About myself - 85 kg and 192 cm.

I mostly ride in windwaves between 1-4 feet, so usually there is some chop.

I have a Coreban Icon 10" and need a second board.
I need the board so I can go out with my wife sometimes, but the board is for me - she will probably take the other on flat water days - so I prefer to have a second board that is a step up and different from the board I already have.

I have looked at the JP 8'2 Pro widebody, and would also consider buying a Coreban again - the Coreban might be 500 USD cheaper.
If the boards are similar, I will surely buy the cheaper, but in the end I will buy the most suitable board.
I have also considered the Naish Hokua x32.

The guy selling Coreban tells me that the wide trend is... only a trend, and that those wideboards are really hard to drive from rail to rail.

I also prefer a board that is strong, since I will take it with me on holidays :-)

Could you please help me out on this :-)

I'm 6'2" & 100. I've found the 8'3" x32 is a fun little board. Super tough construction. Yes a 32" wide board is harder get on rail. Maybe consider the Starby Pocket Rocket at 8'5" and 30" wide. Very good board!

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MartinRaz said..
The guy selling Coreban tells me that the wide trend is... only a trend, and that those wideboards are really hard to drive from rail to rail.

Ignore him. You are riding wind waves, not the Hawaiian pipeline. You need something wide everywhere (especially the tail) to keep surfing even on flat sections of the wave, and survive chop.

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colas said..

Ignore him. You are riding wind waves, not the Hawaiian pipeline. You need something wide everywhere (especially the tail) to keep surfing even on flat sections of the wave, and survive chop.

OK, so wide it is

Construction wise, is there any difference in strength between the RRD, JP, Starboard and Naish?
THinking that the Naish might be to much to handle for me being intermediate rider.

I also kite, and in kiting there is a big market in Denmark, so allways possible to try-before-you-buy, unfurtunately that is not the case with SUP's

I know Starboard brushed carbon models have an excellent reputation strength-wise.

On the shapes that work well in your waves, I guess Magnus (MagW) has the same kind of windy waves in sweden as you, you may want to read his posts there: www.gong-galaxy.com/forum/search.php?author_id=53715&sr=posts

If I may throw my two cents worth in.....yes fully agree with colas, with your weight and height and surf conditions, then wide will be a fun board. Im on the 8'3 SB wide point, brushed carbon and its heaps fun in smaller waves, and even went well the other day in clean fast Burleigh. (Im 6'1 and 93 kilo for comparison )

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colas said..

I know Starboard brushed carbon models have an excellent reputation strength-wise.

On the shapes that work well in your waves, I guess Magnus (MagW) has the same kind of windy waves in sweden as you, you may want to read his posts there: www.gong-galaxy.com/forum/search.php?author_id=53715&sr=posts

Hey Colas.....on a different subject...you seem to have good knowledge on a range of subjects, How would you say a set of large C Drive fins would go on my 8'3 Carbon SB WP? I see that they are weight based but the XL fins look huge. Recently I changed the rear fins to the 3.5's and like it, loosened it and still feels solid on turns. Do you think it would make an improvement ....say on down the line speed?

IMO the Naish X32 is the most advanced model out there at the moment, having loads of nose rocker, wide point well back, stable BUT so loose and the rails can be buried when required. Just back from Lombok where the 8'3" took a basking, VERY late drop in's, paddles out through big sets with the high rocker and low volume nose and never lost an edge once.

I'm growing into this board as the more i ride it the more I love it, not quite as light as the SB brushed carbon but its $800 cheaper and a lot easier to surf, paddle out in small, medium and not so small Lombok waves.

Phil


One from last week.

Hi Martin.
I'm the same size as you and I just stepped down from the 10' Icon to an 8' Vibe. Both 29" wide.
It takes some time on water to get used to 30 liters and 2' less board, but I'm really comfortable on the Vibe now even in chop.
I haven't tried any of the short wide boards so I don't know what I'm missing, but as long as I'm happy on the Vibe that's what counts.
Where in Denmark are you.

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Rossall said...[/b

i

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[b]Rossall said...
IMO the Naish X32 is the most advanced model out there at the moment, having loads of nose rocker, wide point well back, stable BUT so loose and the rails can be buried when required. Just back from Lombok where the 8'3" took a basking, VERY late drop in's, paddles out through big setrwith the high rocker and low volume nose and never lost an edge once.

I'm growing into this board as the more i ride it the more I love it, not quite as light as the SB brushed carbon but its $800 cheaper and a lot easier to surf, paddle out in small, medium and not so small Lombok waves.

Phil


One from last week.

i totally agree with you, the first weekend I tried I felt a bit dissapointed but the more I use it the most i like it, in medium and small waves is a turning machine , super stable for a guy like me 1,92 98kg, two things I noticed comparing with my 9,0 hokua is I finished most of the waves in stand up position instead of fall to the water ,
and in powerfull waves I have to put my feet near to the rail to not buried the board.


sorry for my poor english

I have a JP surf widebody 8 ft 8 - superb fun board and good in a last of conditions. Not a full on performance board like the Naish LE but more of a performance all rounder. Very much a fish shape so good on weaker waves too....nice wide tail. I have the wood gloss version which is holding up very well. Best board I have had. I am 90 kgs plus thick wetsuit.

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Rossall said..

IMO the Naish X32 is the most advanced model out there at the moment, having loads of nose rocker, wide point well back

WOW - nice picture!
Those conditions I will probably only find on holidays

After reading about the Naish it seems to be more advanced than the others (as you also states) and to hard to balance on between the sets - and most of the time I will not be able to "relax behind the sets", since my usual spots are windwaves so bumpy and wavy all the way out - unless we are in the 1-1? foot range.

@Colas: How are the Gong's strength wise? Which one would you recommend?
And then comes the next problem, nobody sells Gongs in Denmark, so I would have to take a trip (maybe south) to buy

@Monie: I live in Copenhagen

I have seen that Coreban comes with new boards "Platinum" so seems as if they will have wideboards as well - but I can't find much info about them.
Anyone now more about these?

Note that I think Danish waves may be more like swedish waves:



Rather than the exotic waves above :-)

(from www.gong-galaxy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=65762 )

In these conditions "wide everywhere" works best, as Casso found out in www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/Terrible-Waves-Awesome-Board-Heaps-of-Fun (but keep enough board length for your paddling abilities)

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colas said..

Note that I think Danish waves may be more like swedish waves:

Rather than the exotic waves above :-)

You are so right... unfortunately

The board Casso is showing not that wide though?

Which Gong would you recomend?

I have now read Magnus' description, and his conditions are similar to mine - windwaves and choppy waters usually.

But I am not quite sure I understand which model of board he uses - besides that it is a Gong

Just checked the Gong page - wow some of them are priced really nice

But I would of course prefer to be able to test... where would the closest place be - anywhere in sweden?

I had a Gong board......surfed very well although it weighed a tonne (was a big board!) but construction not on the same par with other main brand names and the cost for delivery from France and non existent after sales meant not a brand I would go for anymore. I am in UK - no dealers here as all gave up with their frustrations with dealing with them. Shame as if you are okay with fixing more dings they are a decent option.

Martin, I think transport fees are around 200? for sweden... yes, quite expensive and maybe not worth it depending on your priorities. Magnus uses many boards (he has become quite an addict to the fast rocker adapted to weak waves - he even brings Gong boards for his Maui trips :-) see www.gong-galaxy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=4939 ). His boards are listed in in signature. I will signal him this thread if he wants to share his views here. I don't say you must buy a Gong, just saying that these are the kind of shapes that work well in "euro waves" (wide everywhere, fast rocker)

Slab, sorry to hear that. Note that all the weights on the board descriptions are accurate, within 5% as stated. There were years lighter than others, but it was stated accurately on the shop (quite uncommon for the industry), and heavier boards are discounted (e.g see gongsupshop.com/epages/box1707.sf/fr_FR/?ObjectPath=/Shops/box1707/Products/GON4MATXTR5%276OW 30% rebate for 3lbs overweight). High volume boards weights go up quickly for constructions with a heavier blank density.

And as I said in another posts, mid 2012 to mid-2013, the boards were a bit too light and thus dented easily... the hardship to find an acceptable compromise for everybody... (much less fragile than a surfboard of course, but more than a sailboard). I guess it was unfortunately at the time that some distributor tried to import them in the UK, so I have heard also of the disappointed people. For us French people, reading the Gong forum helps a lot before buying because the issues are discussed openly so you can choose the model & construction adapted to your requirements (you cannot have light, strong, and cheap at the same time, you have to compromise), and it can be more difficult to choose without the forum help, although a lot of non-french people use google translate.

As an example of the strength of the FCS fin boxes in the 2014 line (with PVC foam wells since mid-2013): boxes are intact even when the impact (here on a foot) is strong enough to break the carbon-reinforced fin, moreover in the tip giving high leverage on the box... www.gongsup.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=77266#p77266 . The same impact would have ripped out the boxes on a 2012 board... but the rider would have been hurt less... compromises, compromises...

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colas said..

Note that I think Danish waves may be more like swedish waves:



Rather than the exotic waves above :-)

(from www.gong-galaxy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=65762 )

In these conditions "wide everywhere" works best, as Casso found out in www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/Terrible-Waves-Awesome-Board-Heaps-of-Fun (but keep enough board length for your paddling abilities)

Cant believe people surf **** like that . Its a credit that you to stay so keen .

Two words. Naish X32.

It also took me a whilst but I am stoked on my X32. I can think of three boards in my 7 years of sup surfing that have elevated my surfing and my 8'3 is one of them