Now that is proper Insane conditions! Has SUPbru got a secret spot at Mt Manganui that he is not telling about?...

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Stev0 said..
Now that is proper Insane conditions! Has SUPbru got a secret spot at Mt Manganui that he is not telling about?...

The joys of living right next to the beach & getting to know the local area well (I certainly don't visit crowded line ups) cause there are days when it's properly on...although they are few & far between.

Awesome looking board hilly (loving those channels) in some great conditions backed up by some slick surfing....you've set the 'Insane' bar high.....maybe Jacy or SupaTrooper can also post some action pics

Gentleman, gentlemen please..

Those boards look amazing.

100 smiles per paddle ?

Sometimes you've just got to go....insane....

very nice

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hilly said..
very nice

x 2 what hilly said - she's a beaut!!

Took the insane out for the first time today, unfortunately in only 2-3 ft uneven waves at Kirra today but it goes like a rocket, the straight line speed along the open face is sensational

Insane update: after a few surfs in less than ideal conditions on my tweaked (thinned out rails) 9'5 Insane, it felt like a lot of board for my weight (purely personal preference) so I made a risky call & opted for an 8'11 Insane (26 5/8" x 4 1/4" x 103l) which I received a month ago & I must say, I'm pretty stoked...

- it weighs less than 8kg (incl. fins) so it's a breeze to lug around
- I thought I would only use this board in biggish surf (we've had bugger all swell this summer so I've only tested it in up to 3-5' & like SupaTropper mentioned above, it goes like a rocket....you only need watch highlights of Jacy + JC tearing it up at Sunset on their smaller volume Insane's...not that I'm for a minute comparing my surfing ability to theirs...if only) however, I find myself grabbing this board whenever there's a clean'ish mid to high tide wave
- if feels like it paddles onto waves equally as well as my 8'5 Speeed & 9'6 Style (big call, I know) but it doesn't have as much swing weight so it's a dream to turn
- it's hands down the fastest board I own in terms of speed down the line (I'm using it as a thruster setup with fairly small fins but if & when some swell turns up, I'll probably give quads a whirl)

Despite the generous amount of nose rocker, it's still close on a 9' board so I generally don't use it if there's a steep/hollow beach break (my nose is still on the mend after coming off 2nd best with a sand bank) where a smaller Acid or Speeed then become my board of choice. Similar to the Acid, you need to get your balance centred at take-off otherwise it's easy to miss a wave...which almost never happens with the Speeed. I personally like my Speeed if it's a bit choppy / if I want to max my wave count or I simply want to chill out & do some cruizy carving turns.

At 26 5/8" wide, it's not the most stable of boards (my 8'2 Speeed & 8'7 Acid are a similar volume but more stable) but it's also not super tippy. It has nowhere near the amount of surface area on the nose vs my Style & Speeed so if there's a bit of an offshore, it still gets into waves early....although if it's super choppy, I'll jump on my 8'7 Acid for that extra stability.

My initial concern that I wouldn't get my bang-for-buck out of this board couldn't be further from the truth. Bottom line, despite not testing it (yet) in the conditions it's actually designed for, it's 100% cemented it's spot in my quiver.

PS - rider stats are 80kg / early 40's / I paddle most days & I'm a self-confessed board junkie who will post some footage if & when my SS3 ever gets shipped

PPS - my local conditions are 1-4' beach break (normally pretty clean) in the Bay of Plenty (NZ)

Awesome review bro..Look forward to seeing it in the flesh..yeowww

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SUPbru said..
Check out www.rspro.org/collections/wax-is-for-candles/products/hexatraction-board-grip...yes, stick on grip.

Thanks Supbru for the product link... Will definitely be checking this stuff out. I am unhappy with where the grip ends on a couple of my boards and have waxed them to the nose. This stuff looks interesting and I'm keen to test it out!

Looking at these insane sups , look awesome .
Truely want one , have been riding an 8'11 jp Keahi custom 26wide , charged lots of big stuff and bulletproof . I'm 70 kg wet , what are you guys recommending and how you liking your boards now ?
Thanks . Would love some advice

Hey roachy - I'm still a huge fan-boy of the Insane. Everything I mentioned in my 8'11 post still applies but after clocking a LOT more sessions, I can add:

- I keep a record of which boards I use & my 8'11 sits right at the top of the pack
- I've had her out in 4-6' & she rips (I've clocked 40km/h on my Trace + she's super manoeuvrable)
- I'm confident once I'm on the wave but it is easy to pearl at take-off, especially if there's a lot of water movement (keeping your weight centred is critical)
- paddle speed into waves is a dream
- it's certainly not the worlds most stable board (less stable than my 8'4 Acid @ 97L)
- the only time I find it to be too much board is in shallow/hollow beach breaks where despite the down the line speed, I prefer to be on a shorter board
- it feels more receptive with a thruster setup (I'm running small C-Drives) vs quads although to be fair, I've only tried quads a handful of X

At your weight & given the board you're currently riding, possibly you could get away with the 8'5 x 86L (this is what JC was riding at Sunset) but it's super narrow (fractionally over 25") so you need to be confident that you'll still be able to use the board in less than ideal conditions.

Given the Sunova domed deck + sunken rails, I don't think you will find the 8'11 too corky + you will benefit from the extra paddle speed vs the 8'5 but, it might be too similar vs your JP? You could always ask Sunova to make you a custom.

Bottom line...the Insane is 1 of my most used boards for a good reason

thanks supbru . for the advice . would love a bit smaller than 8'11 , not much , wouldn't go narrower to much hard work , and stability when its big is paramount prior to takeoff , different once your on the wave . board sounds like the biz as a thruster , haven't had much luck as a quad on a gun yet . what is the thickness of yours supbru ? those low rails , even on the Jp makes the board lose quite a bit of width , need to be sup fit

I generally dislike 'fat' rails but my stock 8'11 rails @ 4 1/4" look & feel refined + the tail is super thin.

The deck is pretty domed but if you paddle with a staggered/narrow stance, you barely notice it.

^^^^^
Love the livingroom board rack!

Thanks again Supbru . Lush.rack .so the rails are 41/4 or centre of the board is ?
That tail looks great too .
you had any issues with the board construction?
One more question , what is the turnaround time on ordering these guys to get made . Thanks

No worries. JuniorBurger or someone else might be able to explain this better than me but from a layman's perspective, the total board thickness is 4 1/4" at the centre point & the rails are rolled (I'm guessing 80/20 as part of the domed deck) so the actual rails are really fine. I've tried to capture this in a pic but it's not easy...just know that I don't have the worlds biggest paws + a pet hate of mine is 'chunky' rails which this board certainly doesn't have


Construction is super solid (I owned an 8'5 Speeed for close on 3 years which I only recently sold & it still looked brand new) & either your local Sunova retailer or JuniorBurger will be able to help you re lead time.

Thanks looks the goods

Any others order an insane , that can throw in a comment or a picture of a there new board . Shape wise as a gun , seems easily the best looking board on the market ?

About 75kg, 174cm tall. 44 yo
8'2 Insane unreal in east coast swell over the weekend. Challenge in chop and wind but pay off on waves well worth it.

funnsurfn you got a custom , what are other dimensions of board and volume you got. you loving it .
i have been seriously thinking around the 8'11 still but a fraction thinner 41/8 , do like length when its bigger .

funnsurfn you got a custom , what are other dimensions of board and volume you got. you loving it .
i have been seriously thinking around the 8'11 still but a fraction thinner 41/8 , do like length when its bigger .

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roachy said..
funnsurfn you got a custom , what are other dimensions of board and volume you got. you loving it .
i have been seriously thinking around the 8'11 still but a fraction thinner 41/8 , do like length when its bigger .

The board belongs to James Casey . Not with me now while I am away. I think it is stock dimensions but could be custom. About 24-25 wide and around 77-78 litres. I loved the 7'11 Insane that was Wes Fry's but it lives in Hawaii now.
When the waves have power and overhead they go unreal. The bigger waves I get to surf are usually bumpy and often windy so fair bit of work. My 7'3" speed feels pretty equal stability. My previous Sup gun was 9'2 and the length was not a problem when bigger.


Photo by Sam Watts from earlier in the year.

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Funnsurfn said..

roachy said..
funnsurfn you got a custom , what are other dimensions of board and volume you got. you loving it .
i have been seriously thinking around the 8'11 still but a fraction thinner 41/8 , do like length when its bigger .

The board belongs to James Casey . Not with me now while I am away. I think it is stock dimensions but could be custom. About 24-25 wide and around 77-78 litres. I loved the 7'11 Insane that was Wes Fry's but it lives in Hawaii now.
When the waves have power and overhead they go unreal. The bigger waves I get to surf are usually bumpy and often windy so fair bit of work. My 7'3" speed feels pretty equal stability. My previous Sup gun was 9'2 and the length was not a problem when bigger.


Photo by Sam Watts from earlier in the year.

Nice gauge , under 25 ??, Bit narrow for us pissfit guys , bet you were ripping on that ,
seem to ride my sup , away from crowds , so waves aren't always perfect unless it's big , hence some length and width and girth , sounds like a tinder advert .
Thanks for the feedback , you spend much time sitting on the 8'2 ?

@ Roachy: You were asking about other gun boards. Here's what I ordered as a custom from Sunova (no affiliation to them - just a normal punter). It's 8'6" x 26 9/16" x 4 1/4" x 96.8 ltrs. I'm 6'2 x 85KG (90 KG with wetsuit & paddle). At ~97 litres the deck is just under water when stationary so it's a work out but ideal for the conditions I wanted it for = starts to work in head & a half & will keep on working till my bottle goes. I looked at the insane but for my ideal volume they looked a tad on the narrow side, plus the decks looked like they were too domed to keep the rails thin, so I went for a step rail to A). keep the deck flat for paddling comfort & B). keep the rails really thin for bite & hold. The step in the rail fades out towards the tail where the deck domes again which is comfortable under the back foot when on rail. I also asked for the hip that the insane has in the tail rail to be removed as I prefer a progressive feel when moving back along the board rather than the sudden increase in manoeuvrability that you sometimes get when it suddenly pinches in. Only had it out in its target conditions a couple of times (as it arrived over the summer). It draws a lovely line on the bottom turn - no kangaroo effect from a chunky mid rail as it tries to fight back to the surface that I've had with other boards & I already know that I can hold as high a line as I want to on the wave face before having to drop down as it hollows out. Hopefully will get plenty of time on it this winter to get it really dialled in.
Going custom shape (& tint) wasn't that much more than the stock price & still cheaper than an off the shelf model from a major brand.
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Stunning !

Nooice!

Wow! Stunning picture against the fense. It looks like the board is translucent and you can see the fense behind.

Bob