Hi,

Have a chance on a cheap 9'6" TC SUP, but am a little worried about the hull under the nose making it too tippy.

Has anyone used one that can comment on the stability? Past boards are an 8'11 Allwave & 9'2" JP Pro, no problems on either.

This will be a do-it-all board for crap chop to clean stuff.

Cheers
Damo

Anyone?

maybe ask Tom?

You would think that if he had his name on the board he should gird up his gonads and at least do a little PR?

Plenty of GSI fuelled marketing about, I was hoping for some real world advice from those that have tried them!

Maybe Tom is the only one to have ridden his boards?

Hi Damo
lve rode both the long grain models and yes they are a tippy board .
im north of the 100 kg club and I owed the 11 ft longrain @ 170 Ltr . They paddle really well and the down the line speed is great .
for a modern sup they are heavy and prone to shatter cracks on the rails from the paddle .
if you can handle to tippy ness these boards are great in waves .
i rode my 11ft in tiny point waves and could paddle onto anything with great glide.
hope this helps ??

Yeah they are a tad tippy. The trade-off is excellent glide and drive through the turns. You won't miss a wave on these boards.
It depends on the rider, but if you are looking at a board that is within your 'comfort zone' in terms of volume, length and stability you will be fine. If you are pushing into a board that is close to as small as you would go, maybe go up a size.
We have a few of demo boards that are 20% off.

I found the loose leaf too heavy it's stability was ok but I went with a 9,0 laird it's great in all conditions it's fast, loose, stable. It bloody rips, loves a nose ride too. Go the 9,6 if you want longer it's great also. But 9,0 is perfect.

I rode one of the smaller sizes and it was almost unrideable in anything other than perfect glass. Absolutely the least stable board I ever tried.

The guy that I borrowed it from has mad skills, 7'8" 7"10" Starby Pros, and he didn't like either..

Hi Damo i rode the long grain 10 and did not like the weight.The board did not suit me but it was damn quick.At the time i was riding an 8.10 Allwave and same size Starby wide point.Ive finally settled on the 8.10 Sunova speed and luv it.Good luck

Just a follow up on this, I ended up buying the Loose Leaf as it was too tempting to pass up at the price offered!

In terms of stability its not terrible (noting I am 80kg and this is the largest one at 9'6" X 29.5"), but it is not exactly a stable-table like other boards of similar size. Absolutley no problems in cleaner conditions, but I do take the occasional swim in bumpy/choppy stuff. I'd rate it as slightly less stable that my sons 8'5" Mana.

The tradeoff is on the wave, this thing is just so fast and loose! Just so much fun, its easily the best surfing board of this size that I have ridden.
I can get full roundhouse cutbacks & top to bottom turns in little 2 foot waves, and it has sooo much glide & paddles into little bumps easily.
It weighs about 10.5kg, and I dont notice this once in the water (if anything, I think this adds to the glide & section beating capability).

Overall, it does not quite fit the 'one board for everything' role that I hoped it would as I'm still a bit wary of taking it out in really big lumpy stuff. But a great fun board otherwise, glad I got it.

Thanks to all that responded.

I'm riding the 8'8 and love it. She's a bit tippy but easy once you adapt. Absolutely awesome on a wave and can catch just about anything. Plenty of glide for a shorter board. I'm running as a thruster with the smaller TC side fins and a shapers 6.5 cutaway.

Good thread this. Any updates from user of the Loose Leaf? How does the build quality rate, does it hold up over time? Any info appreciated. It looks like such a great board, but i mainly surf junk, so may need more stability. Thanks in advance (that usually kills a thread. )
I think i want one...
Cheers

Wow so cool to hear all of your takes on our first offering of the Loose Leaf & Long Grain model.
The slightly heavier weight with Blane Chambers inspired chine rail and displacement hull are directed toward reducing large surface area drag associated with SUP in comparison to short board surfing I am personally used to.
I love the feeling of down the line drive and momentum without compromising glide speed in and out of turns. With our mutual froth onboard Blane was able to deliver in the prototyping and subsequent testing which has been carried out on the North Shore, Ohau since 2010.
This first offering was aimed at intermediate to advance SUP wave riders.
Those who were a little challenged by the lack of volume and instability will be happy we are addressing this issue in future model upgrades coming soon in version 2.0 Loose Leaf & Long Grain.

whats a reasonable eta on 2.0?

In elopement now. I would say Oct 16.

Cheers

Kel @ GSI

if you need any 'development testing' feedback happy to help

Hey Damo. Thanks for your feedback. I'm in a similar situation to what you were in, so would appreciate your advice.

I'm from Peru, 82kg, and ride a JP Pro 9'2" x 30"(136L). I really like it. I use a 5.5" FCS back fin and it's loose and fun. I use it for 2-4ft and also for 6-8ft.

I'm about to buy a loose leaf and was hoping to go down in size to try sharper turns in small waves, but the 9'0" is 29" and only 120L. Plus the chine rails probably makes it even more unstable.

I see you got the 9'6", which is more unstable in every way (width, L, rails) than the 9'2" JP, but it's longer, so my question is if you think it's the right move to get more unstable board, but going up in length, which doesn't seem to help in small surf.

My second question is what do you think of the 9'0" option.

Thanks and cheers from Peru.
Javier

PS. It's already Jan'17 and no word (al least on this side of the world) on the loose leaf 2.0....

Feedback from everyone else is also appreciated!

I picked up the 8'8 115l model as my large SUP and only used it for 45mins in messy waves so far. Broken knee stopped further play but i got a glimpse of the glide the board offers. I choose the board as i wanted a flowing wave board but not going do the longboard SUP route. Its weight was one of the factors I wanted. Its windy in WA and over the years i discovered having a slightly heavy board helps get the board down the face and smooths the chop on the face. I run a lightweight tiny Vbox for glassy days. I tried out SMIK, sunova and JP boards in 110l-115l 29' width before settling on the Loose leaf.

Stability wise I find it great, I'm 80kg. Since knee break I've been using the board for rehab in flat ocean and been in windy choppy conditions with no issues with stability as i get my knee working again. It may initially feel tippy when stationary but with a bit of motion its firms up. I find in windy,chop conditions i stand slightly forward to push the nose down.
Interestingly my wife has been SUP with me during my recovery, she's classic "i'll be rubbish etc need a big board' so she joined me at start of week on a JP 8'10 pro 129l used for 3 days then I suggested she try the Loose leaf, 5mins of adjustment and she prefers that as its agile and she can control it easily than the JP. She falls off less too and is faster. She tried the vbox out but that was too reactive for her.

Construction/impact resistance seems ok compared to JP board. I put a ding into it on first wave outing. Just a rail dent on a rock. (no rail tape) It looked terrible initially then i realized the clear top coat and lightly colour under coats show the cracks up. However got it repaired and expected the guy to not be able to replicate the finish with the woven cloth etc. Cannot see the repair, he pulled it out perfectly so happy with construction.
Cannot wait to use the loose leaf up in exmouth waves but the wave surf aspect review will have to wait till august. The board looks amazing, very different under hull to most SUP. Flat deck is really good. I like different looking boards and this one feels special.

I'd also love to hear people's opinions of these boards. I am in California and have ridden many PSH boards. I am 72kg and always felt the 9'0 PSH AA at 120liters was a good fit for me. By contrast, the 8'6 Ripper at 103 liters did not suit my style and the soft reef waves that I surf, although I was stable on it. I favor a longboard style, although I fear the Long Grain is just too large for what I want. Can anyone weigh in on the difference in float and glide of the 8'8 and 9'0 versions of the Loose Leaf? The Long Grain appears to be impossible to find over here in the US anyway, although it appears I can get the last of the Loose Leaf v1 right now at a reasonable price. Any opinions greatly appreciated!

I have been riding the Loose Leaf 8'8 for about 6 months now and before this board I was on the 8'9 hull ripper for around 3 years, I love Blane Chambers boards and am a massive fan of the chined rails with a quad fin setup.
The loose leaf is definitely tippier and tracks more when paddling but on the wave it accelerates quicker and has a few more gears than the hull ripper.
I surf this board a lot on a fast sand bottom point where you need heaps of down the line speed to make the sections and this thing has no problems at all, I found the hull ripper easier to get on rail at speed it seemed to roll into each turn through that hull nose where the loose leaf surfs a lot flatter through turns and you really need that back foot planted on the tail to get in on edge especially if you are really leaning into your paddle through a turn.
Over all both these boards are insane and am totally stoked with the loose leaf although I am still getting use to some of its quirks I'm not overly concerned about the tippiness its definitely not a deal breaker and I only really notice it in super choppy conditions.
I would love to hear if anyone has any thoughts on Blane Chambers HD2 boards they look amazing!
Just for reference I weigh 89kegs..

I got the LL 8'4 (96L) late last year, caught a few knee highs on it in Oz, brought it to Bali and had 3 days on it before heading off somewhere else. Anyway i finally got back to it this week and have surfed it for another 6 days at beach and reef breaks from 2ft to 6ft. I am 75Kg.

When i first got it last year i thought it was too stiff with the supplied TC quads. i tried it as a thruster with both C-drives and FCS 3D large centre up front of box and each of the TC pairs as sides - best setup was with the smalls but i wanted some more side fin when it got big and the TC fronts were too big. This week i started with the 3D large and FCSII performers (medium) as sides - it had great glide in to the wave but seemed to max out speedwise in the bigger stuff. Also the big base on the 3D large meant i got pulled around a bit with the water movement. When the swell subsided mid week i took out the centre and put a pair of FCSII accelerators (grom) as rears and surfed beachies. This was heaps of fun but all the fins are less than 13 sq inches and more flexi than the TC quads so if my take off wasn't direct and i tried to drive off the rail too early it would bog.

This morning i completed the full circle and put the TC quads back on looking for a bit more drive. Had a 1000KJ swell incoming tide, reef/sand bottom and had some ripper rides. It feels very solid on steep drops and behaves well if you have to quickly point it along the face, heaps of speed, feels awesome bottom turning and powering down a wall on the backhand and big arcing turns and cut backs are smooth and fast. It also breaks free and slides on a front hack for longer and with more control than any other board i have ridden. Yeah its tippy and the choppy sunset sessions are hard work but in the mornings i'm da man.

The Short Version: the Loose Leaf is way different to other boards due to its bottom shape, you need a bit of time to feel your way around it and find your sweet spot and balance. Using it first as a thruster with a big stable centre and with flexier quads gave me time to get to know the board because it can feel twitchy with the stiff TC quads. Now i am more comfy on it i will leave on the TCs for better drive and control.

In terms of stability it is similar to a Jimmy 7'10 Supertech. I find the JP 8'0 to be more stable.

PS - i have heard of FCSIIs dropping out on some boards but i haven't experienced this. On the LL they feel a very secure fit but after hearing the rumours i put a screw in the back of each box this morning. But they are great when you have the board on the scooter in not-so-squeezy Bali traffic and you can easily remove and keep fins in your pocket for the ride.

unfortunately i don't have any photos.

I got 9'0 Loose Leaf v1 late Summer of 2017 . I was originally looking for a shorter model 8'8 as am 65kgs, however none available in Europe /UK so went with 9'0 and now really well pleased with choice . It's been my go-to ride since we got some decent Autumn swells and it really came in to its own : on bigger and late drops have no worries about pearling with its rocker and nose set up. Yep it is a wee bit of handful in choppy stuff but so are my Lopez 8'10 and 8'5 so nothing new. Have LL set up as quad and find it stable for me in bottom and off the tops with back foot planted plus and goes like a bat outa down the line .