does that mean the 24.5 will be for sale :-)

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kelvinpumba said..
does that mean the 24.5 will be for sale :-)

You never know it might be, but if you were after it I think shipping might be a bit costly

for the right price. I could make a trip

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TJR said..
Yeah , I had mine on a little DW the other day although the wind dropped, it was still getting in to the bumps that were left. Looking forward to a 23" getting here next month

Yep, the RS is so stable and well-mannered that I'm beginning to wonder if I should have bought the 24.5 rather than the 26. I haven't fallen off the 26 yet, despite paddling it in messy chop and also surfing and downwinding it. Have you tried a 26, and if so, how much less stable is the 24.5?

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Area10 said..

TJR said..
Yeah , I had mine on a little DW the other day although the wind dropped, it was still getting in to the bumps that were left. Looking forward to a 23" getting here next month

Yep, the RS is so stable and well-mannered that I'm beginning to wonder if I should have bought the 24.5 rather than the 26. I haven't fallen off the 26 yet, despite paddling it in messy chop and also surfing and downwinding it. Have you tried a 26, and if so, how much less stable is the 24.5?

No I haven't tried a 26,went straight to the 24.5 and think i could have gone to 23. Have had the 24.5 in some bumpy stuff and its way more stable than the 25 Blackfish

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TJR said..

Area10 said..

TJR said..
Yeah , I had mine on a little DW the other day although the wind dropped, it was still getting in to the bumps that were left. Looking forward to a 23" getting here next month

Yep, the RS is so stable and well-mannered that I'm beginning to wonder if I should have bought the 24.5 rather than the 26. I haven't fallen off the 26 yet, despite paddling it in messy chop and also surfing and downwinding it. Have you tried a 26, and if so, how much less stable is the 24.5?

No I haven't tried a 26,went straight to the 24.5 and think i could have gone to 23. Have had the 24.5 in some bumpy stuff and its way more stable than the 25 Blackfish

Yep, certainly the RS 26 feels massively more stable than the 25 Blackfish in chop (surfs a lot better too). I think the RS actually feels relatively more stable in chop than it does in flat water, if you see what I mean.

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TJR said..

Area10 said..

TJR said..
Yeah , I had mine on a little DW the other day although the wind dropped, it was still getting in to the bumps that were left. Looking forward to a 23" getting here next month

Yep, the RS is so stable and well-mannered that I'm beginning to wonder if I should have bought the 24.5 rather than the 26. I haven't fallen off the 26 yet, despite paddling it in messy chop and also surfing and downwinding it. Have you tried a 26, and if so, how much less stable is the 24.5?

No I haven't tried a 26,went straight to the 24.5 and think i could have gone to 23. Have had the 24.5 in some bumpy stuff and its way more stable than the 25 Blackfish

OK that is a strong statement. I better start saving for a used RS next winter....

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Area10 said..

TJR said..

Area10 said..

TJR said..
Yeah , I had mine on a little DW the other day although the wind dropped, it was still getting in to the bumps that were left. Looking forward to a 23" getting here next month

Yep, the RS is so stable and well-mannered that I'm beginning to wonder if I should have bought the 24.5 rather than the 26. I haven't fallen off the 26 yet, despite paddling it in messy chop and also surfing and downwinding it. Have you tried a 26, and if so, how much less stable is the 24.5?

No I haven't tried a 26,went straight to the 24.5 and think i could have gone to 23. Have had the 24.5 in some bumpy stuff and its way more stable than the 25 Blackfish

Yep, certainly the RS 26 feels massively more stable than the 25 Blackfish in chop (surfs a lot better too). I think the RS actually feels relatively more stable in chop than it does in flat water, if you see what I mean.

I think it feels more stable than the bayonet which i paddled this evening, it was on flat water but looking like a short DW tomorrow, not sure which to use. The 26 RS must be stable enough for a picnic going on the feel of the 24.5

Interesting. Which bayonet are you talking about?

Yes, the 26 RS is crazy stable. My balance is really poor and it even feels stable to me. It's more stable than the Bark Vapor, and that is generally acknowledged to be a very easy paddle indeed. I would think that few semi-serious competitors would need to go wider than the 24.5 unless they were real heavyweights. But I'd prefer to trade stability for that extra 0.01% of speed since I'm just a recreational paddler, not a competitor.

Having said that, I'd actually like to own both a 24.5 (for FW), and a 26 (for choppy ocean and DW).

The 14' Bayonet, taking it for a short DW later this afternoon, and another guy is taking the RS

That will be a fascinating comparison. I'm not sure about "halfway house" downwind designs yet (e.g. rocker intermediate between a race board and a full-rockered DW-only elf-shoe type design, moderately high volume noses). It is possible to find conditions that the Bullet V2 finds pretty awkward - more so than the Bullet V1, even if the V2 might be a bit faster in conditions that really suit it. So I'm wondering if the bayonet might be like that: really superb in just the right conditions for it, but with a fairly narrow tolerance outside them. In which case, you might as well use something like the RS. But Mark R really knows his stuff, so I'm keeping an open mind. Let us know how it goes!

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TJR said..
The 14' Bayonet, taking it for a short DW later this afternoon, and another guy is taking the RS

Yes that would be very interesting. Imagine the Christmas present two boards package deal :-) RS and Bayonet one to take over from teh other one when conditions changes.

Bayonet and Bullet V2
Took Bayonet on short DW today and was impressed. 20knt + but no predominent swell so just low wind driven as it was across a bay. Bayonet was quick and linked the low bumps with ease. my friend was on the 24.5 RS, he is a much faster paddler than me in all conditions and was .3 mph faster average with a max of 9.6 to my max of 9.3. Not sure that both boards are needed. My other half paddled the V2

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TJR said..
Took Bayonet on short DW today and was impressed. 20knt + but no predominent swell so just low wind driven as it was across a bay. Bayonet was quick and linked the low bumps with ease. my friend was on the 24.5 RS, he is a much faster paddler than me in all conditions and was .3 mph faster average with a max of 9.6 to my max of 9.3. Not sure that both boards are needed.

Thanks. Good to know. I guess that a RS 26" would cover all conditions until it gets big then.

Thanks TJR, and for the pics. The Bayonet looks like it has a little less nose rocker than the Bullet V2 - or is that just a trick of the camera?

I haven't taken out the RS in bigger DW conditions yet (and with the collection of DW-specific boards I've got I can't really imagining wanting to). But my guess is that at some point that big floaty tail is going to become a bit of a handful to control, once the bumps get steeper. So maybe that's the point at which you'd need the Bayonet. A reasonably slim tail can be quite reassuring when conditions get unruly.

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Area10 said..
Thanks TJR, and for the pics. The Bayonet looks like it has a little less nose rocker than the Bullet V2 - or is that just a trick of the camera?

I haven't taken out the RS in bigger DW conditions yet (and with the collection of DW-specific boards I've got I can't really imagining wanting to). But my guess is that at some point that big floaty tail is going to become a bit of a handful to control, once the bumps get steeper. So maybe that's the point at which you'd need the Bayonet. A reasonably slim tail can be quite reassuring when conditions get unruly.

Yeas i t has less nose rocker. surfed the RS again this morning (had a DW planned but nobody told the wind it was invited) RS is very good on the wave, turns easily, and stable on the tail. Waves were just about head high on sets

How does the RS compare to the Bayonet for surfing? Wouldn't it be odd if the RS was actually as good (or even better)?

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Area10 said..
But my guess is that at some point that big floaty tail is going to become a bit of a handful to control, once the bumps get steeper.A reasonably slim tail can be quite reassuring when conditions get unruly.

That's us here..... most of the time bumps are steep, short period, not lined-up and there is just not enough wind between gusts. So rolling on a stalled board is not your friend....

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Area10 said..
How does the RS compare to the Bayonet for surfing? Wouldn't it be odd if the RS was actually as good (or even better)?

I haven't surfed the Bayonet on a beach wave yet. Get towards the back of the RS though and it sits nicely in the wave, very stable and manoeuvrable

Yes, I agree. I had read in some review somewhere or other that it wasn't particularly special for surfing, so I was very pleasantly surprised when I first caught a wave on it and discovered it was actually rather good.

Btw, TJR, are you using the standard 8.3" Weedless with your RS?

if so, and you want a bit of extra speed, try a smaller fin. The SIC Weedless 7.0 would do it. Or the VMG Mako 35.

And for surfing, I prefer a FCS Fat Boy or a Squirrel Cutaway (True Ames or Fluid Foils) in 10": more control and manoeuvrability.

The only problem is that you might need a bit of adjustment of non-SIC fins to fit the box. The only irritatimg thing I've found so far about the RS is that the finbox is a tad narrower and shallower than e.g. a standard Futures 10" longboard box. So a bit of sanding is needed before some fins will fit.

I really do wish that the industry would pick a universal standard (hopefully not a Chinook or else none of my fins would fit!) and then install the boxes very carefully.

Having said this, the finbox issue with the SIC is not as bad as the fit with e.g. my Starboard Ace. But still... when I bought a custom DW board not so long ago (Grey Paddleboards) virtually every fin I tried fitted beautifully first time, and the fit with the screwless designs like the FCSII Connect is perfect (some sanding and struggle is required for the RS). So it's annoying that I can get a custom that's perfect whereas at the Cobra factory they are probably trying to save a few pence by fitting cheaper boxes, or doing it more sloppily. And for that the board owners have to suffer a daily irritation.

Please, Mark Raaphorst and BIC, get the Cobra factory to fit genuine Futures 10" boxes, and get them to do it carefully. I don't mind paying the extra 50 cents it would cost. It's one of those aspects of a board, like the handle, where a tiny bit of extra money and care makes a massive difference to the ownership experience of the board. It's false economy to compromise on it.

I've got the standard 8" in at the moment, the Bayonet comes with a 7". As to the fin boxes, the RS was a bit loose so had to use the shim but the bayonet box was too tight so i had to sand the box and the fin a bit

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TJR said..
I've got the standard 8" in at the moment, the Bayonet comes with a 7". As to the fin boxes, the RS was a bit loose so had to use the shim but the bayonet box was too tight so i had to sand the box and the fin a bit

Well I reckon that SIC have that the wrong way round, and it should be the 7.0" in the RS and the 8.3" in the Bayonet. I can see the reasoning (e.g. bigger fin for a bigger arse) but as so often with fins, theory doesn't survive contact with the real world.

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Area10 said..

TJR said..
I've got the standard 8" in at the moment, the Bayonet comes with a 7". As to the fin boxes, the RS was a bit loose so had to use the shim but the bayonet box was too tight so i had to sand the box and the fin a bit

Well I reckon that SIC have that the wrong way round, and it should be the 7.0" in the RS and the 8.3" in the Bayonet. I can see the reasoning (e.g. bigger fin for a bigger arse) but as so often with fins, theory doesn't survive contact with the real world.

Smaller fin for more Manoeuvrability on the bumps

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TJR said..

Area10 said..

TJR said..
I've got the standard 8" in at the moment, the Bayonet comes with a 7". As to the fin boxes, the RS was a bit loose so had to use the shim but the bayonet box was too tight so i had to sand the box and the fin a bit

Well I reckon that SIC have that the wrong way round, and it should be the 7.0" in the RS and the 8.3" in the Bayonet. I can see the reasoning (e.g. bigger fin for a bigger arse) but as so often with fins, theory doesn't survive contact with the real world.

Smaller fin for more Manoeuvrability on the bumps

I can see the logic of that but that's not always how it works DW. A bigger fin allows more control when conditions get lively, and permits more solid steering. Being under-finned just means your back end dances around and you miss bumps and connections. Mind you, in small stuff the 7.0 works ok. I have two of the 7s and three of the 8.3s and I use the 7s but not the 8.3s. If I need to go to the size of the 8.3 I'd rather use a deeper fin, especially on boards with plenty of tail rocker. The 7 gets a bit loose in
messy stuff over 25 knots.

So, I have already tried the board (14'0 x 24.5) in several conditions: downwind on an inlet and rivers (with 30 knots), pure flat and surf. Now I only have to try it on a proper ocean downwind.
My impressions are the same as anyone else that already posted here about the board: super stable (for its width) on all conditions and fast (very nice glide). It was really playfull on the downwinds I did; I had more stability than what I was used to and since it's also a fast board I can catch all the bumps nice and early. This gave me the confidence to play a little in the bumps, turning, trimming and just having fun. Can wait to go for an ocean downwind!
I've tried three times in the surf. Waves were between 2-3 ft and windy on some of the ocasions.. It's an 14'0 so it's not easy to handle in the surf (the 12'6 is much easier), but if you are a good surfer you will have no problem with, just try not to get that nose in the water surfing or going through the whitewater. I caught a few closeots and the board responded well; I went in early, walked to the tail and lifted the board nice and easy. Also, on occasion, the withewater hit the tail (on the closeouts) and I managed to control the impact and continue to surf it to the beach.
I hope I get my new GoPro soon so I can do some videos on downwind and in the surf.
I'll leave you with this amazing photo of my friend Diogo Caseiro surfing the RS 12'5 x 25'' in Peniche.

This board is so much fun. Catches every little bump so early
www.facebook.com/nuno.p.desousa/posts/10215934230606417

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Supnorte said..
Nice comparison between the RS and the All-Star: 101surfsports.com/index.php/about-us/blog/474-which-is-faster-sic-rs

"Stability (23", 24.5", 26" All Stars vs 23" and 24.5" RS). The All Star has better stability. Both initial and secondary stability. When we say stability, we are talking specifically about side to side." Quote from 101 surfsports and I disagree. The new Allstar is less stable forward, sits high in the water and in my opinion has less initial stability than RS 24.5 if your comparing similar widths.. it's a little corky with the high center of balance. Final stability is similar but I would give a slight nod to the Allstar with it's beveled rail. I think for an advanced or pro level rider the Allstar is a board that offers more versatility- rough water and flat water ... but for 90% of paddlers the RS will be more comfortable and therefore faster.

I just tried a 2018 AllStar 26 from a friend and there is no way I would ever again buy a board that make you stand so high above the water. I felt like a pig on a walking rope compared to my Bark Vapor. I am loking at the specs of the RS and it also look to put you very high on the water. For flat and chop I might just go back to my initial idea of a dugout like a Sunova Allwater.

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LucBenac said..
I just tried a 2018 AllStar 26 from a friend and there is no way I would ever again buy a board that make you stand so high above the water. I felt like a pig on a walking rope compared to my Bark Vapor. I am loking at the specs of the RS and it also look to put you very high on the water. For flat and chop I might just go back to my initial idea of a dugout like a Sunova Allwater.

The RS doesn't sit as high Luc and it has more width forward near the nose so didn't feel nearly as corky or tippy. I personally prefer boards that allow a standing position closer to the water but I would have no problem paddling an RS , it felt great. I currently paddle a 2017 NSP Puma 14' x 24" and I love it because it's sits low and still has enough volume forward.