoody!
How did find that buff nose dw? I guess staying further back helps. Looks like the board get lots of speed on those runners?

How's it go on the flats?