Hi all,
I've had plenty of board's come and go and for me, I think I'll stick with Sunova. That said, I love my SP25 and will never sell it. However, I'm looking at a second board and apart from the obvious differences between a 9.0 flash and the new Flow v2 I would like an honest opinion on how they compare in stability and waves . I'm leaning towards the flash. I'm 93kg 5'9 in height.
Cheers
Steveo.

The Flash is more stable than the 8'8 flow ,but the flow surfs way better ,I'm 5'11 and 98 kgs and the flow is the board I prefer
The flash is more stable as its 31,5 wide vs 31 and the flash has 134 litre vs 126.5 litres .I found the flash slow on a wave and really likes bigger powerful waves where the flow is happy in small and mid size waves and is very fast on the wave which I really love about it .With the flows thinner rails it really can ride the wave high on the face as it cuts the face .I have not ridden the 9 flow but it is quite a big bigger ,140 litre and 32 wide i think .

Thanks Tardy,
I'm thinking if the Flow V2 is for small to medium waves then the Sp25 will cover that. It's when it gets a little bigger and suckier is when the flash may work better. Might be another trip to the shops to look at both rocker lines. Lol.
Cheers.

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Steveo1 said..
Thanks Tardy,
I'm thinking if the Flow V2 is for small to medium waves then the Sp25 will cover that. It's when it gets a little bigger and suckier is when the flash may work better. Might be another trip to the shops to look at both rocker lines. Lol.
Cheers.

ok ,
flash has more rocker in the tail for sure ,I felt it always needed a push to get it going ,its not a bad board
but it has similar dims to your SP ,a Kanga 8,9 would be a good choice
9.1 ACID . awesome bigger wave board .too ...

Thanks Tardy,
Sounds like a good point you've made. Back to more research on the board's you've suggested.
Cheers.

Hi Steveo... interesting question!
I do consider the Flow V2 and SP25 to be quite interchangeable.
The biggest difference is in stability... I have always struggled somewhat on the 9'0 Flow V2 but am comfortable on the 8'8 SP25.
Hence I use the SP25 8'8 as my go-to performance board when the waves are good and I love the 9'4 Flow V2 (with Quobba fins) when the waves are a bit wonkier. I truly love them both.

The Flash is not a board that I ride a lot because I always have another board that will suit the conditions better IMO.
It's a good board, but never seems to get the nod.

If you want a board that will excel in bigger juice, the Creek 9'1 is worth a look.
It is still probably the fastest board I have, and it has always handled as big as I surf.
It will be on par with the stability of the 9'0 Flash and more stable than the 9'0 Flow V2, IMO.

James Casey had his best Aussie Title finish ever on a 7'7 Creek.... not a Flash. Just say'n

Having said that, the 8'8 SP25 and the 9'4 Flow V2 are my go-to boards these days.... with the 9'5 SP25 and 8'10 Placid always in the mix.

Get one of each... quivers work!!!

Thanks STC,
The Creek did cross my mind. Interesting view's on the stability of these boards. At the moment I think I've got too much time on my hands and yes I have been hitting my local waves and riding my SP25 as a quad. Lol. My other option is to step up to the Sp24 and then Tardy got me think about the Acid. All of a sudden I find myself watching an old video from 2021, of a New Zealand fellow riding a custom Acid with step rails. So maybe custom is the way to go. Argh yes. First world problems!!

My 8'9 Kanga is super stable for me 6'2 85/90kg. North Sea UK, windy choppy mostly. It kind of doesn't excel at just one thing but excels at doing nearly everything really well if that makes sense. Had the choice of the boards you mention and only chose the Kanga because it seemed to cover most of what I do, most of the time. Just put quads on last week and it certainly makes a difference in terms of initial acceleration/response to first couple of paddle strokes. For me it certainly has helped me with later drops - in fact it almost encourages it!

That was a great video of the kiwi guy ,he was shredding ,
I brought 2 boards at the same time, the 9 flash and 9,1 Acid ,I kept the Acid
it was just a faster board and nicer volume distribution ,the thinned rail do make boards a little tippier
in chop ,i guess thats why they made the 8'8 flow 31 ,it works really well .
the 9,1 acid is 30 5/8 wide ,I had my acid out in 6 foot the other day it just charge's down anything
I don't think I would change it ,it seems like a really thought out shape by Bert .
Thinner boards are better in bigger waves ,the wind doesn't get under them as much .
I rode a 8,10 creek in some big waves in Maldives ,they do handle big waves as creek said ,
quite stable too with the extra nose width ,

Thanks Napman,
I was looking at something that can handle late drops.
Tardy,
Yep that was a great video and your right. I do prefer the thinner board's and lower rail's that slice through the water. That's why I like the sunova board's.
In saying that I've still kept my 9'4 Hobie cm pro all these years. Lol.

Steveo, it's fun to research and compare boards!!

My take on the Acid:
I agree.... it is much more fun than the Flash IMO

I had a 9'4 and a 9'1
The 9'4 was my go-to ripper in small waves, BUT... in OH, the tail never worked out well for me.
Not sure why, but my 9'4 Acid just seemed out of it's element when waves got bigger

On the other hand, the 9'1 Acid was amazing in bigger waves, the tail was crisp and carving!
However, the 9'1 Acid was a bear for me to stand on comfortably because my weight to volume was only at 1.16

The Acid nose is super narrow and pointy, so it's like riding a much smaller board....
Because the nose is so pointy, it is super easy to push underwater when driving hard into a wave.
The super kicked up nose helps the Acid during a late drop so it can work with you... or against you, depending how you work your back foot as you take off.

I made up a picture to show how the Creek and Acid compare side by side
It's easy to see just how much less meat there is in the Acid nose
The Flow compare's in a similar fashion
The SP25 has a similar pointy nose, but it widens out so much faster than the Acid and there is much more meat in the tail of the SP25

Thanks STC,
Don't worry, I watch your video's religiously. It was your video's and comments that convinced me that I would be okay with the 8'8 sp25. No regrets there.
In the end I still keep coming back to the Creek board. Just wondering how I'd go with the 9'1 as my winter / wetsuit board.
Cheers.

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Steveo1 said..
In the end I still keep coming back to the Creek board. Just wondering how I'd go with the 9'1 as my winter / wetsuit board.
Cheers.

For reference:
At 107 kg (w/o wetsuit) My 9'4 Acid was a real struggle in a full wetsuit, so I designed the 9'4 Creek as my "winter board"

on the 9'4 x 32 Creek at 148 L, I was right about 1.4 weight to volume
That was my happy place on the Creek

With winter wetsuit, you should be right around 1.4 on the 9'1 Creek

SP24:
at the same G/F of 1.4, you would be on the SP24 8'10 x 30.25 at 136 liters
to jump up to the 9'1 SP24 the width would be 31.25" and 148 liters

Creek 9'1 x 31.25 at 136 liters (4.5" thick)
SP24 9'1 x 31.25 at 148 liters (4.9" thick)

I got theSP24 - 9'7 x 32.9" as a winter board and it is WAY to big and stiff at 174 liters and 5.25" thick
It is a beast
The moment I took it out of the box I was stunned by how big and thick it was!
It surfs really well in small waves, when I can stay closer to the tail, it's a fun board that feels nice in the water.
but in bigger surf when I am more forward on the board, I outrun the shoulders before I can get back to turn it.... it was simply too big for me.
Other boards in bigger sizes are not so beastly, so IMO, the SP24 should be ridden on the smaller side.

I have ordered a 9'1 SP24 to give it a fair chance.... and I was considering the 8'10 x 30.25 at 136 liters
If you do the same numbers... you will be on the 8'10 and it might be ok... but then it is fairly narrow by that size
I just can't make any call on stability or performance until I get on a smaller one.

Thanks STC,
That's a really good insight into these boards. Normally my winter wetsuit is about a 3.2. And as much as I would love an 8'10 Sp24 there's just not that much information on them in relation to stability and rough surf. Realistically I've seen enough reviews and videos of the 9'1 Creek to see how it performs in all conditions and it seems to cover what I'm looking for.
As I still have my Hobie CM pro, which is 9'4 x 30 and 136 litres , I was looking for something shorter and I think the 9'1 Creek and my 8'8 Sp25 should just about just about cover all conditions.
Thanks again STC, Tardy and Napnap for all the information you guy's have provided. It's been a real help.
Cheers
Steve.
Got to go as there is 2.5 metre swell at 10 sec apart predicted and I want to test the Sp25 with my new set up. Lol.

P..s STC,
If you do end up with a Sp24 would love to see the video and reviews.

Let us know how that set up goes - mighty interested!

Napnap.
It went good. It wasn't as loose as the first set up I had which was large Al merrick thruster set up. But it certainly stayed up high on the face of the waves and gave some grip. Which allowed me to scoot all along the face of the waves.
At the end of the day I caught a little runner back to shore. This thing would have been ankle to knee high and the same thing. It held on, right across the face of the wave.
For some reason it won't let me post a little video I took with the gopro. But this board and set up just picks up every wave.
The other thing I noticed was the board did not feel as tippy. Bit hard to explain, but for me, the board felt balanced.
Managed to download some photos of the small wave.

Definitely the board I will be talking with me to Bali. Now planned for May of this year.
Stevo.

Not that relevant to the thread, but I put twin keel fins on my Flow 8.4 V2 and it has improved the performance of the board to another level. Was messing with quad and tri fins of various sizes and nothing was working, it literally wasn't flowing, probably down to my style? The twin set up does it for me, makes it feel like a hipster with more paddle speed and much knifier rails.

Thanks Steveo1. Something more to consider!!

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Daveb27 said..
Not that relevant to the thread, but I put twin keel fins on my Flow 8.4 V2 and it has improved the performance of the board to another level. Was messing with quad and tri fins of various sizes and nothing was working, it literally wasn't flowing, probably down to my style? The twin set up does it for me, makes it feel like a hipster with more paddle speed and much knifier rails.

Interesting... I have those exact fins, I'll have to throw them on the Flow and see how they go.

Well, After chewing the ears of STC, Tardy, and everyone else I had decided on the 9.1 Creek to compliment my 8.8 Sunova SP25. There I was about to head up to Sydney from the South Coast when all of a sudden, Shazzam!!!! The one board I've always wanted but could never get due to price or distribution in Australia. The Infinity Blurr V2 at the right price. I could not resist. Picking it up Tuesday.
Thanks everyone for your thoughts and advice.

Yet again - very interested, let us know how it goes (thanks for the fin update). This beats getting new gear for yourself!!!

Lol,
Will do Napnap.