I have to say I love my sunova Steeze. I bought it a few years ago and keep it at my moms in Massachusetts. It's 8'10" of pure fun board. I am 5'11" and 85 kg 55yo middle aged man who came to surf addiction late in life and live in New York City. This winter I also bought a used Sunova sp25. 8'3" at I think 118 liters(ie the same approx literage). At first I loved its agility even in small waves. But still struggle with standing on it between waves in choppy conditions as it has a much smaller sweet spot. And when I go to MA I get on the steeze it is easy to switch stance, walk to the front, turn and I just pop up on it and can handle most chop. It probably helps that I spent the winter on this smaller board.

I guess the bottom line is I'm thinking of trading the SP or selling it and joining the Long Board Revolution. Or should I tough it out on the SP and learn to smash the lip? The waves near me are often mushy but there is the hurricane swell in the fall so I am torn. If anybody is in my range and has a longboard that they want to trade let me know (even for the day) let me know!!

Hey Sean, long story short I learned to SUP while I was living in the Bronx, bought an inflatable and paddled Pelham Bay. Anyways, I'll tell you my story. I had a 150 liter Sunova One and loved it, I wanted to go smaller so I bought a 115L JL Superfrank. I hated the thing at first, sooo tippy, but I kept paddling it. I would say after a solid 6 months of surfing it once or twice a week I got to a point where I didn't fall off at all, no matter how choppy or windy it was. I would stick with the SP if you want to keep progressing, your body will eventually learn how to balance, and it will make all your other big SUPS that much easier to ride. Get a balance board at home if you don't already have one, it will also help a lot.

Flat water paddle it regularly too..

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said..
I have to say I love my sunova Steeze. I bought it a few years ago and keep it at my moms in Massachusetts. It's 8'10" of pure fun board. I am 5'11" and 85 kg 55yo middle aged man who came to surf addiction late in life and live in New York City. This winter I also bought a used Sunova sp25. 8'3" at I think 118 liters(ie the same approx literage). At first I loved its agility even in small waves. But still struggle with standing on it between waves in choppy conditions as it has a much smaller sweet spot. And when I go to MA I get on the steeze it is easy to switch stance, walk to the front, turn and I just pop up on it and can handle most chop. It probably helps that I spent the winter on this smaller board.

I guess the bottom line is I'm thinking of trading the SP or selling it and joining the Long Board Revolution. Or should I tough it out on the SP and learn to smash the lip? The waves near me are often mushy but there is the hurricane swell in the fall so I am torn. If anybody is in my range and has a longboard that they want to trade let me know (even for the day) let me know!!

Hi Sean, as a new owner of a Sunova REVO you know what I am going to recommend

One of the 9x30ish REVO sound like they will be a great option for you. If you have Instagram look up "drew_casso" he has posted a few clips of him riding a 9'x26.5". Show's what the board can do, mind you it looks like the guy could surf your front door well!

And the other thing I tell my wife, is that you don't play golf with one club so if you have the space and the cash I suggest you keep the SP25 for the clean better days and add the REVO for everything else.

Cheers.

Steve.

I might be wrong here, but I would say that the 9' Revo is a more refined board of the same familly then your Steeze (I had a 10' Steeze before). The Revo also has a bit of a narrower sweet spot as the tail is really thin but it is not an issue once you get into it. REgretfully I can surf only a couple of trips each year so I do need a board that is easy to handle and until I tried it, I woudl never have though that I could manage the 9' Revo, but now

Hi Sean ,big difference between boards 8'10 x 30x125 ,sp 8'2 is 29 '5 wide 115

so the 8-2 is a very short board which is your problem why you dislike it or have problems using it ,
I have also tried shorter boards ,but I'm happy with 8'7 or 8'8 ,better glide and wave catching
also just puts the fun back in it again ,I'm currently riding the 8'8 flow also 125 liters
I tried the shorter versions but I just swore too much .
so I suggest sell the SP and get a slightly bigger size .

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Tardy said..
so the 8-2 is a very short board which is your problem

And perhaps, more importantly, it is a "performance" shape (pulled-in nose and tail).

These shapes have advantages when you have some (prone) surfing experience and know how to pump the board to generate speed, and attempt to surf vertical and in the pocket. Otherwise the drawbacks (lack of stability and glide) will be overwhelming, especially in mushy waves.

As Tardy said, resell it. If you want to try the "shortboard" feel, better go progressively with some "hybrid" shapes, with wider nose and tail.

Ah, the holy grail of Sup surfing, stability vs performance. I am a little bigger and older than you, but I continue to chase it. As mentioned above, I have found a sweet spot with shorter boards with wider noses and tails. I think it may be a good choice for you.

Pat yourself on the back, surfing an 8'3 at 55 (honestly Awesome!) but why? It's not like you are going to go to an 8'0 at 60. Prioritize stability. Plenty of boards out there today with enough stability for you and still perform well. Think about it, how much performance will you lose by adding 10 liters and 3 inches?

This takes me to the SP 25. A great board. IMHO you just went too small. The way the nose is designed surfing an 8'3 is more like surfing 7'9. There is a ton of performance in the larger sizes. I think you would have a ton more success with the 8'8.

At the end of the day, compliment your Steeze. Trade the SP in and get a bigger one or look at some other bigger performance boards. You can still be sub-9 and get the performance you are looking for.

One last note. I always tell people to watch Rick Weeks' videos. Not for his board reviews or style of surfing but for the size of the boards he surfs well. Watch him on the 9'5 SP and the 8'8 SP. If he didn't tell you, you wouldn't be able to tell which of the two boards he was surfing. If you are stable you can work on your surfing...If you are unstable you work on stability.

Remember the words of Phil Edwards; " the best surfer out there is the one having the most fun." Fighting stability is not fun!

Thanks for all the response. Its funny, I think what realized this past weekend surfing on my Steeze, is that my balance is so much better because of the winter spent on the SP25. I was thinking about bringing my Steeze back to NYC, but perhaps I will do the summer and fall on the SP25 on my local break, and then see how I feel next winter. I agree with Tardy and Castawaycove that perhaps I should have purchased a longer board-but this one was $1000 fully tricked out with rail tape, fins and a pad
, so I couldn't pass it up. And it seems like it is a custom, at 8'3" and 118, so almost the same literate as the old one.

And colas, the tail is a bit wider than a performance board (actually quite similar in tail shape to the Steeze and REVO), and the tail rocker is flatter, as it was designed for smaller waves. Which is good, as my break is seldom a performance break. But it has a pinched in rail. It just has a much smaller sweet spot than the Steeze; and I tend to go over the front of it a lot. But I am a lot better (and lost a few kilos which helps)

As far as the REVO goes, I would love to try out a longer one, as I think my Steeze is already designed with a similar goal and shape as the shorter one....

some inspired steeze from the guy with the funky tunes

The Steeze,IMO is a very underrated board! It fits in the Quiver killer category,paddles VERY well. Is also very stable,noserides and goes hard of the tail,it was created to take on the Jimmy Lewis Striker,another very good quiver killer design,IMO the Steeze was an improvement,the pintail was smoother and more reactive,combined with the mono concave bottom nose to tail,much more stable! than the strikers vee bottom ,a touch more nose rocker and the xxx construction is more lively to surf. I have not tried the tr3 build as I favour the xxx

justadd,

what does a single concave do on a longboard shape in addition to adding stability? Lifetime shortboard surfer here trying to branch out into riding longboards as well as learn what makes them work(other than, of course, the long part)

Surly,there are many different takes on mono concave,design wise,the basic design principles,are it straightens the stringer line rocker,compared to the rail line rocker=, SPEED,this will also create LIFT=SPEED THEY ARE FAST, next is if the concave goes right out to the rail line and the rail profile is fine enough it will help with bite in turns,IMOsome of the latest longboard designs,have to much forward vee,either with or without concave making them quite unstable!,whatch some of sunovas build videos ,the style ,revolution, Steeze . ,re longboard design in in a sup the style in particular as it has mono concave !I hope others will chime in as this is just my experience

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supsean said..
my balance is so much better because of the winter spent on the SP25. I was thinking about bringing my Steeze back to NYC, but perhaps I will do the summer and fall on the SP25 on my local break, and then see how I feel next winter.

I tend to go over the front of it a lot.

Hi Sean
yes... if you struggled in full winter gear, I bet you will find it a LOT easier in summer baggies!
By next winter, you will have a pretty good idea if it can be a winter board after you get it wired.

I have many boards that are "summer only" boards... the beauty of a quiver
By the way... I have 3 SP25's
8'8 - 8'11 and 9'5
and find I use the 9'5 a lot, even in summer.
The 8'8 is for when conditions are right!

IMO... although the outlines look similar, the Revolution is much higher performing than the Steeze and has a larger wave range.

"Castaway" - thanks for the kind words! I am glad you find my videos helpful

Rick, thanks for the response. I surfed it all summer, and I did get a lot more stable on the SP25. I lost a bit of weight and without the wetsuit it was pretty good. But the waves have been fast and haven't allowed alot of turns. (also here in the rockaways they are always kind of like that). Plus when it gets choppy it is still a tippy board for me. And again, the wind is only offshore here from the north, so there is often chop. And now I am back to 93 kilos dry with a winter wetsuit gloves and booties (maybe 99 kilos), and its still pretty good -- still get occasional compliments from prone surfers. When I am on a wave, it is incredible. But when it gets choppy it becomes challenging and getting up on it if my back is stiff gets difficult with such a small sweet spot.

Went back to Gloucester, MA, and I really still love that Steeze. Not only for its stability, but also I just find it more fun in weird conditions. I can run up the board a bit on the nose, get back for some good turns, switch stance and still get some nice quick turns in if I need them. Plus I feel that my abilities since being on the smaller board have gone up 2 notches, and I can stand on the Steeze in all sorts of choppy situations.

Conclusion: I am seriously considering selling the SP25 and buying either the Starboard Longboard, or the Sunova revolution. Or maybe make a trip to france and check out the Gong factory!

When I started SUP'n in '09, Blane Chambers suggested flat water paddling for 20 hours prior to even considering going into the waves. I live in Marblehead and there were 3 of us and we constantly raced around, did figure 8's, spun 360's by stepping on the tail until we fell off - all in flat water.

Before selling I would suggest doing that and as Rick and others have said, use it on the clean, summer days and when / if the hurricane swell hits in the late summer, early fall where no suit or lighter suits are adequate.

Had the 8.10 Steeze back in the surf these past 2 days using a 6" centre fin. It has handled chop, super nimble to turn and been an absolute blast.