Nice. Looking forward to giving it a go. Afraid Ill love it more than my 9'6 Prowave though and have to spend more money!!!

Will these boards float me comfortably at 100 kegs? I hate sinky boards so usually opt for something with plenty of buoyancy

The 8'6" at 120Lt is a fair bit less than your current board.

Hi. I am 100kgs and come off a 9'6" Prowave which I really rate. I bought a 7'10" 120 litre Minion which I love but need perfect conditions for and even then can struggle. I now have a 8"4" Stretch Minion at 134 litres and 31.5 wide and I can use in all conditions. It is a little less maneuverable than the 7'10" but I catch as many waves as the Prowave and have way more fun.
I would be interested in trying the Stubby to see how the hull works. The Minion has a pronounced chine at the concave in the nose which works so well especially with late take offs. Other Vanguard style boards I've tried didn't and didn't work so well.

Hi Pepper, The Stubby is nothing like the other vanguard shapes. It's very drawn out with thin rails and pulled in tail. I would say it's more like a compact version of the Prowave. You have to try it.

Here's a bit more info on the Stubby. I had the privilege of surfing both Stubbies back to back with Fanatic Prowaves 8'4 and 8'9 for few days. I spent a bit of time taking some pictures and comparing them with the Prowaves and the JP Slate. It might help answer some questions:

http://windsurfnsnow.com.au/site/fanatic-stubby-sup-2016/

Cheers,

Denis - Windsurf N Snow

Nice write-up. Looks like Fanatic went to school on the Speeed... Cool board regardless and Airton's surfing is insane!

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WINDSURFnSNOW said..
I spent a bit of time taking some pictures and comparing them with the Prowaves and the JP Slate.

Interesting review, I guess it sums up quite well this specific interpretation of the vanguard concept (with a lot of tail & nose rocker). I had the same feelings on my Gong that seems have the same kind of rocker: in a way the rocker mitigates the potential drawbacks of a Vanguard outline for SUPs, that are wider than surfboards.

I think we will discover that not all "vanguard" shapes will ride the same... (and that some need to be ridden rather long or rather short)

Hi Colas, I chatted a fair bit with Sebastian Wenzel about this concept. He never liked the idea of just taking the surfboard vanguard designs and scaling them into the sups. He doesn't think that it can work that way. Therefore he wanted to do something different and this is the result.

We also had one of our regulars demoing the 8'6 last couple of days and rated it too longboardy compared to the Naish Raptors 7 x 31 or 7 x 33 he usually rides. He says that the Raptors are the best boards ever made and perfectly suit his style. But we also get people that really don't like the Raptors as they prefer something that glides and tracks a bit better.

So I don't understand why are so many people happy with thrashing this or that concept when there are so many different surfing styles. There's no way every board can suit everyone, especially if we start talking body weight/skill/fitness level/free time, etc...

We should be happy as there's so much choice these days. You can really narrow it down to your personal preference.

Denis - Windsurf N Snow

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Area10 said..

Slab said...

MickMc said..

BrisKites said...
$2799 - www.briskites.com.au/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1747

Yeah that ain't gonna happen ... base model for me, or not at all!

too right.....off my list for sure.

2800 Australian dollars is 1300 GBP. That isn't particularly expensive by UK standards for an elite construction board. It's about half what you'd pay for eg. a SIC X14 in SCC or an LE Javelin. I'm afraid it might just be that your currency exchange rate is dire at the moment. Maybe if your economy picks up, the prices won't seem quite so bad?

Yep, our economy will pick up due to exporting locally made SUPs now. All due to exchange rate.
What a great turn around - Chinese mass produced now more expensive that home grown. That is good news for our local economy and shapers!

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bobajob said..

Area10 said..

Slab said...

MickMc said..

BrisKites said...
$2799 - www.briskites.com.au/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1747

Yeah that ain't gonna happen ... base model for me, or not at all!

too right.....off my list for sure.

2800 Australian dollars is 1300 GBP. That isn't particularly expensive by UK standards for an elite construction board. It's about half what you'd pay for eg. a SIC X14 in SCC or an LE Javelin. I'm afraid it might just be that your currency exchange rate is dire at the moment. Maybe if your economy picks up, the prices won't seem quite so bad?

Yep, our economy will pick up due to exporting locally made SUPs now. All due to exchange rate.
What a great turn around - Chinese mass produced now more expensive that home grown. That is good news for our local economy and shapers!

im assuming it will be the similar price as a ltd pro wave? in the uk the rrp for 2015 was £1800 for one of them! if your in the uk it may be cheaper to buy and ship from Australia! personly I look forwards to seeing what comes from the smaller local shapers as there will be far more testing and evolution coming out of them

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WINDSURFnSNOW said..
Hi Colas, I chatted a fair bit with Sebastian Wenzel about this concept. He never liked the idea of just taking the surfboard vanguard designs and scaling them into the sups. He doesn't think that it can work that way. Therefore he wanted to do something different and this is the result.

We also had one of our regulars demoing the 8'6 last couple of days and rated it too longboardy compared to the Naish Raptors 7 x 31 or 7 x 33 he usually rides. He says that the Raptors are the best boards ever made and perfectly suit his style. But we also get people that really don't like the Raptors as they prefer something that glides and tracks a bit better.

So I don't understand why are so many people happy with thrashing this or that concept when there are so many different surfing styles. There's no way every board can suit everyone, especially if we start talking body weight/skill/fitness level/free time, etc...

We should be happy as there's so much choice these days. You can really narrow it down to your personal preference.

Denis - Windsurf N Snow

Sebastian is on the same page as Bert in scaling a Tomo / Vanguard into a SUP shape. Bert says almost the identical thing in the 8'5" Speeed thread. I've said the Speeed has more in common with a performance longboard then a Tomo shape. The Stubby appears to be on the same path. The flipped nose, rocker line and pulled tail at least seem similar in appearance.

More to the point, how these Tomo'ish design elements work/help in a SUP design (specifically the Speeed and Stubby), paddle speed, tracking and stability; has little to do with how a Vanguard (actual Tomo Vanguard) works and surfs; and conversely how these boards surf (I know for sure with the Speeed and guessing on the Stubby).

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WINDSURFnSNOW said..
Here's a bit more info on the Stubby. I had the privilege of surfing both Stubbies back to back with Fanatic Prowaves 8'4 and 8'9 for few days. I spent a bit of time taking some pictures and comparing them with the Prowaves and the JP Slate. It might help answer some questions:

http://windsurfnsnow.com.au/site/fanatic-stubby-sup-2016/

Cheers,

Denis - Windsurf N Snow

I'm 67 and would like to see an 8'6 Stubby with a bit more volume at say 145 litres. I can still surf fairly well but my padlings a bit slower than it used to be so more volume would be good.