Has anyone ridden the Hobie "Sumo" range of boards, particulary the 9'8". I am 100kg currently have a whopper & a J L Quad....looking for a board that surfs better than the whopper but will handle choppy conditions. Any feed back is appreciated.

Sorry can I ask. 9'1 JL Kwad? Hows it go i'm just over 100kg & considering this board... Cheers

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KimXS said...

Has anyone ridden the Hobie "Sumo" range of boards, particulary the 9'8". I am 100kg currently have a whopper & a J L Quad....looking for a board that surfs better than the whopper but will handle choppy conditions. Any feed back is appreciated.

Hi KimXS,

I'm assuming you mean the 10'8" Sumo as they don't make a 9'8". I'm going to put the 10'8" we have in stock into demo, so if you want to find out first hand, drop into the shop.

I'm going to take a bunch of surf boards to demo this weekend including the Hobie Sumo 9'10", Colin McPhillips Ultimate 9'4" and Fanatic Prowave 9'2". Time to get 'em wet before the swell starts for winter

DM

G'day Kim
We have a 9'10" Sumo in our quiver.
The Sumo is a Hobie Colin McPhillips ultimate that has been bulked up.
The 9'10" sumo has 164.5 liters whereas the cm ultimate 9'10" has 149.6 liters.
If you lay both boards side by side fins up, you can see they have the same plane shape,bottom contouring and fin positions.
The diff is that Hobie told the computer to put in more volume under where the rider stands.Hence the SUMO ring shaped disc of extra volume in the middle.It is subtle but it is there.This disc of volume in the center of the board allows thinner rails towards the tail and nose.The construction tecnique is 'traditional' surfboard with a stringer and laid glass and epoxy resin.This results in a lighter board than most.
The Sumo is for the bigger guy! I have watched guys over 100kegs lay it over on rail and gouge.
The Sumo is one of the few boards aimed at the bigger guy who wants to have a board that will take him up to where he is aiming.
I surf these shapes a lot and I love em'.
Jason

Thanks Jason....I'm probably better to stick with the CM Ultimate than the "Sumo" version. How does the ultimate compare with the CP Tourqe 9'6"....have you tried this board? I was impressd with the finish of the Hobie boards & they seem well priced.

Regards Kim

Hi KimXS,

I rode the Sumo 10' 8" today in deplorable conditions, fairly rough water, 12 knots dead onshore wind and lumpy small swell up at Lancelin

The Sumo had no problem at all in supporting my 90 kilos, if it wasn't choppy, I wouldn't have even got my feet wet. At 29" wide it's not super stable, but I also didn't fall off it from the chop so it wasn't too bad either.

Being narrow in the tail and a bigger board, it needed a bigger wave or a cleaner face then what I was trying to surf today, but on the very limited few I did get onto, it went really well, fast and sure footed.

Now I know what it's like in crappy conditions, I am looking forward to riding it in good conditions. Thursday may be OK???

Nice board, definitely suited to the 100kg performance board rider looking for bigger waves.

I later surfed the Fanatic Allwave and it was much more suited to the crappy conditions and small surf.

DM

Kim go the CP torque.
The construction is way stronger than the other carbon railed boards out there.
Being stringerless with carbon down the rails does give the board a different feel.
It took me three waves to get a handle on but once I did I loved it. The zing from the carbon rails results in bottom to top turn combos being 5to 10% faster.Crisper and faster.
I only rode the 8'6" torque compared to my usual 8'11" CM and I felt the cp just as stable in the choppy stuff.
Plus the cp has a little more rocker.
Jason

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Jack Mack said...

Kim go the CP torque.
The construction is way stronger than the other carbon railed boards out there.
Being stringerless with carbon down the rails does give the board a different feel.
It took me three waves to get a handle on but once I did I loved it. The zing from the carbon rails results in bottom to top turn combos being 5to 10% faster.Crisper and faster.
I only rode the 8'6" torque compared to my usual 8'11" CM and I felt the cp just as stable in the choppy stuff.
Plus the cp has a little more rocker.
Jason

Is there any chance you could give a bit of a review of the CM 8'11"?

I.rode the 9'4' the other day and was impressed. The shape and rocker etc is exactly what I am after without risking a custom. Without going too short the 8'11" looks that little bit sweeter. I can't wait to demo one as soon as possible.

As I often have to leave boards covered (and locked!) on the deck of a boat I am a bit worried about the warning sticker about not storing them in direct sunlight. Has anyone heard of delamination issues etc? I know my ocean kayak had a similar sticker, but with care I have had no issues.

Thanks, Shane