Hi everyone, I sold my Starboard Waterline last Thursday and due to my good wife's strictly enforced one in, one out rule, I purchased a Sunova Revolution Casey on Saturday

My wife liked the look of the board so much that it was allowed to stay in the house for its first night









I went for length with the 10x30.5 xxx as I wanted a board again that made "non" days ridable.

It was the perfect board for the next morning which had my local wave magnet beach offering 1 to 2 foot runners, a few bigger sets too. This place makes the most of any swell and dished up some fun waves. I was surprised I had it to myself for an hour or so before anyone else joined me out the back.

That was a great for me to get to feel the board out, the near totally flat bottom, parallel rails and the pulled in tail had me hopeful of a fun ride. And that it was, easily picked up anything I paddled for, indeed the third wave I caught did not even break. That large wide/flat nose and me jumping back on a few takeoffs, wary of catching a rail, because even at this size, the waves at this beach step up and throw quickly.

Once on a wave I was blown away by the boards performance, the flat rocker had it gliding through sections and a step back to the very pulled in tail had the board turning with ease. And when stepping back the speed never really seemed to drop off, which I have experienced with a few other longboard SUPs I had ridden. When I did find myself coming out of a cutback and still at the back of the board, I found myself pumping it like a much shorter board to easily make the next section.

By this stage my mind was blown, the rocker, outline and surprising to me the fin setup give this board the best of both worlds. Length and width for stability and easy wave catching, with next level performance of a much shorter board.

Bigger surf that has a hollow take off might be a challenge but other than that the Sunova Revolution Casey should find a place in everyones quiver. And if I could only have one board it would be hard to go past this one for the sheer variety of waves it can excel in.

I few more photos...

The tail and fin setup equals performance...






The flat rocker, glide and wave catching...





but it has enough rocker at the back combined with the fins to turn without any real effort.






And a tail outline that will handle a bit of power and really smooth out your surfing whilst not holding you back.(On the rack below the Smik mini Style Lord 9'1x31)








Rick if you read this you really need to do everyone a favour and make one of your outstanding video reviews on the Revolution Casey.

It's a true high performance longboard SUP that just about anyone can ride.

Cheers.

Steve.

Love my 9x30. I would never have thought that I could manage a board that volume until I tried the Revolution. Helps me sp much with my crappy turns.
I find the 105/94 a bit too much for light conditions but rock solid staying high on a wave in stronger swell. I have a large Cdrive thruster set for most conditions.

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drivethebus said..
next level performance of a much shorter board.

Did you use a thruster setup on a longboard SUP before?

Just going from a 2+1 to a thruster setup (or even a twin + trailer) makes wonder for the performance of modern longboard shapes...

Looks great Steve, so no concaves in the Revolution at all?

They are very interesting shapes..the only board I have ever surfed with a totally flat hull ( no concaves etc) is my JL M14 downwind board. They feel different but surf great. I would try some Quobbas on it..

I used to have a JL Striker which has a flat rocker.it caught waves easy and was fast on the wave. I did have issues with steeper stuff and since most of my surfing is beach breaks I ended up selling it after a few years. I got to ride it on point breaks and it was awesome.

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LucBenac said..
Love my 9x30. I would never have thought that I could manage a board that volume until I tried the Revolution. Helps me sp much with my crappy turns.
I find the 105/94 a bit too much for light conditions but rock solid staying high on a wave in stronger swell. I have a large Cdrive thruster set for most conditions.

Thanks Luc, the 9x30 will be on my radar in a few years I think. Watching drew-casso throw it around on instagram shows how good the board can be ridden.

Cheers.

Steve.

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colas said..

drivethebus said..
next level performance of a much shorter board.

Did you use a thruster setup on a longboard SUP before?

Just going from a 2+1 to a thruster setup (or even a twin + trailer) makes wonder for the performance of modern longboard shapes...

Hi Colas, yep all my other longboards, SUP or prone have been 2+1's. Always happy with that setup, so I was a little bit unsure how the Revo would work in the ten foot size with a standard thruster setup. Turns out brilliantly, the tail of the board does its job and it feels like two boards in one. Glide up front, party out the back.

Cheers.

Steve.

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DaveSandan said..
Looks great Steve, so no concaves in the Revolution at all?

Hi Dave, I have not put a straight edge on it, however to the eye and running my hand along and across the bottom it feels really flat.

WSS also had a Smik Lord Bonza in 10x29 and the difference on the bottom shape was crazy. Had the Bonza been the 10x30 I might have walked out with that instead of the Revo.

The Smik would be better in steeper waves, but that's not the type of wave I was looking to ride with a longboard, although the early wave catching of the Revo would make that a possibility.

I will look at selling my 9'1x31 mini Style Lord down the track and replacing it with the 8'8x31 Bonza.

Then I will have three boards, Revo, 8'6 Smik Hipster Twin and the Bonza, that with cover any type of wave around here.

Cheers.

Steve.

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drivethebus said..

LucBenac said..
Love my 9x30. I would never have thought that I could manage a board that volume until I tried the Revolution. Helps me sp much with my crappy turns.
I find the 105/94 a bit too much for light conditions but rock solid staying high on a wave in stronger swell. I have a large Cdrive thruster set for most conditions.

Thanks Luc, the 9x30 will be on my radar in a few years I think. Watching drew-casso throw it around on instagram shows how good the board can be ridden.

Cheers.

Steve.

My friend Bob uses a FatBoy as a single or with small sidebites as his Revo is custom with us box.

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LucBenac said..

drivethebus said..

LucBenac said..
Love my 9x30. I would never have thought that I could manage a board that volume until I tried the Revolution. Helps me sp much with my crappy turns.
I find the 105/94 a bit too much for light conditions but rock solid staying high on a wave in stronger swell. I have a large Cdrive thruster set for most conditions.

Thanks Luc, the 9x30 will be on my radar in a few years I think. Watching drew-casso throw it around on instagram shows how good the board can be ridden.

Cheers.

Steve.

My friend Bob uses a FatBoy as a single or with small sidebites as his Revo is custom with us box.

Nice Luc, WSS boards where I bought my REVO had a custom 8 foot REVO around 100 litres.

After riding my board I could see myself ordering an 8'4x30 ish around 120 litres with a US centre box and a quad setup too. It might be fun in quick little summer wind peak swells.

Cheers.

Steve.

Looks like an incredible board !!

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supsean said..
Looks like an incredible board !!

Thanks mate, very happy with it so far, keen for a few more days on it soon.

Cheers.

Steve.

Had been busy dialing in my new SP 25 the last few weeks, but after reading all the new froth for the revo I had to take out the 9'0 today. Yep.. froth is the word it is such a sweet board. It is fast, the super fine rounded pin tail is awesome and even a fat bloke can get some nose time.

Such a great board, I have the large quobbas and it just performs so well. I have built an awesome quiver with the 8'8 Flow V2, 9'0 revolution and SP 25 at 8'10. Now the question is do I move on the 10' style and 8' shroom ....

Hi Dave, well you need a ten footer for the small weak days or to get a friend out in the surf for the first time.

Never ridden a Shroom but the REVO and SP 25 should cover it. So a per the one in one out, wife rule you them be freed up to pick up a nice KANGA

Cheers.

Steve.

Hi everyone, I managed to get a few good surfs over the last few days on the REVO, and I don't want to be too FanBoy about it, but the board rips

The surf was around 2 to 3 foot with the odd bigger sets, running along a nice right hand bank with plenty of punch. As expected for a board of this length early entry into the wave was a given. What was revealed on these waves was how fast the REVO is. On one of the larger waves that I caught, I believed that I was too deep to make the first section. A wall was standing up as I dropped in, around 25 to 30 metres in front of me. The steep drop had me skipping back to stand over the tail of the board, a bottom turn and quick pump and the REVO took off like a rocket. It flew through that section with ease, it was the fastest I have gone on a board for a long time, and easily the fast I have been on a SUP. The flat bottom shape and lack of rocker would explain how fast the REVO is, yet the board is still super easy to turn.

As I came out of that section it only took a slight bit of heel pressure to kill the speed and start a cutback. I really had a few doubts about the fin setup on the REVO when I was deciding between it and a few other boards. Well after the last few day's they are silent now, the board responds to your inputs and has all the grip and speed you need without ever feeling stiff to turn. I never had a drop I did not feel I couldn't make and because the board zips out of your bottom turn I was always ready to roller coaster a top turn or step back for a cutback.

So if you are I'm the market for a lively, fast, yet stable longboard the REVO should be on your radar.

The crew at SUNOVA and James Casey certainly found a sweet spot with the REVO.

Cheers.

Steve.

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Rick if you read this you really need to do everyone a favour and make one of your outstanding video reviews on the Revolution Casey.

It's a true high performance longboard SUP that just about anyone can ride.

Cheers.

Steve.

ha ha... yup, I'd love to!
But, I ended up with a 9' x 32 instead of the 10 x 30 Revolution.
Surfing it is more like a "fun shape" than longboard for me, so I figured any video might confuse people who would be expecting a longboard video.... so I only snuck in one short Revolution clip in my "Endless Wave" video (at 2:00)

My 9 x 32 is super fun, fast snappy and surfs more like a shortboard for me.
I may just take it out tomorrow and shoot a session.
The funny thing is, I just put the Revolution back in my van yesterday.
I didn't surf at all for the past 6 months, while I rebuilt my new winter home in Florida, so the Revolution may be just the thing!!

Thanks Rick, that's one of my favourite videos of yours.
Showed the board I need today, a 14 search, currently on holiday at the worlds best wave the "super bank" on the Gold Coast. Watching it peel perfectly down the line at half to one foot

Really have fingers crossed for a bump in swell the next few days.

Thanks for the link, a will catch a few more of your videos again as I wait for some swell.

Cheers.

Steve.

The revolution does look like a very cool board. The question I have for you longboard experts is: will extra width be an advantage getting into tiny gutless waves? My longboard experience is limited to a 10'x27" and a 9x28". Both boards surfed great, but the 10' had definite advantages in getting into really little novelty stuff. I can only store a 9' long board and I am curious if I went with a wider 9 footer if that would enhance it's ability in the really small stuff or is there just no way to make up for the lack of waterline? I know more surface area helps with a shortboard shape, but I don't know a lot about longboards.

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Surlygringo said..
is there just no way to make up for the lack of waterline? I know more surface area helps with a shortboard shape, but I don't know a lot about longboards.

What helps with a longboard shape to glide into weak waves, apart the length:
- flatter rocker, especially in the nose (optimizing the waterline)
- wider and/or more volume in the tail, to push on the bump of the wave
- streamlined nose (pulled-in, and some belly/V), but this can hinder noseriding
- less width for paddle speed/glide

colas
Thank you for the concise and well organized answer. It is too bad nobody includes photos of the tail and nose lift on boards next to a ruler like they used to in the ancient times before video took over internet reviews. Now all we get about one of the boards most important features is a vague statement like, "and as you move towards the tail it has a fair amount of rocker." I know, I know, Gong does include rocker information, but alas it does those of us unfortunate enough to not live in Europe no good

To be honest, it is very hard to objectively judge a rocker from pics, or even in real life.

I would add that for small conditions, using a single fin is MUCH faster than a tri or quad fin setup. Side fins add a lot of drag, but are useful when you dig a rail in turns. In small conditiond you do not need this added rail hold.

PS: For a long time, the Gong shaper considered the rocker curve and rail profile as "trade secrets" and refused to publish them. Of course dedicated copycats could always buy a board and copy it, but he felt he had to delay as much as possible the copies. This is why on the Gong site you will find the total rocker, but not anything more precise (e.g: the nose and tail rocker).

This is how I measure rocker, put board on top of washing machine or dryer with bottom down and centered then measure distance from nose and tail to ground. Not precise to mm's but good to see how different boards compare and to give shapers ballpark idea. I compared to cad information I was given on shape and it's surprisingly accurate.

sisurf,
that is my favorite so far of ways I have heard of to measure rocker.

Colas,
I agree that it is difficult to tell exactly what the rocker line is from a picture even if tail and nose lift measurements are included. I do however find a profile shot(like the one drive the bus posted above) gives me some idea of whether it is more of a progressive curve or a staged rocker with exaggerated tail flip which is very helpful. Now if somebody would just throw one of the 9' revolutions up on their washing machine and take some measurements of tail and nose lift I would be ecstatic. The revolutions definitely look like they have a flatter rocker than other performance longboards I have seen, which would be great for some of the conditions I use a longboard in. It would be nice to be able to compare the rocker numbers with boards I have ridden before ordering a board as I don't have the luxury of looking at the boards side by side before buying.

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Surlygringo said..
I agree that it is difficult to tell exactly what the rocker line is from a picture

Just to prove the point: even though the Gong shaper was so paranoid to not provide the rocker dimensions, he had no problem publishing pics of the boards viewed from the side, as he was confident it was impossible to deduce the rocker from them.