Anyone been riding the James Casey Sunova Flash.

Nice rocker , rail outline and pulled in tail. Thinking out the 8'6 for bigger days , any feedback appreciated.

Quad or thruster setup preferred?

There are one or two threads on here already about the flash.

I only offer these comments because it is the lowest liter board that I have ever been able to paddle.... (more on that in 4th paragraph)
and I was very surprised that I actually found it quite comfortable.


I do have a 9'0 Flash custom, with very little rocker or nose kick,... I call it the "flatish"..... nothing like the rocker Flash, but same outline, volume
never ridden a standard Flash, so I can't comment on Flash surfability, but I wanted to relate stability and "board feel" to you.
Oddly enough... the standard Flash is the only Sunova that I have never had a chance to surf.

It has very nice stability for this shape. I took it to Portugal, as my 2nd board.
I weighed about 100 kg during my time over there.
At 133 liters, it fell right at about 1.3 ratio of body weight to volume which is right at "advance rider" volume ratio
and yet, it was very reasonable, even on choppy days. (4th pic)
I use it easily at my current weight of 106 kg - 1.25 w/v

When I was at 107 kg, I stepped up on a friends 8'6 Flash, in perfectly flat harbor water.
107 kg on 112 liters and yet, very easy to paddle, spin and mess around on.... paddled a short distance, many tail spins, and switching feet etc.
I had zero stability issue on it, until I stopped paddling... and it sank
There is no way I ever could have surfed that size, because I simply could never get to a standing position, in the ocean

Hopefully this info has some value, when you are choosing a size.







sinking

Screen shot from "Choppy days are SUP fun" - shot in Portugal

if your a high performance surfer you will love this board .i still prefer the acids, but there is a new one coming and orders are being taken now
its a cross between the flash and acid ,called placid ,the narrow tail on the flash seems to like more powerful waves ,where the acid is a little wider ,making it faster in not so grunty waves ,but both the flash and acids are really good choices .

The Placid I believe is going to be quite a bit wider than either the flash or acid at the same length. More like a SMIK hipster twin.

yes ..wider and shorter .it could be the one ..

i forgot to say ,do i see a sinking creek ? in one of those pictures .

Yep I have the 8'6 at 86kg, love it. Proper rail turns! I like it more as a quad, lots of drive.

Select to expand quote

Kovert said..
Yep I have the 8'6 at 86kg, love it. Proper rail turns! I like it more as a quad, lots of drive.

I'm 87kg and want to use it as a bigger wave board apart from my 7'10 hipster. Feels abit weird going bigger in size after riding the Smik .
What quad setup are you using ?

I've just done exactly the same, moved up to the 8'6 after the 7'10 Hipster! Loved the hipster but wanted a touch more water line for bigger or when there's water moving around plus some finer rails with a bit more drive. The Flash 8'6 doesn't feel big under foot at all to surf but visually it was a bit odd at first. The nose is narrow enough to not have excessive swing weight and the rail game is flat out amazing. You can wind it up super fast And the rails just bite through the turn so sweetly.

In am ideal world I would've kept the hipster as well, i think the Flash would be the perfect step up. I have a 7'6 custom stubby I run along side it which works perfectly for me.

I use the standard fin set up which I think is the 94's up front and 83's in the rear (although I have a feeling it may have come with 105/94) will have to check. It's a lot of area but goes so fast without sacrificing the corners. Will definitely try some smaller rears in smaller waves and see how it goes.

Yep - I'm 104kgs and have the 8'9". It's a shred weapon with the C-Drive quads fitted. Had the Acid but prefer the Flash

Select to expand quote

Smash1 said..
Had the Acid but prefer the Flash

Why do you prefer the flash? I tried the flash and stayed with my acid (after only 4 sessions though)...

Select to expand quote

Smash1 said..
Yep - I'm 104kgs and have the 8'9". It's a shred weapon with the C-Drive quads fitted. Had the Acid but prefer the Flash

Hi Smash1... can you put some pics of your Flash with Cdrive Quad setup over on Cdrive post. With front and rear Size.
Cheers

Im 100Kg or so and ride the 8'9. I ride it on what I call the bigger days (3ft+) with an 8'7 flow as my other board.

I prefer the flash as a thruster, and did away with the stock fins, which I found too big.

I currently have the 8ft Starboard Pro and 8ft JP Pro and surf beach and point breaks. After surfing shortboards for 35years I am always trying to get the same feel under foot out of my SUP's. I recently trialed the Sunova Flash 8ft 93 litres which is slightly smaller than my JP at 100 litres. It was only small 2ft surf but I immediately felt the difference of a short board feel.
The flash had a very quick reaction time and likes to stay in the pocket. On my first go I couldn't fault it.
I ordered one as soon as I could, and will play around with fins once I get it.

Select to expand quote

cantSUPenough said..

Smash1 said..
Had the Acid but prefer the Flash

Why do you prefer the flash? I tried the flash and stayed with my acid (after only 4 sessions though)...

It has just a touch more volume - so slightly more stability. I find that it handles the majority of the waves I target from 2' to well over head. Had it in 5'+. Loves the very late takes offs and super loose - even with the C-Drive quad set up.