Two paddles on this board so far. I am 86 kg. Time paddling 3 months
Coming off Starb 11'2 / 30' feared i would be all over the shop on this board at only 27' wide.
First paddle on flat water - Definately feels small! But pretty stable considering a 10 -15 knt sideshore. Seem to have pretty good glide. Probably not as good as 11' from this perspective. Nice deck grip in standing area, the grip at nose and back may be a bit smooth when agressively stapping back.. we'll see.
Second paddle, little reef break & bit of wind / water moving around. Now it is feeling twitchy. Falling off a lot. Finally get my S**t together and catch a few waves. So much faster than the 11'2 Star. Feels light and loose on the wave. Reaonable nose rocker ... didn't feel close to nose dive Think this board will handle some sizable waves (probably better than I will).
Inititial thoughts: HAPPY at this stage. a good step down in size for surfing. It was a Big call going for narrow board under 11' at my stage of development, but I think it will be ok. another inch or two width might have been good, but would it be as fast on the wave? It has a nice straight rail profile for speed. Yes i will fall off more, but I am going to have more fun in surf with this. I am not at the stage of jabbing mega hard turns, but it felt very turnable and i enjoyed not having to walk all over the place like i had to on my 11'2 (RIP - Snapped nose off) Have heard rails chip on Southpoint boards and I can see a couple already. I'm going get some rail guards. Good handle, good deck finish.
I paid under $1500 for board and paddle so bloody good value.
