Helmy said..
I surfed my 9'1" yesterday with a guy who had the 8'10".
I'm 5'4" and 75 kgs (ok, 77 kgs...) and he was about 5'9" and 82-85 kgs, I'd say.
After we got through the obligatory "ooh nice board you have there" stuff we kept an eye on each other.
Nice 3'+ surf, easy point break.
He fell off a few times standing around, which I didn't do, but you'd expect that given that he was a bigger guy on a smaller board.
We both caught waves easily enough, and the Creeks are SO fast and easy to surf.
I would say it would all come down to what and where you surf.
I COULD go down a size, but I don't get to surf that often, so I need to make sure every surf is a winner.
We also paddle about a K down to the SUP break, running the gauntlet of the Grumpy Old Mal Surfers (hey you could make a decent acronym out of that, but it wouldn't fit, would it?), so a bit more length and width is helpful.
NEVER do I feel that the 9'1" is too big. It's speed, manouverability and comfort is just about perfect - for me, anyway.
Might be different if I was surfing, say, a Goldie or WA beach break.
I'm a about 97kg and find my 9'1 super stable in all sorts of conditions.
I was just considering a stepdown for when its super clean. I find the 9'1 a bit slow on making sections sometimes but usually it's pretty awesome.
I was thinking a 8'10 Creek or maybe a 8'10 speed. I surf about 3 or 4 times a week depending on work commitments.
P.s if you want to make your 9'1 a loose cannon throw a small 3 inch trailer fin in it. I've got it to the point where I can slide it so easily and its so fun.
