Hey Team,


I know the tried and tested longboard seem to be 10 foot and mini longboard 9 foot. Howcome we don't see any 'micro' longboard 8'5 foot etc.


I feel like they'd still maintain a lot of the longboard characteristics. Stability, easy paddling, less swing weight and would still have more glide than a pulled in board of a similar size. I feel like boards under 9 foot are so much easier to handle in crowds or when the waves have have bit more juice.

I know sunova do the steeze which has a model under 9 foot but I think that's the only one I've seen.

Jimmy Lewis 8.5 striker 30 wide:116 litres.,I pretty much only surf longboard sups, this board is amazing,but I have gotten into the habit of not nose riding it because it goes so well of the tail,that's more about my state of mind than the design!

Take a look at a Infinity New Deal - Down to 8' x 28"... Or even a Jimmy Lewis Destroyer 7'7".

I ride my 8'5 speed as a longboard, not sure its really intended for that but with its wide nose, parallel rails it glides easily even on the smallest bumps. The nose flip and tail rocker still allow for steep drops and bigger waves. At my size it feels plenty big. My only complaint is its too corky to get the forward rail in on waves with push, I'm hoping to get a 9x26 infinity new deal for more range.

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slsurf said..
I ride my 8'5 speed as a longboard, not sure its really intended for that but with its wide nose, parallel rails it glides easily even on the smallest bumps. The nose flip and tail rocker still allow for steep drops and bigger waves. At my size it feels plenty big. My only complaint is its too corky to get the forward rail in on waves with push, I'm hoping to get a 9x26 infinity new deal for more range.

I've ridden a speed in very very small surf. I couldn't get the hang of it. But the surf was pretty small so that would not of helped.

I've always like the look of them and the 8'5 was so stable for its width.

Another one here that uses a Sunova Speed 8'5" as a long board (72kgs, 176 cms, 55 yrs old). It is a custom with an extra inch of width (29") and a couple of extra litres of volume (114) over the standard version but I find I can use it in knee high dribblers up to overhead conditions and remain standing when it is super choppy. I could easily get away with it as my only board. I did have a 9' Smik Style Lord mini briefly but it was very tippy and I found my Speed covered very similar ground, especially as I'm not a traditional long boarder.
I would love to try a small Infinity New Deal though!
I have a blurr2 when in the short board mood.

The Speeed has too much nose kick and doesn't really hold the face with its sharp rail edge to be a longboard ..but yeah my 88 Speeed has become my defacto "longboard ". Obviously i ain't nose riding it , but the the straight rails , length and narrow width make it feel longboard"ish" in very small waves . The 711 version is my performance board of preference . Such a fantastic design . The Speeeds are awesome

Gong has always had longboard SUP shapes in the 7' to 9' range.
For instance, currently the 8'5" Zero (performance longboard shape, 100 liters, very low rocker) has a lot of fans.
A 75kg friend is now nearly only using it.
I bough a 8'0" NFA (performance longboard with a more relaxed rocker) for my daughter.

in 2012 I had a 6'9" 117l Gong Mutant, a hyper fun micro noserider with an ultra flat rocker and thin 50/50 rails:

More pics in imgur.com/a/DWrQS

Not me, but some videos of this 6'9" jewel:

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colas said..
For instance, currently the 8'5" Zero (performance longboard shape, 100 liters, very low rocker) has a lot of fans.
A 75kg friend is now nearly only using it.

This friend just published a video of his last 3 sessions:
at 0s session on the Gong inflatable CM 10' in micro waves in Britanny.
at 1'50" session at "peak du jour" in Seignosse (just north of Hossegor) with the Zero 8'5" (I was the other SUP on my Fatal 7'3")
at 4'00" session with the zero 8'5" alone with me (on my Alley 8'1") on a peak further north.

www.facebook.com/1048934276/videos/10221759154021942/

Definitely interested in getting something mocked up. A little custom deep or something could be interesting.

Infinity has the New Deal high performance longboard for a few years, and last year they added mid-lenght sizes: 8'0 x 28" (101 L) and 8'6 x 29" (114 L) and these things are getting real popular! Dave Boehne himself has been mostly riding the 8'0 New Deal instead of a more surf shape SUP.

Back in the real world a bumpy day that I couldn't motivate to use the small board so went with the speed. That 8' new deal might have been good also. Inside bump and current....


Wonky outside....

Actually better than some of the junk I've been riding lately and why SUP is so awesome for expanding range of conditions you can have fun in.

That new deal at 8'6 x 29 would be perfect. Shame about the price on them.

Currently riding an 8.10 Steeze and I think it is a good hybrid. I run a smaller 6" fin in the middle to keep it loose. I have shorter boards which can be fun but are slow to paddle and I miss the glide and smile on the face.The Steeze is like an all around board of everything sort of like a 'jack of all trades' type of thing. It doesn't do one thing exceptionally well but it is stable and can give you the feel of a long board glide with a bit of short board performance; you can nose ride it and it powers onto waves easily. The thinner rails hold nicely on a wave face. It will be a keeper in the quiver.

I'm riding an 8'8 by 30 Hipster Twin Longboard custom. Love it.

How many litres is the custom Hipster Twin? What type of waves is it good for?

Making one from a busted 8'10" Speed, shortened to 8'7" with a longboard nose. Took some volume out as way too much for me - hopefully less than 110l but that is a guess. Glass bottom as don't have bagging gear to put the balsa back on the bottom. Currently fairing and painting the bottom so maybe a few weeks until it hits the water - hopefully it works!

Rattlin,I love to see people doing this,as I've done it myself many times,I hope you have more success than me,meaning any of my projects,never went that well in the water ,I put it down to altering the balance of the original design,but as Terry Fitz said all boards work only some better than others,again,well done and I hope it works for you !

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Supster7 said..
How many litres is the custom Hipster Twin? What type of waves is it good for?

I went for 120 litres. That generally is what works for me. I've yet to find a wave the board doesn't work on, which is good because I was after a one board solution. I've had a ball in little one to two foot Noosa points, had it out today at Torquay Point in overhead waves and Bells the same a couple of days ago. Steep pitching waves at Sunshine beach and Jan Juc have also been no problem. Glide in to big fat rollers at Point Danger was also no problem.

My go to board is the 8'10" Steeze which is a fun board for sure. I have hex traction on it which allows me to go up to the front both to get into waves and to attempt nose riding. Have a 6.5 inch fin and the side fins that it came with. Keep meaning to try bigger center fin with no sides but am so happy with the setup that it's difficult to justify the hassle and cost. Wish I had a shorter performance board for the bigger waves but New York beach breaks rarely produce waves of that caliber.

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Supster7 said..
Currently riding an 8.10 Steeze and I think it is a good hybrid. I run a smaller 6" fin in the middle to keep it loose. I have shorter boards which can be fun but are slow to paddle and I miss the glide and smile on the face.The Steeze is like an all around board of everything sort of like a 'jack of all trades' type of thing. It doesn't do one thing exceptionally well but it is stable and can give you the feel of a long board glide with a bit of short board performance; you can nose ride it and it powers onto waves easily. The thinner rails hold nicely on a wave face. It will be a keeper in the quiver.

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MickMc said..

Supster7 said..
How many litres is the custom Hipster Twin? What type of waves is it good for?

I went for 120 litres. That generally is what works for me. I've yet to find a wave the board doesn't work on, which is good because I was after a one board solution. I've had a ball in little one to two foot Noosa points, had it out today at Torquay Point in overhead waves and Bells the same a couple of days ago. Steep pitching waves at Sunshine beach and Jan Juc have also been no problem. Glide in to big fat rollers at Point Danger was also no problem.

What would it be like in crappy east coast beach breaks?

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mickeyb said..

What would it be like in crappy east coast beach breaks?

I am not sure any board is that good in crap waves. It would be a real selling point if they advertised catching waves in crap conditions! They always do marketing videos at nice point breaks that keep rolling which would make any board look good.

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mickeyb said..

MickMc said..

Supster7 said..
How many litres is the custom Hipster Twin? What type of waves is it good for?

I went for 120 litres. That generally is what works for me. I've yet to find a wave the board doesn't work on, which is good because I was after a one board solution. I've had a ball in little one to two foot Noosa points, had it out today at Torquay Point in overhead waves and Bells the same a couple of days ago. Steep pitching waves at Sunshine beach and Jan Juc have also been no problem. Glide in to big fat rollers at Point Danger was also no problem.

What would it be like in crappy east coast beach breaks?

As good or better than anything else I've owned and I can tell you I've been through a lot of boards. I took it out a lot at Sunshine Beach (east coast beach break near Noosa) over the last couple of months, sometimes it was fairly crappy, small and sloppy, but I still managed to get a few waves. I'm happy just getting in the water though. On a good day it was great!

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Supster7 said..
I am not sure any board is that good in crap waves. It would be a real selling point if they advertised catching waves in crap conditions! They always do marketing videos at nice point breaks that keep rolling which would make any board look good.

To be fair, most brands advertised their "Tomo" "Stubby", etc... shapes (short, wide, parallel rails) as designed to work in crappy conditions.
And the shorter, the better they work in slow waves. Most people do not realize it because they need some technique adjustments and are afraid to try, but the rewards are huge, longer boards cannot react fast enough to the always changing crappy waves and will feel like aircraft carriers plowing mindlessly into the poor little waves.

Gong especially gathered a cult-like following since 10 year ago because of it extensive line of small wave boards, designed and tested on the glorified lake that is the Mediterranean Sea...
Read for instance this review:
www.supgower.com/2012/05/611-faking-review/

Jimmy Lewis 8'11" 124Lts Striker are a nice longboard shape and turn off the tail well.8'5" as well 8'5" Destroyer next to 8'11"Striker.

The Jimmy Lewis Striker in either 8'5" or 8'11" is an amazing performance longboard style sup that if you fin it correctly will give you all the performance & nose-riding you need....

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fester said..
Jimmy Lewis 8'11" 124Lts Striker are a nice longboard shape and turn off the tail well.8'5" as well 8'5" Destroyer next to 8'11"Striker.

fester - I'm curious what you feel the differences are between these two - why you reach for one over the other on certain days? I own the Destroyer 8'5 and love it but have been thinking about adding a 8'11 Striker to the quiver for a bit more noseriding on smaller days.

I wish Jimmy made the Destroyer 8'10 in a lower volume - same width... just thinner and around 130L.

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robg1703 said..
The Jimmy Lewis Striker in either 8'5" or 8'11" is an amazing performance longboard style sup that if you fin it correctly will give you all the performance & nose-riding you need....

I may have missed an earlier post, but what fins are you referring to, when you say 'if you fin it correctly'
Thanks

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colas said..

Supster7 said..
I am not sure any board is that good in crap waves. It would be a real selling point if they advertised catching waves in crap conditions! They always do marketing videos at nice point breaks that keep rolling which would make any board look good.

To be fair, most brands advertised their "Tomo" "Stubby", etc... shapes (short, wide, parallel rails) as designed to work in crappy conditions.
And the shorter, the better they work in slow waves. Most people do not realize it because they need some technique adjustments and are afraid to try, but the rewards are huge, longer boards cannot react fast enough to the always changing crappy waves and will feel like aircraft carriers plowing mindlessly into the poor little waves.

Gong especially gathered a cult-like following since 10 year ago because of it extensive line of small wave boards, designed and tested on the glorified lake that is the Mediterranean Sea...
Read for instance this review:
www.supgower.com/2012/05/611-faking-review/

Very interesting.
A nasty side effect of living in a turbid tidal flat and windswept corner of Australia is that the other 90% of the island has waves, and all of the boards are made for those places.

Hello. Though noseriding is not my goal, i want to share my experience with a long stubby board like the fanatic stubby 8'2", 105 liters. For me (70 kg intermediate) it's a very good compromise between balance, easy catching soft waves and maneuvrability. It's not as short and flat as many other stubby boards , which allows it to go middle size waves (not only small ones), and If you step on the tail it turns tight.

I don't need to go to an small unbalanced board in choppy days to turn tight, and I catch waves very easy.

For me it's close to perfect

Thought I would chime in a few thoughts. I've got a 3 board quiver... 8'7 Placid, 8'10 STEEZE, and a 10'Style. The Placid is my choice for larger, punchy, stronger waves. The Style is great for smaller, softer waves. And the STEEZE is for just about ANYTHING. While I generally ride the Placid or the Style, if I had to choose only ONE board I would go with the STEEZE. It handles just about everything well. I've traveled with it to Mexico, El Salvador and have ridden everything from Hurricane surf to small summer swells here locally and it's always been up to the task. It's a great board to have in the quiver!!