Hi, I'm struggling to choose my board. I'm an intermediate, 70kgs, surf mainly beech breaks 1 to 5ft ranging from average to some great clean lines. I have had short sup shapes learning and sold one recently (which i loved) was Fone madeiro 8'8 140L 32". This board was great but ultimately too much volume. I have a HN 7'8 115L but find the lack of speed paddling and take off position being with prone surfers a pain, on the its fun but too many compromises. At my weight most boards seem to be really short and geared towards better riders than me. Any suggestions on boards with loads of glide in the 8' to 9'2 region around 115L to 125L which would let me take off super early. I'm not concerned with very aggressive moves, nice smooth turns, long rides and long sessions!! There are some nice 9' Longboard shapes evan though I don't nose ride.
Any help would be great..
Thanks

I am same weight and surf beach breaks at a intermediate skill level. I have found my 8'5" Jimmy Lewis Striker at 30" and 116l to be a great board, if it looks like you are marginal on catching a wave you can shuffle forward to dip the nose and make the drop, and you can hang out well outside the prone surfers waiting for a set.

Have the 8/11 Striker, perhaps 8 years old. It is wonderful but IMO not the early takeoff board you might want. It turns extremely well and handles bigger/later stuff when weighting the tail, like being on a ball bearing it turns so well and surprises even the most experienced person. Construction is the sturdiest, full deck pad, stable and maybe even too big for 70 kg, depending on your conditions and balance.

For a 9 foot length, you probably could not catch waves earlier than with the 8/10 or 9/2 Sunova Speed. Its nose prevents pearling; parallel rails and rocker allow it to catch ripples that the Striker would never get. The blunt nose probably keeps the board shorter so it glides into waves as if it were longer with nose tip cut off? Its tail hip and channels allow it to turn on anything quite well even bigger waves. Have considered this shape myself, and Tom who posts here has even let me try his 8/10 in the past.

At 70 kg, you might prefer the 8/10? For me, as an occasional sup'er and closer to 80 kg with suit, the 9/2 would be better.

The Speed reports are that you want to move on the board to get action, which one might expect for a 9 footer, but supthecreek who posts here shows in videos that it is not necessary to get that far back. He wanted the Speed tail in his Sunova Creek design request, BTW. The Creek reports are that the Creek model thrives in a bit steeper waves, however.

There is a video of Tom catching a pitiful ripple in SoCal, that never even comes close to breaking.

The Speed is a little tippy but I was able to paddle it OK in size 8/10, and I am certainly not an intermediate, and maybe paddle ten+ times a year.

That is unique in the reports we see here.

+ 1 on the 8'10" Speeed. I am 70 kg, 64 yo intermediate and 1-5' beach break is my most common surf. The board is very stable for me including significant chop. With parallel rails it is a fast paddler and hard to pearl the board in steep waves. Need to get your back foot back to turn but for fast cruising down the line it will still turn well for trimming. The rails are just underwater for me and I think this aids in stability as does having my feet on or close to the centre line of the board. There are lots of these boards around and you should be able to borrow or demo one to try out. Good luck in your search.

Cheers

Bob

+1 for an 8'8 Speeed.
That said if it gets bigger than 3ft can get out of control at high volume vs weight ratio. Prefer my oversized 9'1 Acid to 8'8 Speeed when it comes to control at speed

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wind driven said..
I am same weight and surf beach breaks at a intermediate skill level. I have found my 8'5" Jimmy Lewis Striker at 30" and 116l to be a great board, if it looks like you are marginal on catching a wave you can shuffle forward to dip the nose and make the drop, and you can hang out well outside the prone surfers waiting for a set.

I agree with the comments re the 8.5 Striker.
I surf shorebreaks most of the time.
78kg.
As far as I know the 8.5 has slightly more nose rocker than the 8.11.
Never have a problem with late takeoffs and it catches waves early due to the straight lines and wide nose.
Try one if you can.

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xurfxup said..

wind driven said..
I am same weight and surf beach breaks at a intermediate skill level. I have found my 8'5" Jimmy Lewis Striker at 30" and 116l to be a great board, if it looks like you are marginal on catching a wave you can shuffle forward to dip the nose and make the drop, and you can hang out well outside the prone surfers waiting for a set.

I agree with the comments re the 8.5 Striker.
I surf shorebreaks most of the time.
78kg.
As far as I know the 8.5 has slightly more nose rocker than the 8.11.
Never have a problem with late takeoffs and it catches waves early due to the straight lines and wide nose.
Try one if you can.

I also agree with 8.5 striker.

Took out my oversized 9'1 Acid today. Easterly swell 2-3ftmax. NNW winds in southern Sydney . Pre high tide . Had a blast . Gets on early and once you put your foot back the tail underside shape allows to put brakes on mid face and just control the thing despite its size. If I had taken my 88 speeed out I would be carrying out the bottom to far down for today's conditions . The Acid just allowed me to stay in the most powerful section of these higher tide waves - mid face -and then shoot down the face by taking pressure off the tail . The oversize version of this board allows must be to get on wave a lot earlier than if I used a similar shape at 8'0.

Sounds like the waves were steep as well as small. If the waves were full/slow/not steep, would you still use the Acid?
NNW winds are side off shore? Or, other? Good to know, as I winter in SAmer with very steep waves.

How much earlier can you catch a wave with the Speeed than with the Acid? Or, V-V?

Speeed definitely earlier

The creek is a mix of the 2 ,acid and has a speed tail ...i found it more similar to the flow ...it has a flatter rocker ..

i have a 8,7 flow @ 120 litre ,it catches waves easy for its size ,the 8,10 flow is a wave catching machine ..it just doesn't turn like the acid .

i mainly ride the 125 litre 9,1 acid ,i am 97 kgs .

Hi, thanks everyone for your input. The Sunova and Jimmy Lewis are fairly pricey in the UK and without the chance to demo would be a bit of a punt! Therefore I've ordered a Gong Zero Performance Longboard @ 9', 29.5", 4", 115L. These dimensions with my weight and ability would seem like the board should do the trick..
I will post a picture and let you know how I get on.
Thanks for the help..

I notice those dims are similar to my SMIK 9'2' Hipster Mini Mal!

Good luck with the Gong!

you will never regret getting a longboard i.m.o. , especially with yr comments about glide,long rides & long sessions

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IanInca said..
Hi, thanks everyone for your input. The Sunova and Jimmy Lewis are fairly pricey in the UK and without the chance to demo would be a bit of a punt! Therefore I've ordered a Gong Zero Performance Longboard @ 9', 29.5", 4", 115L. These dimensions with my weight and ability would seem like the board should do the trick..
I will post a picture and let you know how I get on.
Thanks for the help..

Nice dimensions . 9 foot has always been a great length for all round surfing .

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IanInca said..
Hi, thanks everyone for your input. The Sunova and Jimmy Lewis are fairly pricey in the UK and without the chance to demo would be a bit of a punt! Therefore I've ordered a Gong Zero Performance Longboard @ 9', 29.5", 4", 115L. These dimensions with my weight and ability would seem like the board should do the trick..
I will post a picture and let you know how I get on.
Thanks for the help..

Hi Ian

That Gong performance long board dimensions looks perfect for what you are looking for........hmmm.......it might be close to what I am looking for also! (Darn, only available in Europe?)

please post a review once you get a few sessions in

Cheers

Bob

Just for info, here is what I wrote in answer to a query on the difference between the various Gong longSUPs: (disclaimer: I am a Gong ambassador)

Basically the Gong longSUPs can be seen as belonging to 5 major categories:

The retro: they are designed to automatically lock into the curl and stay there: this means they accelerate or slow down based on what the wave is doing, and they turn by stalling them (pivot turns). They provide a stable platform in autopilot mode, upon which you walk along. The family is split in two:
- retro slow waves: the Neverstick. The nose is designed for maximum lift
- retro fast waves: the Soul, the nose is more streamlined for less drag at speed

The modern performance: they are more nimble and can do modern and carved turns, as they do not lose too much speed when turning. On the noserides, you have to handle the speed yourself, it locks less into the curl. They are good "do everything well" boards. Again, split in two:
- modern slow waves: Freak
- modern fast waves: Zero

- The hybrids, mixing the best of both worlds: the NFA aims to be very easy and forgiving, the Pampa a performance board but with a retro feeling, and the Moblog (not produced anymore) a performance board with a "Tomo" feeling, and many other experiments from time to time. The Gong shaper is a longboard addict and he often produce innovative and interesting shapes, even though - apart the NFA - they do not sell in very high numbers.

Add to this the "SP" versions, narrower for being closer to a prone longboard feel, but with less stability while waiting.

On the construction, the FSP is bombproof and is great for general use, the Pro carbon is less impact resistant but lighter (so better for aggressive performance surfing), and the origin is gorgeous but heavier, better for retro surfing (this is why you do not have performance shapes in the origin construction).

This info is available on the Gong forum (and with much more detail and discussions), but is spread among many different posts, and often in French.

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cbigsup said..
I notice those dims are similar to my SMIK 9'2' Hipster Mini Mal!

Good luck with the Gong!

I love that board, I saw the post with Bennos new SMIK, a fine bit of kit!! My board should be here tomorrow and 30mph winds are predicted for the next 3 to 4 days!!

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colas said..
Just for info, here is what I wrote in answer to a query on the difference between the various Gong longSUPs: (disclaimer: I am a Gong ambassador)

Basically the Gong longSUPs can be seen as belonging to 5 major categories:

The retro: they are designed to automatically lock into the curl and stay there: this means they accelerate or slow down based on what the wave is doing, and they turn by stalling them (pivot turns). They provide a stable platform in autopilot mode, upon which you walk along. The family is split in two:
- retro slow waves: the Neverstick. The nose is designed for maximum lift
- retro fast waves: the Soul, the nose is more streamlined for less drag at speed

The modern performance: they are more nimble and can do modern and carved turns, as they do not lose too much speed when turning. On the noserides, you have to handle the speed yourself, it locks less into the curl. They are good "do everything well" boards. Again, split in two:
- modern slow waves: Freak
- modern fast waves: Zero

- The hybrids, mixing the best of both worlds: the NFA aims to be very easy and forgiving, the Pampa a performance board but with a retro feeling, and the Moblog (not produced anymore) a performance board with a "Tomo" feeling, and many other experiments from time to time. The Gong shaper is a longboard addict and he often produce innovative and interesting shapes, even though - apart the NFA - they do not sell in very high numbers.

Add to this the "SP" versions, narrower for being closer to a prone longboard feel, but with less stability while waiting.

On the construction, the FSP is bombproof and is great for general use, the Pro carbon is less impact resistant but lighter (so better for aggressive performance surfing), and the origin is gorgeous but heavier, better for retro surfing (this is why you do not have performance shapes in the origin construction).

This info is available on the Gong forum (and with much more detail and discussions), but is spread among many different posts, and often in French.

Im hoping it will still be fun with smaller, fatter waves as well as the quicker stuff..

Thanks for the help and info Colas. Patrice the Gong shaper has such a smooth longboard style which really grabbed my attention and I can't wait to try and emulate some of that stuff!!

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IanInca said..
Im hoping it will still be fun with smaller, fatter waves as well as the quicker stuff..

Yes. My advice would be to adapt your surfing to gather as much speed as possible for the turns, and push in them, and also to play with fins in smaller waves: moving the fin forward, or a thruster setup, or twin fins...

The following video is interesting as you can see Patrice first on the Zero, then on the Neverstick. You can see how he is always seeking speed with the Zero, but letting the Neverstick "do its thing" on the wave.



But the Zero can be fun in small waves, notably because of its very fast rocker: Note the thruster set up to loosen the straighter rail ouline compared to slow wave shapes which have more curve in the rails between the feet:

Im in a similar dilemma, but feel you definitely need at least two boards for different conditions. 80kg rider
I'm riding an older starboard element 9.8 x 30 150L great board love it, my go to board, but now looking at something a bit more performance in as bigger board. fanatic stylemaster, smik style lord, hipster mini mal , sunova speed.
I also have a starboard HN 7.8 x30 I use in bigger and cleaner conditions, great board too but I just wish it would paddle and glide a bit easier. I find sometimes when your sprinting for a wave it yaws a bit much also.
if I went to a bigger size eg HN 8.0 the width is 31.5 so I wouldn't think it would paddle much quicker.
Its a pity starboard didn't make a HN 8.3 x 30.
too many options so maybe demo if possible other wise get your gut instinct like me from the revues, forums

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dkeating said..
Im in a similar dilemma, but feel you definitely need at least two boards for different conditions. 80kg rider
I'm riding an older starboard element 9.8 x 30 150L great board love it, my go to board, but now looking at something a bit more performance in as bigger board. fanatic stylemaster, smik style lord, hipster mini mal , sunova speed.
I also have a starboard HN 7.8 x30 I use in bigger and cleaner conditions, great board too but I just wish it would paddle and glide a bit easier. I find sometimes when your sprinting for a wave it yaws a bit much also.
if I went to a bigger size eg HN 8.0 the width is 31.5 so I wouldn't think it would paddle much quicker.
Its a pity starboard didn't make a HN 8.3 x 30.
too many options so maybe demo if possible other wise get your gut instinct like me from the revues, forums

I love the hypernut on the wave but as you said its a dog to paddle. I'm sure people with more talent then me make short work of it. Both paddling for the wave and getting out back its so slow.
The new board is arriving Tuesday and hopefully that's my 2 board quiver + a race board..

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colas said..

IanInca said..
Im hoping it will still be fun with smaller, fatter waves as well as the quicker stuff..

Yes. My advice would be to adapt your surfing to gather as much speed as possible for the turns, and push in them, and also to play with fins in smaller waves: moving the fin forward, or a thruster setup, or twin fins...

The following video is interesting as you can see Patrice first on the Zero, then on the Neverstick. You can see how he is always seeking speed with the Zero, but letting the Neverstick "do its thing" on the wave.

But the Zero can be fun in small waves, notably because of its very fast rocker: Note the thruster set up to loosen the straighter rail ouline compared to slow wave shapes which have more curve in the rails between the feet:

Pat and boards got skills colas and one best I've seen.
Tell pat and the gong team to ship international at competitive prices and you'll have ppl stoke all over it

Just took delivery, very happy!!

Nice! Great looking board!

Bob

Select to expand quote

colas said..
Just for info, here is what I wrote in answer to a query on the difference between the various Gong longSUPs: (disclaimer: I am a Gong ambassador)

Basically the Gong longSUPs can be seen as belonging to 5 major categories:

The retro: they are designed to automatically lock into the curl and stay there: this means they accelerate or slow down based on what the wave is doing, and they turn by stalling them (pivot turns). They provide a stable platform in autopilot mode, upon which you walk along. The family is split in two:
- retro slow waves: the Neverstick. The nose is designed for maximum lift
- retro fast waves: the Soul, the nose is more streamlined for less drag at speed

The modern performance: they are more nimble and can do modern and carved turns, as they do not lose too much speed when turning. On the noserides, you have to handle the speed yourself, it locks less into the curl. They are good "do everything well" boards. Again, split in two:
- modern slow waves: Freak
- modern fast waves: Zero

- The hybrids, mixing the best of both worlds: the NFA aims to be very easy and forgiving, the Pampa a performance board but with a retro feeling, and the Moblog (not produced anymore) a performance board with a "Tomo" feeling, and many other experiments from time to time. The Gong shaper is a longboard addict and he often produce innovative and interesting shapes, even though - apart the NFA - they do not sell in very high numbers.

Add to this the "SP" versions, narrower for being closer to a prone longboard feel, but with less stability while waiting.

On the construction, the FSP is bombproof and is great for general use, the Pro carbon is less impact resistant but lighter (so better for aggressive performance surfing), and the origin is gorgeous but heavier, better for retro surfing (this is why you do not have performance shapes in the origin construction).

This info is available on the Gong forum (and with much more detail and discussions), but is spread among many different posts, and often in French.

That's really helpful, thanks.
What are the features that you are suggesting make a board better for fast or slow waves?

IanInca, great looking board, I'm tempted to get one myself. How much does it weigh? How deep is that handle? I have a NFA and it's got a fairly big ledge handle that is nice and comfy but yours maybe looks different?

The handles aren't that big or the deepest but they are fine The board is 7.5kg. I'll let you now how it goes..

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Area10 said..
What are the features that you are suggesting make a board better for fast or slow waves?

The rocker, and rails shape and volume, the widths (nose, tail, center)... basically the shape as a whole :-) You should ask these questions on the Gong forum, Patrice will certainly love to expand on it.

The handle on the "pro" boards is the FCS one, quite comfy and grippy for its size but still small enough for enclosing a minimal amount of water for weight reduction on the water and rounded edges to not hurt the toes. The FSP boards have wider handles, and the bigger touring boards have a bit 2 slot handle with a central arch to ease grabbing it and lifting it flat.

I surf in an area where we also have 1 to 5 ft beach breaks. I have an 8'11 striker which I do love however I recently bought a Jimmy Lewis Super Frank 8'6 Lean. It is by far the best beach break board I have been on. It is excellent in all of the areas you had as criteria for a board.