SUNOVA SPEEED 8’5”
I had only recently bought a Sunova Acid XL, and had had it out half a dozen times when I bought a SPEEED on impulse. I thought it would be just a novelty for me, when conditions were still and small. However, for the past few weeks, I have not been able to get off the thing, regardless of conditions.
Firstly, the construction and feel of the new XXX Tec Sunova Series is very impressive. They are relatively lightweight and tough. The Speeed 8’5” weighs in at 7.7Kg with fins and wet. (my scales) The upper deck feels strong and solid and the deck pads are not overly “spongy” allowing enough cushioning for extensive sessions, but retaining the feel needed for surfing. The bottom surface actually has some give in it, the theory being that it is strong and light – but has the ability to absorb bumps and drops to some extent. I have only had one or two occasions when Ive noticed any such effect, but certainly is not as ridged and unforgiving as a full carbon board.
As for the actual design of the Speeed, I am almost a loss to compare with any other styles of boards. I think the overall shape might suggest what I have found, that it has some of the attributes of various known shapes/styles all at the same time. Versatile, would be a good label when describing the surfing characteristics. But most importantly, the name Speed is not misused. It certainly can be driven fast when the need arises and then pulled up and thrown around. The plan profile might seem that it’s a slab like design, however it has quite ample amount of rocker, which gives its suitability to getting down those faces.
I am yet to really put it through its paces, and I am not exactly the most skilful surfer to test it, however, if anything, this board is making me (forcing me?) to become a better surfer.
It is the narrowest sup Ive ever owned at 27 ¾ inches and at first I was working hard to stay upright – but again, its been worth improving my balance skills, just to enjoy the benefits once on a wave. I have been taking the Acid XL 8’8” with me each session, but only once have I felt the need to grab it from the car instead of the Speeed, to take advantage of its wider profile of 30+”. Mind you, its an awesome board as well (but not reviewing it until Ive given it more time).
The standard fins that come with the Speeed, are good quality and totally suited. It already has the ability to slide around a fair bit, however the largish fins (S9 thruster set equivalent?) are geared towards lifting the back end to drive down the line.
One more issue that has been asked within the forum, is that of the “Liftsup” handle. Ive had over twenty sessions (three of them yesterday) and Im pretty much sold on the system. I had always been in the habit of reaching for the hand hold when out in the water, when remounting the board, but it did not take long to get used to simply reaching across the board. The handle has never popped up while out in the water and I find it very secure way of carrying to and from the water. It also acts like a ledge, where you can rest your paddle, without actually holding it. I doubt mine is ever going to get stuck down, as I always wash out after every use – but for those that don’t, it would be advisable. It does tend to retain water within the handle, if the board is not placed vertically for a while, to allow water to drain.
I humbly suggest that there are some gun surfers out there, that will make a Speeed come alive and rip – far more than this 56yo un-coordinated try-hard with an inner-ear balance disorder and limited surfing skills.
Sunova Speeed 8’5” x 27 ¾ “ x 4 3/8 112litres
Please consider!


Sups of Additions: The Acid (L) and Speeed (R)

Nice review. Hope to read your thoughts on the Acid real soon.

Select to expand quote

LordKuz said..
SUNOVA SPEEED 8’5”
I had only recently bought a Sunova Acid XL, and had had it out half a dozen times when I bought a SPEEED on impulse. I thought it would be just a novelty for me, when conditions were still and small. However, for the past few weeks, I have not been able to get off the thing, regardless of conditions.
Firstly, the construction and feel of the new XXX Tec Sunova Series is very impressive. They are relatively lightweight and tough. The Speeed 8’5” weighs in at 7.7Kg with fins and wet. (my scales) The upper deck feels strong and solid and the deck pads are not overly “spongy” allowing enough cushioning for extensive sessions, but retaining the feel needed for surfing. The bottom surface actually has some give in it, the theory being that it is strong and light – but has the ability to absorb bumps and drops to some extent. I have only had one or two occasions when Ive noticed any such effect, but certainly is not as ridged and unforgiving as a full carbon board.
As for the actual design of the Speeed, I am almost a loss to compare with any other styles of boards. I think the overall shape might suggest what I have found, that it has some of the attributes of various known shapes/styles all at the same time. Versatile, would be a good label when describing the surfing characteristics. But most importantly, the name Speed is not misused. It certainly can be driven fast when the need arises and then pulled up and thrown around. The plan profile might seem that it’s a slab like design, however it has quite ample amount of rocker, which gives its suitability to getting down those faces.
I am yet to really put it through its paces, and I am not exactly the most skilful surfer to test it, however, if anything, this board is making me (forcing me?) to become a better surfer.
It is the narrowest sup Ive ever owned at 27 ¾ inches and at first I was working hard to stay upright – but again, its been worth improving my balance skills, just to enjoy the benefits once on a wave. I have been taking the Acid XL 8’8” with me each session, but only once have I felt the need to grab it from the car instead of the Speeed, to take advantage of its wider profile of 30+”. Mind you, its an awesome board as well (but not reviewing it until Ive given it more time).
The standard fins that come with the Speeed, are good quality and totally suited. It already has the ability to slide around a fair bit, however the largish fins (S9 thruster set equivalent?) are geared towards lifting the back end to drive down the line.
One more issue that has been asked within the forum, is that of the “Liftsup” handle. Ive had over twenty sessions (three of them yesterday) and Im pretty much sold on the system. I had always been in the habit of reaching for the hand hold when out in the water, when remounting the board, but it did not take long to get used to simply reaching across the board. The handle has never popped up while out in the water and I find it very secure way of carrying to and from the water. It also acts like a ledge, where you can rest your paddle, without actually holding it. I doubt mine is ever going to get stuck down, as I always wash out after every use – but for those that don’t, it would be advisable. It does tend to retain water within the handle, if the board is not placed vertically for a while, to allow water to drain.
I humbly suggest that there are some gun surfers out there, that will make a Speeed come alive and rip – far more than this 56yo un-coordinated try-hard with an inner-ear balance disorder and limited surfing skills.
Sunova Speeed 8’5” x 27 ¾ “ x 4 3/8 112litres
Please consider!


Sups of Additions: The Acid (L) and Speeed (R)

Solid Review and great shots well done.
I am interested in the shot of this board laying flat on the water because it shows the amount of nose rocker as well as tail lift.
Do you know the rocker measurements? The tail lift looks like this thing would come alive in the pocket. Keen to hear anyones feedback.

I have the Sunova Skate and love the board.
Great board if you are looking to get to a smaller board but still able to stand up out the back and enjoy some fun times on any wave size..

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supsurfers said..

I have the Sunova Skate and love the board.
Great board if you are looking to get to a smaller board but still able to stand up out the back and enjoy some fun times on any wave size..

A Skate is on my wish list for my next board supsurfers. What size is that? I have my eye on the 8 footer - which does seem to have remarkable stability for its size! Yeah... the Speeed does have you paddling in circles at times - but doing okay at this point - so Ive bought a 7'11" Speeed to make things hard for myself! (Because of that, I will nickname it Viagra - a different kind of drug to Speeed! )

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LordKuz said..

supsurfers said..

I have the Sunova Skate and love the board.
Great board if you are looking to get to a smaller board but still able to stand up out the back and enjoy some fun times on any wave size..

A Skate is on my wish list for my next board supsurfers. What size is that? I have my eye on the 8 footer - which does seem to have remarkable stability for its size! Yeah... the Speeed does have you paddling in circles at times - but doing okay at this point - so Ive bought a 7'11" Speeed to make things hard for myself! (Because of that, I will nickname it Viagra - a different kind of drug to Speeed! )

Mine is the 8'6 x 30 I think 131 liters.... Yes I enjoy to stand out the back and relax between waves not having to do laps around everybody to stay on the board...They got the name correct in Skate as like a skateboard dropping into a bowl your skateboard might want to slide out this is what the board wants to do but with the foot kick at the back u put your foot on it and it controls great... Yes know you can go smaller and lighter but at that stage of my life enjoy the relax out the back then doing circles.. great fun board for all levels.. and love the look and finish of these boards..

Hey Kuz... nice review, sounds like a good board. I googled Sunova to check things out, but there is no mention of the "Speed"
Any idea of the size range?

I'm pretty sure they are were at the Surf Expo in Orlando Florida last week, so they may be available to us.

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supthecreek said..
Hey Kuz... nice review, sounds like a good board. I googled Sunova to check things out, but there is no mention of the "Speed"
Any idea of the size range?

I'm pretty sure they are were at the Surf Expo in Orlando Florida last week, so they may be available to us.

Here ya go Creek...

Select to expand quote

supthecreek said..
Hey Kuz... nice review, sounds like a good board. I googled Sunova to check things out, but there is no mention of the "Speed"
Any idea of the size range?

I'm pretty sure they are were at the Surf Expo in Orlando Florida last week, so they may be available to us.

Their site is not updated with the new shapes.

Select to expand quote

supthecreek said..
Hey Kuz... nice review, sounds like a good board. I googled Sunova to check things out, but there is no mention of the "Speed"
Any idea of the size range?

I'm pretty sure they are were at the Surf Expo in Orlando Florida last week, so they may be available to us.

Thanks Rick...Yes.. they certainly are available there, and were at the show. I saw posts from Burt Burger and the Sunova crew, as well as Coastal Surf Supplies (www.coastalsurfsupplies.com/), who had a fair few of the Sunova range at the expo. The website is pretty woefully behind - and I have heard they are making efforts to get that changed. Currently being run by someone at the factory.. where you will only find last years models and the occasional post that links from their facebook page.You can download the full sup catalog here.... but be advised, they have changed some of the specifications on a few models. The speed 7'11" for example - is a little wider than the first proto-type/s. www.dropbox.com/s/oo1uk6a64sdurcw/2015-Sunova-SUP_V06.pdf?dl=0

Thanks Kuz

Thanks as well Reprobate, I didn't see your reply last visit, but came back to comment, after visiting the site, and seeing the Speed specs.

The super wide tails that are pretty standard on all of the Toma & SIM type SUP have kept me at arms length, but L-Kuz's shots hinted at a narrower tail. The shape plan that Reprobate posted above confirms that Sunova is taking a different path. It sure seems that the increased rocker and pulled in tail will suit me better.

I am sure some will consider the pulled in tail a departure from the high speed parallel rails and flat rocker of the majority of "Tomo" inspired designs. Max speed is ok... but it isn't enough by itself IMO. This design seems a nice morph of traditional and Tomo. I am really interested to hear more feedback and vids.

Any other feedback on the "speed"?
Anyone who has surfed the Flatter "vanguard" style boards also try this one?

I recently rode the Sunova 8'6 Skate, the 8'5 Speed and 8'6 Soul back to back over a few days. The Skate and the Speed were both stand out's as playful boards. I will put up a review soon.

if you are in au or nz. i can talk you thru models,the latest,etc..dean,australasian rep. ph +64 224622625

I'll chew anyones ear off about the Speeed... :D

Hi Dean... thanks for the offer, but I am in New England, USA.
I understand you are opening up some dealers on the East Coast (US)
If you have any info to pass on regarding contacts up here and shipment dates please "PM" me

I love your "Speed" design... first "Tomo'ish" style board to tweak me, as I said in earlier reply.
I like the step-down to a narrower tail and added tail rocker (plus nose kick)... departures from the direction most are taking.
You also have it in the 8'10 x 29 size that suits me... I don't want to go real small... just high performance for my size and age in solid surf.
You're construction ideas appear solid as well.

KUZ.... chew away... the more talk the better

Hey Dean,
Thanx for taking care of New Zealand.
Tino

Hi Everyone!
I wanted to thank everyone for the great feedback and response about our boards. Bert, I and the whole The Board Factory Team worked real hard to make this happen. We had (and still have!) a great season in Australia and that thanks to all of your hard core riders and the rest.

As everyone can see we are quite a bit behind on the web site, once again we concentrated to get this massive range of boards out to you rather than focusing on distractions. I do apologise for this and its going to get fixed soon. Until then you can find all our shops right here on this link:

http://www.sunovasurfboards.com/equipment-stores/

Here is also a clear list of where you get helped at in your area. We concentrate of few of the best shops only.

QLD:
SURF-FX (Gold Coast)

NSW:
NATURAL NECESSITY SURF SHOP (Gerringong)
BALMORAL PADDLE SURF (Sydney)
ESS BOARDSTORE (Erina)

WA:
STANDUP SURF SHOP (Freemantle)
Chapstar Surfboards (Dunsborough)

SA:
ONBOARD.SURF.WIND.SNOW (Adelaide)

VICTORIA (Still looking)

NZ:
Dean

You can also always send us direct inquiries to this address: service@sunovasurfboards.com , we will do our best to direct this to where its taken care of best.

Thank you,
Tino from Sunova Surfboards

(product catalogue is still here: www.dropbox.com/s/oo1uk6a64sdurcw/2015-Sunova-SUP_V06.pdf?dl=0 )

Hi there.

Select to expand quote

supthecreek said..
Hi Dean... thanks for the offer, but I am in New England, USA.
I understand you are opening up some dealers on the East Coast (US)
If you have any info to pass on regarding contacts up here and shipment dates please "PM" me

I love your "Speed" design... first "Tomo'ish" style board to tweak me, as I said in earlier reply.
I like the step-down to a narrower tail and added tail rocker (plus nose kick)... departures from the direction most are taking.
You also have it in the 8'10 x 29 size that suits me... I don't want to go real small... just high performance for my size and age in solid surf.
You're construction ideas appear solid as well.

KUZ.... chew away... the more talk the better

Best thing to do right now is to contact Coastal Surf here:
Coastal Surf Supplies:
p: +1-888-569-7038
w: www.coastalsurfsupplies.com/
12407 Old Bridge Rd.
Ocean City MD 21842
USA

They have some stock and are getting more.

Tino

Hey guys,

Today I was invited by the Portuguese Sunova boys to have a go on the new boards that had just arrived.
I am a Starboard fan and my boards are the 8'0 and 8'5 Pro (2015 models). I am 1,93m (6'2") and 105 kg at the moment.

The boards i've had the chance to demo were the Speeed 8'5, the Soul 8'6, the Skate 8'6 and the Acid XL 8'2 (maybe I should refer to it as the submarine at 95l).
While I'm a bit to lazy to write a review, I will leave a short clip of some of my waves in small but super clean surf.

I can confess i'm not a big fan of the Skate model (it's not really my style of board) but these boards are solid in every way you can think of them.

Have in mind that i had already been surfing for about three hours when these waves were shot, and I can assure you that I was pushing the board a lot harder when the legs were still fresh - I've been surfing about 4-6 hours a day since last sunday so my legs are gone with the wind.

.be
As the video says, it's the Speeed 8'5 we're seeing here.

In one word: AMAZING.

Thanks Johnny, coming from you, that's a good word

I had seen the vid before and was impressed with what I saw, I had inquired about rider stats, so thanks for posting here.... it always matters.
I like it... looks like it delivers. Nice rail carves, carries speed, pretty good acceleration and looks like it paddles and catches with ease.... pretty amazing since it's carrying 105 kgs + wettie on a 112 liter board

Nice surfing by the way, relaxed and carvey at the same time.

Yea , i have to agree about Johnny Maya ... was super impressed that , at 105 kg he was riding 112 L...
normally i recommend for advanced to pro riders , about 10 liters minimum more than your body weight for performance surf SUP..
have a few advanced lightweight guys at 65kg on 72 liters ...

There was talk further up the thread about the outline/rocker and its resemblance to the Tomo style shapes and how it deviated from what everyone else was doing...

before this board was designed , i was actually asked to make a Tomo style board ,, my first comment was " No way, not gonna do it "
flat with a parallel outline = trying to fit a square into a round hole...

i said " i will design something with some Tomo features , but i will actually make it work "....

for now i will just touch on a few of the design aspects , not all of them in detail..

Outline ,, the Vanguard has a very straight or parallel outline, from nose to tail ..
you use your outline when on rail ,,, longer more drawn out , outline curve = longer more drawn out turn when on rail...
tighter arc or curve in your outline = tighter arc in your turns...

but you also have to consider where your weight shifts during turns and what your trying to achieve with any turn...

in general when were trying to get down the line and around sections our weight is more central and when we do lean on the rail , our weight is more evenly distributed on both feet ,, so at that time your using the outline curve of the middle of the board...
here on this board its more parallel , so when your focus is here , its at it fastest and will draw those longer lines around sections or just get you down the line...

but when we wanna tighten up our turns we start transitioning weight onto the back foot ,so now we are focusing our energy on the tail 1/3rd of the outline ...
so right where its needed , the outline curve tightens up here , with a more pronounced hip , so as you transition back you literally get a tighter arc in your turn...

Rocker,,, the board has tail rocker , but its a clean exit rocker with a consistent curve , not a tail flip you see in a lot of other boards...

application of Bernoulis law here ..." as the speed increases , the pressure decreases" a curve that slowly gets tighter or accelerates, means that as the water rushes over the tighter part of the curve , there is a corresponding region of lower pressure.. this translates to a feeling as we step back , of the tail end sucking down and you wash off all your speed...
so the clean rocker , will keep its speed when driving off the back foot... but more importantly , without the tail flip , it leaves the board free to carry speed all the time....
yet , sometimes we actually do want to wash off speed ...
in this case , the hip and diamond tail has a dual purpose ,,
1 , to tighten the outline curve to give us a tighter squarer hook when turning off the back foot...
2 , to reduce area in the tail pod ...

Two main ways to slow a board down beside a chunk of weed on your leggie ,,
1 , increase tail rocker or accelerate the curve..
2 , reduce tail area..

so its possible to stomp on the tail for a stall when we want to , to wash off speed , yet still carry speed when we need it ...

Rails,,,lastly for this post , the bottom edge is a tucked under hard edge...
hard edge gives release ,,, soft bottom rail will suck water ..
by having a rail that is both round with an edge on the bottom , means when the board is flat to the face there is enough release to have a fast skaty feeling down the line .. yet when we lay it on rail it doesnt want to over release and feel slipery and out of control, plus it gets up and going nice and early..

a few other notable features are ...
1,,, hip , leading edge of front fin and front channel are all close together , acting in harmony as a pivot point when on rail = nice tight hook...

2,,,,deck is quite rolled with a relatively low rail = greater sensitivity when working or pumping for speed , more speed through a drawn out rail carve as well as more stability when paddling ( i know that last comment sounds counter intuitive) will explain later if someone else doesnt chime in ...

3,,, the generous nose area , gets you up on the plane early , because most of the water is going under the board , rather than being displaced off to the sides...

lastly ... here is a plan of the 8-5 , if someone at home wants to make one without the guess work..


Have an account now ,, so feel free to ask any questions about design , construction or performance in regards to anything we build ....


Regards
BERT

Bert, can you tell us about the Search and the Venture? Tino sent me some great pictures of the Search in XXX Tech and it looks amazing.

I added a few pics here: www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/Review/Sunova-Search-or-Venture-140/?page=-2#lastpost

And Bert will surely give us his ideas there asap.
Thanx guys.

Thanks for your kind words Bert and Supthecreek.
I will give my feedback not just to those of you who may be considering any of these boards, but also my feedback to Bert.

At my weight, and coming from my SB 8'0x28 Pro, the board is easy peasy to paddle.
Super stable, with a lot of glide when paddling and when getting to the wave. I was so impressed on the stability of the board that I want to try the 7'11 x 26 1/8 @94l.
I'm not really afraid of being uncomfortable when paddling and I can't really recall the last time I could stand still on a board without having to paddle permanently until yesterday.

As i said, i tried 4 different boards, and I will give you my feedback on all of them, so maybe we can start with those things they all have in common:

LOOK:
These boards are beautiful. They look even better in the flesh and all the surfers in the water were asking me to check the boards. The glassing looks really good and as someone described, while the bottom will flex a tiny little bit if you apply pressure with your thumb, the deck is really rock solid. The balsa wood boards/stripes are perfectly matched and the black lines from the glassing just makes the board look even better. All the four boards had differently colored valve screws. There was a silver one, a grey one, a blue one and an orange one. While they all seem to be made from the same material, the blue and the orange have a more premium feel and look, and in my opinion, the orange even makes it look more high tech.
The silver rail line looks really good, but i'm a huge fan of carbon so I was sad not to see it all the way to the deck.

On the SPEEED model, the board has some very deep channels on the tail which are not compatible with a balsa wrap and you will see the foam. It is the way it is and this happens in other surfboard brands with similar shapes and balsa wraps as well, but I think it could possibly look a bit nicer with some color to cover the foam. Maybe black to go with the carbon or silver to go with the rails. I'm not sure on this one.

FINS:
The boards come with the original FCS plugs glassed into some kind of cherry wood veneer (it's what it says on the website). Nicely done by the way.
I just wish it would bring the FCS II boxes which are a bit more robust than the original ones. I really like that the boards are all set as thrusters or quads (the ones i've tried), and not as 2+1 or 4+1. I think it is just stupid that brands are charging north of 2000$ for a carbon lightweight board, to have installed a 10" fin box and a carry handle that together with the amount of glass that you need to install them, probably cost about 1kg of extra weight.
Besides this, the shaper should know where the central fin is supposed to be to make the shape work, so why complicate and let us mess around with fin boxes?
These boards come with some big fiberglass fins. Lots of drive, some weight... you will probably change them at some point anyway.

DECK GRIP:
This has to be the grippiest surf traction I've ever tried. I can almost bet that if I would flip myself upside down under water, I would still be glued to the board. Really impressive. It has something like a diamond pattern with some very thin grooves in between the diamonds.
It is really comfortable to stand on, but I think it can become too grippy for those who like to paddle on their knees or on their stomach.

CARRY HANDLE:
Sunova uses the Liftsup carry handle from Brian Szymanski.
I had no experience with these and I think they're quite nice. Really good to grab and carry the board, as they should be. Easy to operate and it stays in when you push it in. Once in the water, you forget about it except for the fact you will never get you toes caught inside the handle box.
On a negative note, if you want to retrieve your board using the carry handle when you fall off your board, just think of some other way to do it as it is not happening.

WEIGHT:
The boards are light. Really light.
When compared on the scales, the 8'2 x 28 1/2" ACID XL @95l was about 600g lighter than my Brushed Carbon 8'0 x 28" @105l. This is what i was talking about when i mentioned huge fin boxes and carry handles.
As i was invited to try the boards we weren't really talking about prices, but I think that the math is something like 1 carbon board from one of the big names = 2 Sunovas...

Meanwhile something came up and I will have to finish this later when i'm back to the computer...

To be continued...

Thanks Bert.... excellent discussion about your design considerations on the Speed... and throwing out your CAD for others is very classy.

I have been watching all the "Blunt" style boards evolving in Oz.
While they are all interesting, and certainly made going shorter and narrower a reality...none addressed the performance issues most important to me....
Until now

This board has really grabbed me, I am excited to put "hands on"
I like the construction features of Balsa and the finbox reinforcement as well.

More "Speed" video porn if you have it please.

Hey Johnny Maya ,,, comments on your feedback...

LOOK: apart from cosmetics , there are a serious amount of functionality, strength and performance considerations...

for sure, ive been experiencing the same thing for over 20 years ,, you cant get from your car to the waters edge without being stopped by 5 different people asking questions ...

the flex in bottom ,serves two major purposes ...

1... resistance to damage ,,, having some flex reduces damage from impacts, because the area will bend , then spring back , absorbing impact shock and spreading the load over a greater area...

2 ... most importantly , its a major performance feature,, giving the board a smoother ride and making it faster...
if your entire board is rigid , you will feel every bump , bumps on the face translate in mathematical terms to vector forces on the board and rider, these come from directions other than the direction we intend to go , ultimately slowing us down.. so the flex in the bottom skin absorbs chop , the force doesnt transfer right through the board back to the rider... most people believe you need weight to deal with chop and get a smooth ride... but weight still wont negate vector forces, it just divides the force between a higher number ( being the greater weight) weight has more benefit when dealing with wind.. flexing bottom is more beneficial against chop and bumps ...

the deck on the other hand is designed to be rigid ,, so that all the effort the rider puts in is actually transferred to the board, being spread over the entire deck and out to the rails...
the black lines are grooves in the wood , that go right through the deck skin , filled with resin and glass fiber, they join the glass under the wood to the glass over the wood , forming a matrix of tiny I beams , giving major structural integrity ,helping to deal with the shear loads/forces on the skins that are typical with sandwich boards....

vents are all anodized aluminum , to prevent corrosion , we get them in an assortment of colors , so its a lucky dip..

the silver on the rails , was recently modified to actually cover more carbon ,, having the carbon under 3 layers of glass meant that when the paddle struck the rails it showed a visible shatter in the glass , way more apparent with a black back ground ,,, related to weight , we strive to use no paint in our construction , crew who make carbon boards , then go and put on 1 kg of paint and filler or more,,, in our case that bit of silver keeps them looking good after multiple paddle hits....


CHANNELS: with the foam showing in the channels ,,, i do agree with you on that one.. for me , most important is , performance, strength and lastly cosmetics in that order of importance...
but then i also need to show consideration to both our customers, marketing crew and the production team..
i favored all wood ,or black shadow highlights ... but with none of my concerns being compromised , others wanted to see into the board and see the cross section of the construction.. production didnt want an extra day in the factory adding wood.. so everyone got what they wanted..


like you Johnny .. i also come up short on time ...will address the rest of your points next week..


regards
BERT

Great review so far Johnny, and succinct responses Bert, looking forward to next instalments. I'm 80kegs so the 7'11" Speeed is looking pretty tasty to me.

Nice review LordKuz, and some smooth surfing there JohnnyMaya

I'm thinking about getting a Speeed 7'11, but i'm not really sure about it because i'll be using it mostly in holland were the waves don't seem to push as much as they do in places as Portugal or France. The board will be having 20L more volume than my weight is, any thoughts on wheter i should get it or not?