AA, Thanks for that. I've got the Laird 10 X 29 1/2. Been riding it with the center fin and side bites and it's a sweet ride. I've tried it as a quad and just didn't get the good feel of it. Seemed to slide out on me. The Blair quads I have are a bit smaller so that may be why with this being the 10' Laird. Suppose I should go for a bigger quad set and give it go.

Ooha Ah! that is a nice looking stick, firesurf.
I havent tried these boards as thrusters but the 9'6 was super loose and reliable as a Quad!
Next? The 10'er!

Select to expand quote

Kneesup said..

I was under the impression that Laird had parted company with Surftech and that these new boards are made by swiss company Nidecker, you can see their logo on the pad & underside of the nose, which explains why the dims are slightly different (further refined) from the previous Surftech dims.

I had the 10'6 & 10' Surftech versions, the 10'6 was great, but for the beach breaks I surf I found it too long and ended up preferring my Allwave 8'10 & 8'6.

The 10' was faster than the 10'6 but didn't turn so well I found, I preferred the 10'6 - great for long noserides!

Here's a couple of clips of welshman 'Guts' Griffiths on the 10'6 in case you haven't seen them :

I love the look of the new 9 footer, I think that would be perfect for me. (I'm 52 yrs old & 75kg)

Not sure about the Nidecker connection Kneesup. That is the Laird logo. Maybe looks a bit like the Nidecker logo?

Great video BTW!! Guts Griffith is ripping!!

My mistake AA, you're right, that's the Laird logo
I have the Laird brochure which I got from Nidecker, Nidecker North America & Europe (Switzerland) are listed on the back page for contact & information, so I guess they are the distributer - I thought I read something about them making this new range of boards too...?...but I could be wrong!

Yeah, Guts has a super cool style, always love to watch him surf

Firesurf - awesome board

Select to expand quote

Kneesup said..
Nidecker North America & Europe (Switzerland)

Arg... another one (after C4) that make the mistake of choosing an european distributor in a country that is not in the Europe, is not in the euro zone... and without any harbor or surf spot.

There must have been a shortage of common sense in some SUP manufacturer circles...

I was interested and found this. They might be throughout Europe like this.
They are showing the new boards.

www.lairdstandup.fr/

EPS construction v Composite

Got my Laird Hybrid a few days back and went the composite. The option is only marginally heavier then the EPS, and on the scale of things, not that heavy at all. If anything. while it is a very fine low volume board, I find it can be a bit too buoyant [though probably also something I am getting used to after riding heavier boards?].

I would say the Surfers would go better with the extra bit of weight improving the glide? Given the durability, this is the way I would be going.

Oh, I also started getting the mentioned heel dints and it was just the deck grip. Pretty stoked too when I jumped in at a reef break yesterday and give the rail a knock on the rocks. Given the clunk, I was expecting my first ding, but only got minor scratches.

Had a few waves on the 10-0 this morning such a fun board and so easy to put it on its rail . You can't help but surf it like a Mal with sole arch bottom turns and drop knee cutbacks. Really easy to surf .

Select to expand quote

Piros said...
Had a few waves on the 10-0 this morning such a fun board and so easy to put it on its rail . You can't help but surf it like a Mal with sole arch bottom turns and drop knee cutbacks. Really easy to surf .

Thanks.

Yes, this is the board I can't wait to demo. I have the 9' hybrid, so it would be nice to move the next board up to something I can ride more like a classic mal/logger. Can't wait to hit Balmoral Paddle to hijack their demo and head out Manly!

It's extra tail rocker combined with the ultra thin pin tail , just lets the board pivot and follow you round. Really clever design.....

HI Guys,
The lairds always look to me to be too wide in the nose, and that it would catch all the time.
Does that happen or not? The reviews are pretty good here. I'd be interested to hear comparisons between the laird and the naish nalu, for those who have surfed both.
Thanks,
Ken.

The Lairds look like a totally diff animL to the Nalu.....Laird's more high performance. I have a Nalu....great board....no issues with the nose catching.

I'm

Select to expand quote

Slab said..

The Lairds look like a totally diff animL to the Nalu.....Laird's more high performance. I have a Nalu....great board....no issues with the nose catching.

I'm looking at both board's, Since I'm a prone long boarder for many years and this will be my first board I think I might go with the Laird 10 or 10'6. I can't make a decision, it's killing me!

Select to expand quote

KennyK said...
HI Guys,
The lairds always look to me to be too wide in the nose, and that it would catch all the time.
Does that happen or not? The reviews are pretty good here. I'd be interested to hear comparisons between the laird and the naish nalu, for those who have surfed both.
Thanks,
Ken.

Ken, if you are not bent on noseridering, it is worth looking at the Laird Hybrids.

I just got my new 9' Hybrid out into some sold six feet waves. Heck it goes fast! First set I faded, went to dig the paddle in for a typical bottom turn and had it ripped out of my hands. Guess I didn't realise exactly how quick I was going? Thanks also to the prone surfer who grabbed my paddle before I was left chasing it to shore.

Otherwise, after I got used to the top gear acceleration , the board went great with the rails holding at speed. Great too stability wise paddling in the onshore conditions. Fun!

Select to expand quote

surfershaneA said..

KennyK said...
HI Guys,
The lairds always look to me to be too wide in the nose, and that it would catch all the time.
Does that happen or not? The reviews are pretty good here. I'd be interested to hear comparisons between the laird and the naish nalu, for those who have surfed both.
Thanks,
Ken.

Ken, if you are not bent on noseridering, it is worth looking at the Laird Hybrids.

I just got my new 9' Hybrid out into some sold six feet waves. Heck it goes fast! First set I faded, went to dig the paddle in for a typical bottom turn and had it ripped out of my hands. Guess I didn't realise exactly how quick I was going? Thanks also to the prone surfer who grabbed my paddle before I was left chasing it to shore.

Otherwise, after I got used to the top gear acceleration , the board went great with the rails holding at speed. Great too stability wise paddling in the onshore conditions. Fun!

The Hybrid sounds like a nice board, but I do want a noserider, probably around 10'6", like str8shootr I also am a long time prone longboarder.
Besides I already have a JP pro surf 9'6".

Select to expand quote

KennyK said...

The Hybrid sounds like a nice board, but I do want a noserider, probably around 10'6", like str8shootr I also am a long time prone longboarder.
Besides I already have a JP pro surf 9'6".

Pretty much in the same boat, and why I can't wait to demo a 10' Laird.Surfer. The Hybrid is my performance board; not a noserider. Regardless, the pulled in nose does make it a nice paddler on the flatwater.

Well, I've demo'ed the 10 & the 10'6 being new to stand up I was a little shaky. They told me to wait and come back this weekend and try the 11 & 11'6. Not sure if I want to go that big. I have a Prone 9'6 Walden Mega Magic 124liters its narrow but floats like no other. Its a wave caching machine, it's like cheating. Its amazing for small mushy waves. I wonder if that could be paddled being so narrow 24.5inches wide.

It can be done.
Pohaku SUPped my 24 1/4 wide mal last week.

I proned his 10' 8" SUP.

Fun :D

Hey everyone
Just wondering if anybody else has had a chance to use/dem this board since this thread started a couple of weeks ago.

Cheers
Rory

Select to expand quote

STR8SHOOTR said...
Well, I've demo'ed the 10 & the 10'6 being new to stand up I was a little shaky. They told me to wait and come back this weekend and try the 11 & 11'6. Not sure if I want to go that big. I have a Prone 9'6 Walden Mega Magic 124liters its narrow but floats like no other. Its a wave caching machine, it's like cheating. Its amazing for small mushy waves. I wonder if that could be paddled being so narrow 24.5inches wide.

I have SUP surfed my Laguna Bay 11' prone longboard. Thing I found was that the sweetspot was in the wrong place for using the paddle. While it is a great board prone, it felt weird and awkward as a SUP. I have used it a lot as a SUP on the flatwater when my daughter has been paddling my SUP, but would not bother SUP surfing it again.

Strange though, my old Laird Ron House SUP goes awesome as a SUP and pretty good as a prone. The only downside is that unlike the new Pearson Surfers, it has the wrong nose lift for noseriding.

Ive demo the 10'6x30 140L. Im 28 6'3 110kg and surfed SUP for 7 years and also longboards for 15 years.
I absolutely loved how this thing surfed. It surf great in 3-4ft and didnt get caught up once with the nose digging in.
I surfed it as the stock thruster and once on the nose the tail did get quite loose but after awhile you could really have some fun up there spinning the tail out and even turn a little on the nose.
The board was really responsive in the turns and could get really tight round houses in the pocket and even on the smaller 2ft waves you could still get a turn in or even run up the nose.
Being so flat and wide in the nose i did think that the nose would push a lot of water making it harder getting on the waves but it got on the waves really easy even on the late take offs and generated a lot of speed down the line.
As Piros said "You can't help but surf it like a Mal with sole arch bottom turns and drop knee cutbacks"
Just need more 10FT+ divisions around for us bigger guys
Hope this helps with a few of the bigger guys out there and hope to try the 10ft soon.

AA - great thread... thanks for the in depth reviews and follow-ups. It's the kind of useful information that so many of us are looking for!

Great to hear everyone's take on the boards.

I have a board that I'm looking to replace... this might be the just the thing

Thanks STC. Its not often we get excited about new boards but these are worthy of some close attention. Keen to try the Hybrid that just came in.

Currently in DEMO at BPSurf-

[b][i]9'6 Hybrid: [/b]EPS-COMPOSITE1
Length 9'6 Width 28 5/8” Height 4” Volume (Lt) 110ltrs Weight 18lbs

10' Surfer EPS-COMPOSITE: [/i]Length 10' Width 29" Height 4?" Volume (Lt) 130 Weight HP 20 lbs Weight Composite 23 lbs

10'6 Surfer EPS-COMPOSITE: Length 10'6'' Width 30" Height 4?" Volume (Lt) 140 Weight HP 20.5 lbs Weight Composite 23.5 lbs

Coming in August:
10'6 x 32" Surfer Length 10'6'' Width 32" Height 4?" Volume (Lt) 150 Weight HP 21 lbs Weight Composite 24 lbs

Shame your all the way over there in the US, STC. I can hear you frothing from here!

i was a little weirded out by the big rounded tail on my hybrid. Threw the Futures Solus fins in the sides and it now goes exactly where I want. So nice to get that drive off the bottom or head high into the shoulder for the big roundhouse. They have also given the board a really nice rail to rail transition, With them I went back to a smaller drivey back fin from my old Ron House Laird 10'. Absolutely stoked at how the board now behaves.

While the board at least comes with decent fiberglass side fins. this is am upgrade you won't regret. Guessing though, if you are not quite the power surfer, you might want to have a look at the rest of the Futures range. or maybe even stick with the originals?

I tried the 9' laird hybrid in small waves the other day , and was relatively impressed but not bowled over . I love the shape , the rails are sweet and low , the thickness just right for me.
.Stability very good for size ( I'm 80kg).
The reason I didn't but it was because of it's weight (I didn't weigh it but it felt too heavy)
For me it needed to feel more nimble , and i felt it came down to the weight issue .
If it was lighter I would have bought it there and then , because it ticks so many boxes for me personally .
I currently ride a drops high watt 9'1" which is quite hard to beat!

hy i have had the 9.6 for about a month now and absolutely love this board.
have a 8.3 x32 hokua as well and hardly ride it any more !!!
ridden in all sorts of conditions and it has been a revelation,
any one ridden the 9.0 ?/ keen to see how it compares to my 9.6.
i am 6 foot and 88 kgs. for me this board is the best i have had !!!
cheers mark.

Select to expand quote

AA said...
Thanks STC. Its not often we get excited about new boards but these are worthy of some close attention. Keen to try the Hybrid that just came in.

Currently in DEMO at BPSurf-

[b][i]9'6 Hybrid: [/b]EPS-COMPOSITE1
Length 9'6 Width 28 5/8” Height 4” Volume (Lt) 110ltrs Weight 18lbs

10' Surfer EPS-COMPOSITE: [/i]Length 10' Width 29" Height 4?" Volume (Lt) 130 Weight HP 20 lbs Weight Composite 23 lbs

10'6 Surfer EPS-COMPOSITE: Length 10'6'' Width 30" Height 4?" Volume (Lt) 140 Weight HP 20.5 lbs Weight Composite 23.5 lbs

Coming in August:
10'6 x 32" Surfer Length 10'6'' Width 32" Height 4?" Volume (Lt) 150 Weight HP 21 lbs Weight Composite 24 lbs

Shame your all the way over there in the US, STC. I can hear you frothing from here!

Thanks for the info AA. Have you compared the 10'6" to the old 10'6" surftech Laird? I would be interested to know if the nose rocker was a little flatter. The surftech pushes a lot of water when nose riding in slow waves, it requires faster sections for clean nose rides. A flatter nose would be an added bonus.
Sandsy

Thanks everyone I really appreciate all the additional insight on this board.
Rory

Select to expand quote

waxer00 said...
I tried the 9' laird hybrid in small waves the other day , and was relatively impressed but not bowled over . I love the shape , the rails are sweet and low , the thickness just right for me.
.Stability very good for size ( I'm 80kg).
The reason I didn't but it was because of it's weight (I didn't weigh it but it felt too heavy)
For me it needed to feel more nimble , and i felt it came down to the weight issue .
If it was lighter I would have bought it there and then , because it ticks so many boxes for me personally .
I currently ride a drops high watt 9'1" which is quite hard to beat!

Funnily enough, I find it fairly buoyant and a bit on the light side? As above, this is why I would have no hesitation going the composite construction over the EPS. Maybe I am just getting too many of those Winter groundswells with stiff offshores?