I'm not sure why there is quite so much focus in this thread on Tom. These are clearly, in each design detail, Blane Chambers designs, and you'd have thought that the contributors to this forum would be savvy enough to know that. So there can be no question of Tom "jumping on the bandwagon" (even ignoring the fact that Tom has almost done as much to promote SUP surfing as eg. Gerry Lopez, Laird, Dave, etc). Sure, these are no doubt Blane's attempts to design boards for Tom's style of riding. But design aspects like the thinned out nose and tail, the chined rails etc are all things Blane was doing waaaay ahead of everyone else. He's an innovator, and I for one are delighted that he is spearheading the recent growth in performance longboard SUP.

I appreciate that some people like to try to emulate prone shortboarding in their SUP surfing (usually badly) but my own references are more prone longboarding. Up to now most of the longboard shapes have been crossover designs rather than out and out surf SUPs.

With Tom as the figurehead/test pilot and Blane as the shaper, this is one of the most interesting rider/shaper combinations you could imagine, and I'm going to be trying to persuade my local surf shop to get a few of these in, because these seem every bit as innovative in terms of longboarding progression as eg. the Tomo/Vanguard shapes are for short SUP. I very much hope that in time there becomes a divergence in SUP surfing along a shortboard/longboard axis, and the innovations this year like this one (and maybe eg. the rumoured new Naish 10ft performance longboard SUP) might in time be seen as a key turning point. Then Blane once again will have been right up there at the forefront of this innovation.

The thread has lost the Balne Chambers question and influence..so here goes...I saw these at Beach Beat Caloundra today and thought to myself ..these look just like my Blane Chambers PSH AA Hull ripper!....Thick middle, thin nose and tail, and the chined rail...and then I realised I don't need to buy one because I already have one! I love my PSH. Incredible board..turns on a dim, paddles straight, surfs beautifully...the saying is "they paddle like they are a foot longer, and they surf like they are a foot shorter". I bought mine originally from Balmoral Paddleboards, too. I've had a Naish Mana, a Starboard widepoint, a Laguna Bay....the PSH is sooo much better..and I'd imagine the Carroll is the same..don't hesitate as they have some credentials..

I still hanging out to try one, Roar Industries had 1 before xmas and said they were getting more demo's after Jan. I asked once if they have arrived and they said still waiting…I asked again a week or so ago and now they don't even reply. All the feedback so far has been good and the weight is what it is. I wait in hope with eftpos ready someone on the GC eventually gets some demo's.

Great to see plenty of interest in these boards and Blane's influence. There is movement in the PSH camp which hopefully turns into more innovative boards coming our way next season.

We currently have the 11', 10'4 and 9'6 TC boards available in Demo at Balmoral Paddlesurf.

burleighlocal said...

paul.j said..

burleighlocal said...
I still hanging out to try one, Roar Industries had 1 before xmas and said they were getting more demo's after Jan. I asked once if they have arrived and they said still waiting…I asked again a week or so ago and now they don't even reply. All the feedback so far has been good and the weight is what it is. I wait in hope with eftpos ready someone on the GC eventually gets some demo's.

Hey mate not sure who you asked at the shop but we reply to everyone so not sure what happened there!! As far as demos go everyone is still in the same boat on this with no demos available at the moment. Sorry wish we could help more on this but at this stage having a board to look at is the best we can do.

Jacko

question was on Facebook…maybe you can post it here when you have demo's.

cheers

Yeah facebook is a hard one to ask and get replys sometimes as not everything gets seen, like most businesses we always prefer email or face to face for questions as alot of stuff can get missed on Facebook. If we do finally get the demo's we will be sure to put it out that we have them to try!! Pitty they wont be around this week as it looks like some fun wave later on and into next week!

A bit more from T.C

DavidJohn said..
Awesome vid..

Sure this an awesome video.
I'm into what Tom said about his fins specially made for SUP. He knows how setting up and designing fins on those wide SUP tails .
He has been riding wide tail for years and know to make dig a SUP rail while carving

www.tomcarrollpaddlesurf.com/gsi/

I had the psh hull ripper changed the rear fin to a shapers one was fiddily but works just drop the baseplate in the slot drop in fin then tap board on an angle to get the plate under the fin hole and drop screw in

Has anyone ridden the 8'8 Loose Leaf?

I'm 5'10, 75kg and after a shorter board with decent glide, hoping this shape would fit the bill?

I had a ride of a 10'4 Long grain demo earlier this year and although the surf was tiny if felt pretty good. Would like to ride it in some head high surf to get a better feel for it. I'm interested to know now that these have been around for a while now how they are holding up durability wise.