I filmed this for Surf Fx , pretty interesting boards

Hey Piros, Is Bert Burger still involved with Sunova?

Yes he is , it's a bit of a fluke I filmed this I was shooting Chuck Patterson for Jon at Surf Fx , Chuck was a bit late so I got talking to Martin , and we did a quick video of the Sunovas. Martin was one of the factory managers for 8 years at Cobra and now he has gone out on his own and teamed up with Bert Berger and set up a new factory in Thailand. The finish on the boards is amazing , I can't comment on the performance and the shapes are pretty out there but they are evolved from the fish Firewire range. Worth a try , all those boards you saw in the video are demo's so drop into Surf Fx and try them out.

Quite radical looking boards......the presenters were pretty ho hum though......and not even one of "piros girls" in the background pretending to polish boards lol

I'm putting on my cynical hat, another non paddler, shaper jumping on the bandwagon.

SUP design is a whole different branch of surfing.

To understand what is happening on the wave you have to be able to at least catch a wave on a SUP.

Better yet if you want to understand what is happening as a shaper with SUP boards you have to be able to ride SUP boards at an advanced level.

Doesn't matter how good the surfers are that are on your SUP surf team, if you don't ride them then you can't fine tune them.
All you are doing is just copying everything thats out there and then putting your slant on the design.

The best boards always come from the shapers that ride boards at an advanced level.

Darren Handley, DHD, comes to mind

Select to expand quote

boardbumps said...
I'm putting on my cynical hat, another non paddler, shaper jumping on the bandwagon.

SUP design is a whole different branch of surfing.

To understand what is happening on the wave you have to be able to at least catch a wave on a SUP.

Better yet if you want to understand what is happening as a shaper with SUP boards you have to be able to ride SUP boards at an advanced level.

Doesn't matter how good the surfers are that are on your SUP surf team, if you don't ride them then you can't fine tune them.
All you are doing is just copying everything thats out there and then putting your slant on the design.

The best boards always come from the shapers that ride boards at an advanced level.

Darren Handley, DHD, comes to mind

Lol

I reckon that's a bit harsh Rod. First up as I said above Martin was one of the factory managers at Cobra for 8 years and in that time they never produced less than 50% of Sups supplied world wide , so I reckon he has seen some amazing evolution in the designs and Bert Burger was the Surfer shaper of the year 2011.

I have nothing to do with Sunova and I have never seen them before I shot this video. We got our once a year swell this week here on the Goldie and it was big and lumpy so I called into SurFx and grabbed the 9-10 Sunova gun (The Insane). Here's a little review on it :-

At first glance it has a definite gun shape really different to the rest of the Sunova range but I thought at 29 it was still a bit wide and full in the nose. When I first jumped on it I was surprised it wasn't as stable as it looked. I paddled out behind the rock at Currumbin in really seasick conditions and my first wave was a double over set from behind the rock. It felt incredibly good under my feet as I pushed it through a bottom turn and it just took off flying down the line with no bouncing (true gun performance).Turns off the tail with minimum foot movement and cut backs are a breeze. I was riding more mal style than short board sup.

The construction is super solid not like the old PSH Guns that would bend and slap and the Titanium rails don't mark at all even with my razored edged carbon paddle. The rails near the tail are really from shortboards very square and not pulled under (a Sunova trait) it works and lifts the tail plus gives really good release and speed. Fin wise I ran pretty small fins Sunny Garcia's in the front and a S9 in the rear. It held really well and I don't think you need to go bigger .This is because of the rails , outline and narrow tail the board has good natural hold.

I also rode it at double overhead + this morning at Kirra and it was so good , I only made a couple of big ones and chopped some serious beatings but at no stage did this board let me down. When it walled up just point and shoot and it stuck like sh!t to a blanket.

In Summary:- This isn't the be all and end all boards but it definitely has a has a place in your quiver for those charging days and is the best Production Sup gun I have ridden. It could also be a fun board in small lumpy stuff . Construction wise it gets 10 out of 10 , shape wise I wouldn't change a thing you really need it to be 29 any narrower it would be too hard on those choppy days. That's my 2 bobs worth and again I have nothing to do with Sunova just sharing my riding experience. Surf Fx have the full range to demo go grab one and share your thoughts.

Well I'm pretty new to the whole SUP thing but have bought a 9'5" Sunova Magic. I'm rapt! It's light, strong, aesthetically pleasing and performs beautifully. It's pretty easy to paddle and is fast and loose on long walls. I'm getting into the geriatric age-range but find that with a board like this I'm still getting short-board fun with the ease of stand-up paddling. Bert may be a recent entry into SUP production but he's made a lifetime study of board performance and shaping. His short boards are the best I've ridden (ie they suit me the best) and I think it may well be the same with this SUP.

The Sunovas look good but website lacks tech specs that are important to compare for many reasons, as anyone whose dabbling in sup brands shapes sizes volumes width etc knows. key words like VonPiros mentions : stability not as stable as it looks but makes up for it with outright performance.
They don't list width or volumes for the models online ? Are these secret , because most other established production board brands do.
Critics can be as cynical as they like to be, however this team has experience, industry knowledge and cutting edge design & construction savvy. Very interesting player in the field now , so it will be a brand to observe as the attrition of the marketplace tests the metal. Titanium rails that is

How wide is the Magic 9'3"&9'5" do you know ,Vandals . Was there info supplied with your sup on purchase or are the details listed on the board somewhere
Have fun

Yeah new player in the field and I think the lack of specs are just they have concentrated on getting the boards out and forgot the marketing. The shorter boards are just so wide in the tail with super fish designs. Too much junk in the trunk for me but now after riding the gun Bert might onto something and I'll never write off something without giving it a go. Just love the new cutting edge designs.

The Magic 9'5" is 32" wide. I have to agree, the website is not wonderful, always changing and never giving you the full picture. Anyone who has lived in Thailand will know that this is the norm! However, the product is excellent, well-finished and a great performer.

And yes, I had all the details available when I ordered the board. They just seem to have disappeared when the website was updated. Like I said, not unexpected when you're employing locals. I don't mean that in a malicious way, just that they have a different concept of what's important!

Thanks for specs, do you know what the volume is and is it more stable than the demo gun VP tested.
Is it concave single or double and is the v in the concave below the rail line like the Fanatic pro wave that adds to instability but loosens up the turns. If the v is inside the bottom rail rocker line then could be more stable. Gerrys and middle ear balance are pushing string uphill, but a stable table that performs well helps smooth out the bumpy rock and roll surf conditions.

Hi I have ridden the Sunova Skate 8'6 it is a very fast high performance board ultra light very impressive. I have also ridden two 10 foot Sunova's that were equally impressive coming from a surfing back ground the Style is a tradional long board style that surfs on all size waves baeutifully on the nose or in high performance mode on the tail a lite weight SUP. The 10 foot Balance board is that bit norrower then (the Style being 31" wide) being 29" wide can be nose ridden but is very fast board down the line in surf. I did think the Magic was a bit wide but saying that I have had it in the surf on some sucky waves and it was a lot of fun. Overall I have an order in for a Skate and would be very happy with either the Style or the Balance. I have had all of these boards out in 1-2 foot swell and up to 8 foot faces the bigger the better. Still love my Naish and coming from that board my next board is going to be a SUNOVA.

Sounds very interesting. What is the width on the 8'6" skate and on the 9'3" magic? Website not helpful on dims. Great reports here from down under!

Cleve

I have sent this link to Martin so hopefully he will get the web site up to speed

Anyone found a resource with dimensions / literage etc?

Select to expand quote

edhunter said...
Hi I have ridden the Sunova Skate 8'6 it is a very fast high performance board ultra light very impressive. I have also ridden two 10 foot Sunova's that were equally impressive coming from a surfing back ground the Style is a tradional long board style that surfs on all size waves baeutifully on the nose or in high performance mode on the tail a lite weight SUP. The 10 foot Balance board is that bit norrower then (the Style being 31" wide) being 29" wide can be nose ridden but is very fast board down the line in surf. I did think the Magic was a bit wide but saying that I have had it in the surf on some sucky waves and it was a lot of fun. Overall I have an order in for a Skate and would be very happy with either the Style or the Balance. I have had all of these boards out in 1-2 foot swell and up to 8 foot faces the bigger the better. Still love my Naish and coming from that board my next board is going to be a SUNOVA.

Hey edhunter. The comments are very helpful. If you don't mind me asking what naish are you currently riding?

Hello,

Yeah I have a 9'5 Hokua and ride a 8'10 mana regularly. Until I rode the Sunova the Skate is the pick and the Style they are great in the surf. You can trial the boards at Natural Neccessity in Gerringong they have a excellent range of all the boards. They are very friendly and helpful so if you want to know more take the drive. If you talk to Mick he has all information on the boards.

Thanks heaps

Saw one of these boards in person today - quality of finish is truly impressive. And crazy light! Going to demo one later this week hopefully.........

Tech specs for anyone interested

Just bought the bigger skate - review to come

EnglishCraig - Mahalo for the specs. Can't wait for your review on the bigger skate. Curious as to retail in Australia. US contact singularly unhelpful so far - Radio Silence!
Cheers, Cleveland

Looks like the 9'3" Magic is mia , and the 9'5" is actually 32 7/16" not 32" according to those specs . Interesting have they changed the range already ?

Select to expand quote

boardbumps said..

I'm putting on my cynical hat, another non paddler, shaper jumping on the bandwagon.

SUP design is a whole different branch of surfing.

To understand what is happening on the wave you have to be able to at least catch a wave on a SUP.

Better yet if you want to understand what is happening as a shaper with SUP boards you have to be able to ride SUP boards at an advanced level.

Doesn't matter how good the surfers are that are on your SUP surf team, if you don't ride them then you can't fine tune them.
All you are doing is just copying everything thats out there and then putting your slant on the design.

The best boards always come from the shapers that ride boards at an advanced level.

Darren Handley, DHD, comes to mind

What the hell happened with starboard then

still trying to find a board from them that doesn't feel like it needs a sail attached

I picked up the Sunova Skate demo board from Surf FX on Fiday arvo. I took It out for a session on Sunday morning and these are my thoughts.

Surf conditions: 2-3 ft very full beach break with light off shore winds

Me: 80 Kgs. 48 years old. SUP surfing since 2008. Non-competitive weekend warrior.

The board: 8.6 x 30 3/4 x 4 9/16 Pretty flat rocker with just bit of lift in the nose and not much at all in the tail. Looks like there might be a bit of concave through the nose on the bottom but pretty well flat through the rest of the bottom. It has a slightly domed deck. A thruster only setup, supplied with a set of very big fins and no centre box. The moon shaped tail is the biggest stand out feature of the plan shape, but otherwise it is a fishy/hybrid sort of shape. The other notable feature is the Lift-Sup handle you can see in the pics below.
































How did it go: The first thing I noticed was how stable it was. I normally ride an 8.10 x 28 1/2 Gerry Lopez but the sunovas stability is closer to my 10.6 Naish Nalu. It also has quite a large sweet spot for standing, considering its a fairly short board. So its very easy to paddle, pops over white water quite well, catches waves very easily and is easy to kick turn. It doesnt paddle as straight as my longer, narrower Lopez but a lot straighter than my 7.6 Hokua. The full waves were really more suited to my Nalu but for an 8.6, the Sunova handled them quite well. To give you an idea, most of the short boarders were sitting on the inside bank because the outside bank was too full for them. Only Sups and longboarders were on the outside bank. I was able to catch waves on the outside bank, link them through to the inside bank and ride through to the beach. The board turned a lot easier than I thought it would. On my Lopez, I need to have my back foot in the sweet spot for it to turn on a dime but I didnt seem to have to make any special effort to get my foot back on the Sunova and it turned quite effortlessly. Id like to try it in some faster waves and see how it goes. I couldnt really judge how fast it is or how it turns on a rail because the waves were just too fat and slow.

I like: Very stable, catches waves easily, turned easily in the fat waves I surfed. The fins. Im a fan of big fins. I normally ride Gerry Lopez fins in both quad and thruster and while I havent measured them, I reckon the Sunova fins are at least as big as the GL1s. No centre fin box. Call me anal but I tape over the centre box when I run quads and even when you have a centre fin in it, there has to be some effect from the gutters either end of the fin.

I dont like: No tail block on the pad. Lift-Sup handle. The handle looks cheap and can be dangerous in the surf if you get your hand caught in it when a wave hits. It does have some advantages when picking the board up on dry land but Id much prefer a good ledge style handle any day.

Verdict: A stable easy to ride short SUP that performs well in slow fat waves. It needs further testing in better waves though.

Can anyone give an idea on prices for surf range. Cheers

Excellent review. The revised website now has dimensions for the entire range. And the US distributor did get back to me. There are more stock skates than in the original presentation!

Any dealers in west oz offering demos or selling these.

Always been a fane of Bert's sunovas. The best long board I have had was a sunova, same with short board.

Cheers

Hi all . Have ridden a lot of SUPs over the past 6 years and the skate range is easily up there with the best . Just rode the 8'3 this morning waist high sets . Goes great . I'm 80kgs and found it quite stable and responsive . Have ridden the 8'6 and 8'10 as well and had both those out in overhead and a half .
Overall it is a fun extremely fast board that does have a tail slide in bigger surf needs a speed check . great board for the quiver .