Rick

Where does the acid sit against the creek???

bomberdave said..
Rick

Where does the acid sit against the creek???

First off, as someone previously said:
"the ACID is not for the faint of heart"
The super thin nose and tail, make it an "advanced" level board

The Creek has just enough "more" in the nose and tail, to make "performance" more user friendly.

I loved my 9'4 Acid, but I just couldn't surf it with my winter gear on.....
I designed the Creek to give me performance as close to the Acid as I could get, but still be manageable in winter gear.

The super thin nose of the Acid throws around easier, but the Tail of the Acid didn't work for me in bigger waves.
That is why I put the Speeed tail on the Creek.... that tail handles everything with ease, from small to big.

I love my 9'4 Acid up to 5', then it gets a bit sticky off the bottom turn.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, It is an absolute gem in smaller waves... throws around like a shortboard.

I have never had my 9'1 Creek in waves of any quality, so it remains to be seen how that matches up to my 9'4 Acid. (same liters)

Last summer I rode the 9'1 Acid in some juice and it was awesome, but it was a real struggle for me, out the back.
I was pleasantly surprised today, when the 9'1 was fairly comfortable, even though almost underwater.
I think my skills have actually improved this year, so I am looking forward to riding my 9'1 Acid more.

It's going to be interesting to see which board I gravitate to this summer.
9'1 Creek, 9'1 Acid, 9'4 Acid or 9'0 Flash look alike.... actually, it isn't a Flash at all, same outline, buy it has very little rocker and low nose kick. I brought it home from Thailand and I really like that as well.

I think it will end up that each one has a distinct place in the quiver.

My choice is clear when it gets OH... Creek all the way. I trust it.... it is very fast, solid off the bottom and carves around with ease.

Today was tiny.... but we did a little round robin session with the 9'1 Creek (136 L), 9'1 Acid (126 L) and 9'0 Custom (133 L)
My Kook Hat Cam died before I got on the Creek.... but here's some pics (looks better than it was)

I dream of waves like your lot

moogengronko said..

Tardy said..
the creek is easier to ride ,but the acids has more squirt in the turns .

the 8,10 i rode in maldives was 125 litre same as the 9,1 acid ,the acid is wobblier to paddle .even though longer .

the extra nose width on the creek sure does make life easy .well done Creek .
but as creek said the acid is a amazing little live wire ,i love it .
I'm in the throws of getting another larger one for the not so good days ,i had to go custom as i didn't want to
go the full hog of 136 litres and 9,4 .thats the next acid size up from the 9,1 .
i traded my flash in .too much rocker for me .

oh.love ya board surfingJ

Are you implying that the flash has more rocker than the acid(and Creek?) therefore is less stable?

yes and no .I'm more implying the board speed .

Yep spot on supthecreek.I think 3 different board s are the way to go

Gboots said..
The "Acid" is meant to be for critical waves....but I am getting the impressions that it goes very well in smaller waves. Given the relative instability of the Acid and it's relative low volume to length, would an oversized Acid be a good choice for an intermediate in waves of say 2 ft (beach breaks) ? Given you could increase the length , there would be the added advantage of improved glide and better paddle speed.
I also keep reading that it is a much better paddler than the flow .
For example an 8'10 Acid may be a better option in 2 foot waves than say an 8'4 Flow

8'4 Flow 113 L 29 3/8 wide
8'10 Acid 116 L 29 3/4 wide

Love all this analysis

IMO....
The Acid ALWAYS surfs better than the Flow.
Because it's a high performance shape.
The Flow is ALWAYS more stable than the Acid, because it is more of a stability shape.

My 8'10 Flow is arguably more stable than my 9'4 Acid....
I can surf my 8'10 Flow (130 L) in a full wetsuit, but I can't do that on my 9'4 Acid (136 L)
BUT
My 9'4 Acid surfs way better than my 8'10 Flow..... IMO
but then, I am probably surfing the Flow wrong.... I've seen guys rip the crap out of it.
Folks that prefer Quad set-up don't have that choice in the Acid.

Demo the 8'10 Acid and see... bring your Flow to compare.

The super thin nose and tail of the Acid really test my old man "front to back" stability, because I lack the leg strength to recover from those dips.
Side to side, the Acid is really easy, because it is fairly wide.
I think that width, is what allows the Acid to surf smaller and weaker waves well.
In small waves, my 9'4 Acid seems to get lots of "lift" from that width.
Note:
Once paddling or surfing, the Acid nose is a total joy. It's best feature IMO
I allows me to throw the board around with ease..... and I love looking down at it

The obvious cost of all that performance is.... it requires a skill set to use in your "normal" size..... even in a bigger size, it challenges me.
That, and I don't use it in bigger waves. Which I always add because I want to always give my honest feedback.
I've seen Jacy killing bottom turns on the Acid in OH Hawaiian surf, so again... everything about life is personal, and everyone is different.

As to your question:
IMO, my 9'4 Acid, easily out-surfs my 8'10 Flow

Funny thing about this video.... I started the session on my 8'10 Flow,
but after riding my 9'4 Creek all summer, I was really let down by the smaller Flow.
I made the 1,600 yard walk to the car park and grabbed my 9'4 Acid for comparison.
1st time I surfed the Acid since my Creek came.

Acid in 2' beachbreak last summer.

I feel that the reason my "oversize" (@83kg) 8'10 Acid works sweet in small weak waves is due to a a few design traits:
1. A wide thin nose with a big single concave up front as this provides a decent surface area to create "lift". I can catch anything on my Acid.
2.The other reason it rips small wave is that it has a lot of outline curve so you can turn it from the middle of the board which means you can 'nurse' your turns when the waves are weak &/or choppy. i.e you don't need to be on the kickpad to turn it like some shapes.
3. Once you have got on a weak wave and get a chance to get back on that thin tail it snaps around beautifully for a big board!

I appreciate this is not the design brief for the Acid but it is an amazing bonus to have a high performance board that you can use in soft waves! In my review of the 8'10 I compared the Acid to a "supercar that you can still have fun taking to the supermarket".

Bert is probably rolling his eyes as his board range includes shapes for weak waves and the Acid is not one of them haha.

I have a 7'4 @104L Deep Minion for the small clean days and that feels like a skateboard but as soon as it gets choppy I'm on the Acid which is most of the time the last 18 months.

Some excellent feedback here.
Thanks Creek, CSE, StevO, and Tardy.
I am happy with my Speed 8'8 but would love to add to the quiver sometime this year .
Due to my lightweight at around 70kg wet in winter an oversized Acid could be a real for the next addition. I could be boring and get a smaller Speeed (say an 8'2) but I reckon something like an 8'10 Acid would be more versatile and broaden the range of my quiver .

So im 75-78 kg, intermediate , getting better, have :
8' 10" flow for stability
8' custom tomo shape for small and clean
7' 9 " shroom for utter goop

For performance, do i go :
Creek 8'7"?
Acid ? 8'10' or 9'1"?
Flash 8'9"?

There is just too much choice!!!

I'm watching this thread with a lot of interest, thanks for the critique chaps.

I have a 7'10 Acid and 7'5 custom creek, both around 80 litres. I found the Acid was a great board but IMO was better for smaller waves. When the surf got overhead I found the Acid would skip out when you went to drive hard off a bottom turn, which is not really what you want in larger surf. At the time the creek was in its first production I spoke to Tino from Sunova saying I would like an Acid with the tail of the Speeed and he told me about the Creek (great minds think a like, Rick) which was good timing. Even though the Acid looks to have a small tail relative to other SUPs it still has a large tail area compared to a surfboard so the channels provide extra grip and drive when you only have 70kg to bury the tail I had the nose pulled in on my Creek more like the Flow so it would be better for late drops and its works a treat. Lately I have been using the Creek as a twin fin in small waves and it goes unreal. So fast and loose!!

Traff said..
I have a 7'10 Acid and 7'5 custom creek, both around 80 litres. I found the Acid was a great board but IMO was better for smaller waves. When the surf got overhead I found the Acid would skip out when you went to drive hard off a bottom turn, which is not really what you want in larger surf. At the time the creek was in its first production I spoke to Tino from Sunova saying I would like an Acid with the tail of the Speeed and he told me about the Creek (great minds think a like, Rick) which was good timing. Even though the Acid looks to have a small tail relative to other SUPs it still has a large tail area compared to a surfboard so the channels provide extra grip and drive when you only have 70kg to bury the tail I had the nose pulled in on my Creek more like the Flow so it would be better for late drops and its works a treat. Lately I have been using the Creek as a twin fin in small waves and it goes unreal. So fast and loose!!

Thanks Traff, love the pics and vids of you ripping great waves!

I just put a little 3" center fin in my 9'1 Creek, and I like the idea of twinzer Creek!
I am sure with the channels, that sidebites will be enough for most days.
I did that with my 8'10 Allwave, then 8'10 RAW..... it was really fun and surprisingly drivey!
That's next, if we ever get any surf.... ankle biters this week would be an overstatement.

looks good surfinJ..Love the rusta colours ,

rocks don't move like sand ,so our break remains the same every year ...i have been up on them a few times

Is that pasta Acid a custom thruster/quad set up or do the latest Acid boards come with the five fin box cluster?

My long prone surf career ran the usual gamut for guys our age, single to twin to thruster. I had never ridden a quad
before the sup but that changed with my first PSH's as Blane recommended the quad. Since then I've built up quite the fin collection and except for the occasional single session on a log, 4 it will be.