I've had a few models of Sunova's now ,and just thought i would share a few findings and hope Creek comes in on the his findings .
i will just talk about the new v2 flow 8'8 .. first ,good speed ..nice cut on the face of the wave and a good lip basher ,nice for cut backs ,and fits into my quiver as been a clean surf day board ,does not feel like 126 litres ,feels way smaller ,not a great deal easier to ride than the older 8'7 flow due to the refined thinned out rails ,which make it way tippier than a full railed board ..it tips from side to side very easily ,just the other day i almost had to prone paddle it out the back in choppy surf ,it was a big day ,i really struggled to stay up on it .The chop seems to get on top of the board and tip it over and sink it ,where a full rail board would pop back up out of the water with the extra foam in the rail ,
so you could go the next size up ,so it feels more like a 30 wide board ,still a great board ,but harder to use than you would think .The placid 8,7 ,stable ,easy to use ,top to bottom turns nice ,and can take it out in nasty stuff due to its width ,as loose as the flow if not looser ,the boys at home reckon I turn better on that one ,the brown one they call it .I have been using different size fins ,changing a lot ,its weird ,but i find in big surf i put bigger fins on the rear and it performs better ,and goes faster ,loosing that slow feeling it use to give me on bigger waves ...it really is a good allrounder and i highly recommend it ,i have spoken to a few people who hated it at first ,but once you find where to put your feet its a good time board ...acids .9.1
.not many people buy the acid anymore ..but it really is better in big sucky waves ,it does and can dump speed easy to set a barrel up ,but that also is its down fall ,it will loose its speed on turns unless driven hard ,but i feel it makes it too hard to come out of turns due to the lose of speed ,it is however a very good reef break board and paddles very fast ,which gives it the ability to pick waves up from way out ,I really piss the surfers off on this one .
I am keen to try some of the pro models on offer this year ...SP25 ,falcon ,wedge, kanga ..I hope creek can give us some in sight on these ones .

The Acid 9'1 is such as awesome oversized sup for me especially when I need to paddle distances to get to a spot , or if it's windy .
If i had to pick three boards only in order in terms of what i have it (and given i never got in anything bigger than 3-4 ft and mainly less than 2ft) it would be:
Acid 9,1 - by go to in any windy days when or when i need extra paddle power
ECS Slab 7'5 - such an underrated board in smaller stuff and can handle sloppy chop as well
Speeed 711 - Such a nice board when it's cleaner . Mid tide and offshore this board is heaven

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Tardy said..
I've had a few models of Sunova's now ,and just thought i would share a few findings and hope Creek comes in on the his findings .
i will just talk about the new v2 flow 8'8 .. first ,good speed ..nice cut on the face of the wave and a good lip basher ,nice for cut backs ,and fits into my quiver as been a clean surf day board ,does not feel like 126 litres ,feels way smaller ,not a great deal easier to ride than the older 8'7 flow due to the refined thinned out rails ,which make it way tippier than a full railed board ..it tips from side to side very easily ,just the other day i almost had to prone paddle it out the back in choppy surf ,it was a big day ,i really struggled to stay up on it .The chop seems to get on top of the board and tip it over and sink it ,where a full rail board would pop back up out of the water with the extra foam in the rail ,
so you could go the next size up ,so it feels more like a 30 wide board ,still a great board ,but harder to use than you would think .The placid 8,7 ,stable ,easy to use ,top to bottom turns nice ,and can take it out in nasty stuff due to its width ,as loose as the flow if not looser ,the boys at home reckon I turn better on that one ,the brown one they call it .I have been using different size fins ,changing a lot ,its weird ,but i find in big surf i put bigger fins on the rear and it performs better ,and goes faster ,loosing that slow feeling it use to give me on bigger waves ...it really is a good allrounder and i highly recommend it ,i have spoken to a few people who hated it at first ,but once you find where to put your feet its a good time board ...acids .9.1
.not many people buy the acid anymore ..but it really is better in big sucky waves ,it does and can dump speed easy to set a barrel up ,but that also is its down fall ,it will loose its speed on turns unless driven hard ,but i feel it makes it too hard to come out of turns due to the lose of speed ,it is however a very good reef break board and paddles very fast ,which gives it the ability to pick waves up from way out ,I really piss the surfers off on this one .
I am keen to try some of the pro models on offer this year ...SP25 ,falcon ,wedge, kanga ..I hope creek can give us some in sight on these ones .

Hi Tardy... I am glad you mentioned that you feel the Casey/Flow (V2) is tippier than your others.

I feel exactly the same way, but I have seen other here say it is super stable, so it's good to have the conversation.

I am passionate about getting critical info out to people, especially if they are seeking solid stability.
On the Flow V2, I have decided to order a bigger one.
Currently 9'0... going 9'4, so I can use it more an enjoy the benefits of the shape.
I like my 9'0 a lot... but it wears me out.

The Placid is possibly the most stable and easiest to ride shape in the Sunova line.
Nothing to learn, just a solid easy performer that is very snappy.
BUT... I don't like it longer than 8'11

The SP25 is the board I surf the best.
It is fast, snappy and a full on performance machine in small to medium waves.
The width through the fin area may begin to struggle in OH juice

The Sp25 has a technical point that may trip some riders up.
While it is a very stable board, the very pointy nose requires a bit of rear foot finesse.
The pointy nose draws the wide middle in so quickly that the "shoulders" are pronounced and can "catch" on a bottom turn if you fail to keep the nose up. (pics)
This may be a tougher for intermediates to deal with and the Placid will be the better choice.

For a tail surfer like you Tardy, the SP25 would be amazing!
You kill it from the stomp pad, so I think you will be wild about the SP25

FYI... my 8'11 SP25 is way more stable than my 9'0 Flow V2, but the Flow is less technical to surf.
My performance isn't near as snappy on the Flow as it is on the SP25

My 9'4 Acid was my goto small wave ripper... but the tail and I didn't get along in OH waves.
My 9'1 Acid was super hard for me stability wise, but was flat out ripper in all waves I rode it!

The Wedge is possibly the best board ever made.... or the worst
Depending on if you have the skills to ride it.
I have been trying to master the Wedge for almost 2 years, so I am on the low end of ability for this board.
I have never made a video on the Wedge specifically... I am still not qualified to review it.
Maybe after the Hurricane Larry swell, I will have enough experience on it.
IMO, It needs to be ridden in the smallest size possible to really unleash it.

There is so much performance and speed on tap but you must be agile and strong to unlock it.
I honestly have witnessed Daniel Hughes doing things on a Wedge that no one else can do..... the speed he generates out of a gutless wave is stunning, but it requires leg power for full extension snaps.
It is so fast on bigger waves that I feel like I am trying to tame a wild bull.
Not for the faint of heart... but a weapon under the right feet.

Kanga... you all know my love for the Kanga... easiest combination of stability and performance
AND, it works amazing in the bigger sizes, unlike many of the others.

I am ordering an SP24 9'7 for next winter.... I am super stoked to ride that in bigger swells.

Tardy, the SP25 is a great call for your waves ... you will kill it on that board!
I don't think the bigger size will hurt you.
My SP25 is 1 inch bigger than my Placid, so you would be in the exact same zone with the 8'8





8'11 SP25 as noted above

Just to throw it in the mix i had my 10'x28" Revolution out today. Pulled up in the carpark next to another regular SUP tragic, he asked why I had a longboard on the roof. I laughed. I absolutely love this board with Quobbas fitted. I'll admit it's a bloody handful around the heave and surge of a point break, or the backwash of a big tide, but It feels so natural to me. Easy on a wave, Big sweeping turns, freight train glide. Might do a custom yet.....

Disclaimer: I am far from a "normal" SUP user. I am inclined to throw an overly large board over too steep a lip, dance to the tail, and hope for the best....if she slows down I'm up the nose urging her on.....

Thanks Tardy and rick! Always nice to have a "normal" user feedback..

Thanks Tardy and Creek for the updates, always great to hear feedback from you Guys..

Don't right off the Flash. I have had one for a few years and rate it highly for higher end performance surfing (8'6 x 29.5 110 litres)

I have ridden the Placid and the Flow and they surf in a predictable friendly manner and are nice and stable in the sub 9 ft range.

The Flash is faster and can be surfed harder in the pocket and turns really tight as a thruster set up. I love mine in both punchy beachies and long pointbreak waves from 2 - 6 ft. Only criticism was an unexpected major bottom delam which was suprising considering the board goes from beach to inside car to garage (never on the roof) or left baking in my car. Its been fixed and stills surf so good and is a keeper in my quiver.

Not sure if Sunova is still making the Flash?

Maybe Creek might know.

Thanks Rick for the briefing on the SP25 ....good info as usual .the third pic looks as if the board is at your limit .very low in the water ..but it might be just the wave

G boots interesting quiver ..good to see the acid in there .

Brenno ..you like your longs board ..thats ok .wazza yes flash is still a contender ..i had the 9 ,it was to big for me ,felt the nose was to full

and its still on the sunova site .available for ordering ...

I've ordered some Quobba fins to see if i can release some more thrills out of the boards ..been using shaper and FCS ,,so I will report back .

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Tardy said..
Thanks Rick for the briefing on the SP25 ....good info as usual .the third pic looks as if the board is at your limit .very low in the water ..but it might be just the wave

G boots interesting quiver ..good to see the acid in there .

Brenno ..you like your longs board ..thats ok .wazza yes flash is still a contender ..i had the 9 ,it was to big for me ,felt the nose was to full

and its still on the sunova site .available for ordering ...

I've ordered some Quobba fins to see if i can release some more thrills out of the boards ..been using shaper and FCS ,,so I will report back .

I wasn't showing surfing, I was showing how the "shoulder" on the SP25 catching on several waves.
I guess those pics need to be viewed full screen on a desktop.

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supthecreek said..

Tardy said..
Thanks Rick for the briefing on the SP25 ....good info as usual .the third pic looks as if the board is at your limit .very low in the water ..but it might be just the wave

G boots interesting quiver ..good to see the acid in there .

Brenno ..you like your longs board ..thats ok .wazza yes flash is still a contender ..i had the 9 ,it was to big for me ,felt the nose was to full

and its still on the sunova site .available for ordering ...

I've ordered some Quobba fins to see if i can release some more thrills out of the boards ..been using shaper and FCS ,,so I will report back .

I wasn't showing surfing, I was showing how the "shoulder" on the SP25 catching on several waves.
I guess those pics need to be viewed full screen on a desktop.

ok understand .....yes i can see it now ...

what this means in my view ..get up the back as fast as possible ..get the nose free ..hhmm makes me think about it differently ..
it must have a very steep nose kick on it just at the end to give maximin board in the water to allow for speed and glide in smaller waves ,

Gday Tardy , good info there at the start of this thread . I have a placid 8'7 that I'm just just not bonding with , I've a couple of good surfs on it in hollow waves but most times I don't like it ?? do you run quad setup on yours or thruster ?
I have an 8 '10 speed which is a weapon but I want a board for hollow beachys and I'm trying to like the placid
Richard

I had a similar experience with the 8.3 placid,bought it from a guy that could not get it going ,and I had the same result,tried lots of fin combos and wave types,sold it on.On the plus side it was very stable.

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ricko said..
Gday Tardy , good info there at the start of this thread . I have a placid 8'7 that I'm just just not bonding with , I've a couple of good surfs on it in hollow waves but most times I don't like it ?? do you run quad setup on yours or thruster ?
I have an 8 '10 speed which is a weapon but I want a board for hollow beachys and I'm trying to like the placid
Richard

Gidday Richard , it is more of a trick board for medium size waves I feel and you need to be on the tail to unleash the magic , I run mine as a quad All the time , it gives it a bit more speed and direction , but if it's hollow waves I grab my 8'8 flow V2 thinned out rails , a lot faster board , even though a bit tippier it does draw a nice line on steep waves , I talked to Jimmy about the flow and he said it was his favourite, as it is mine , I do use my placid just as much ,as it has more stability in wind and chop and the width helps it glide through weak waves and it stay's loose . but stoked to have both placid and flow , I use my 9,1 acid for big waves , it has more of a gun shape .my magic 3

Mmm , might have to trade it for a faster board.
I'll swap fins for slightly bigger and give it another go , we have some swell coming tomorrow so ??
I love the grip and drive I get out of my speed , should just get a smaller one of those

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ricko said..
Mmm , might have to trade it for a faster board.
I'll swap fins for slightly bigger and give it another go , we have some swell coming tomorrow so ??
I love the grip and drive I get out of my speed , should just get a smaller one of those

yes i find the placid likes slightly bigger fins than my flow ..i use large fronts and medium rears ..and I can still slide the tail out on big cut backs ,
i really like the placid ..it is very manoeuvrable .but it is very different to the speed ..flow has similar speed to the speed but more manoeuvvrable ..I had the older 8.7 flow for a while but struggled with the smallness .cause I'm a lump and oldish.so the new 8'8 is a bit easier ,but not as stable as i thought it would be ,as the thinner rails make it tip over ...when standing there ..and hasn't got the float in the rails to pop back up again ...so its tippy for a 31 wide ,feels more like a 30.5 wide .but once you get it going it really is a high performance oriented board I've done some mad stuff on it .I like the way it powers out of the turns hardly loosing speed ..where the placid does dump off the speed quickly ..so thats maybe what you are not liking coming from the speed ..you kinda have to hold the nose down a bit more and keep it flatter ,as the tail will really dig in ,so more snappy moves ..anyway try the bigger fins out ..and see what ya reckon ..that will give the tail more lift and speed out of turns ..took me 3 days to figure out what fins work best in it ..now i rarely take them out ..

That's dead on , I was playing yesterday in shoulder high waves and found you've gotta be quick to get back on the front foot , a small weight shift too far back and easy to stall the placid ' I'm old and ginger and swear lots when I fk up ' so I Iose my shte with it ?? yet a couple of sessions have been bang on
cheers for your insight , I thought I was going crazy ????

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ricko said..
That's dead on , I was playing yesterday in shoulder high waves and found you've gotta be quick to get back on the front foot , a small weight shift too far back and easy to stall the placid ' I'm old and ginger and swear lots when I fk up ' so I Iose my shte with it ?? yet a couple of sessions have been bang on
cheers for your insight , I thought I was going crazy ????

check this vid i made a few days ago you can kinda see the speed difference on the boards ...in the turns ..it might be what you are looking for in a board more speed ..I do swear a bit too .lol ....but you just gotta keep pumping the placid a bit more ..it still will do some crazy turns ..

a good friend of mine cantsupenough uses c-drives on his placid that might be worth a try too ....

Faaark me , what a spot , I'd struggle to ever go to work if that was my local . It looks like a postcard

Well , what a difference , chucked the stock quad fins back on , paddled out into some shoulder high sets with a nice bit of power. I slowed everything down and tried to concentrate on foot placement ( as well as not getting bashed on the reef??) LOW tide today
The little board was ripping ,nice bottom to top turns linking good sections together , couple of nice floaters ????and squeezing some speed out of it ??..still not speed speed but good fun . On a bigger day I think it still needs larger fins but the quad setup gives heaps more drive / grip

thanks Tardy ??you've gotta get yer back foot in the right spot and the board lights up

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ricko said..
Well , what a difference , chucked the stock quad fins back on , paddled out into some shoulder high sets with a nice bit of power. I slowed everything down and tried to concentrate on foot placement ( as well as not getting bashed on the reef??) LOW tide today
The little board was ripping ,nice bottom to top turns linking good sections together , couple of nice floaters ????and squeezing some speed out of it ??..still not speed speed but good fun . On a bigger day I think it still needs larger fins but the quad setup gives heaps more drive / grip

thanks Tardy ??you've gotta get yer back foot in the right spot and the board lights up

welcome mate ,glad you've got it working ,I use shaper fins on mine because they have a bit more flex than the stock fins ,
large fronts and medium rears ...
The placid's speed is pretty chill ..but that really works on the slower waves ,you don't have to slow it down for turns ..just go full
tilt and smash it as hard as you can .and yes floaters are in the boards capability for sure it really is a sharp turner ..quite snappy .
the rails are rounded ,so its very forgiving you can get away with a few stuff ups and still stay up .

heres another vid i made ,almost 2 years ago ,when i first discovered the magic ,has the shaper fins on in the vid ,
surf was on shore and messy ,but the placid didn't mind ,it was a breath of fresh air jumping on the placid after surfing the 9,1 acid for 2 years ..instantly feel in love with the extra looseness ..yeow I still ride the 9.1 acid in big waves ,its a machine in big waves ,they say they designed the placid off the acid ,but its nothing like it really ,i guess they both have 125 litres

That's such a cool surf spot
yeah I was looking at those particular 'shapers fronts'
keep the vids coming ... I'm back to work tomoz for a couple of weeks , no waves for me

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wazza66 said..
Don't right off the Flash. I have had one for a few years and rate it highly for higher end performance surfing (8'6 x 29.5 110 litres)

I have ridden the Placid and the Flow and they surf in a predictable friendly manner and are nice and stable in the sub 9 ft range.

The Flash is faster and can be surfed harder in the pocket and turns really tight as a thruster set up. I love mine in both punchy beachies and long pointbreak waves from 2 - 6 ft. Only criticism was an unexpected major bottom delam which was suprising considering the board goes from beach to inside car to garage (never on the roof) or left baking in my car. Its been fixed and stills surf so good and is a keeper in my quiver.

Not sure if Sunova is still making the Flash?

Maybe Creek might know.

Hi wazza
oops... I missed your question.

Yes... the Flash is always in production.
In fact, I finally got a 9'0 Flash last winter, but since it was a fairly well know board, I always had other boards that I wanted to get footage of, and never seemed to pull it out when it would have been perfect.
I have to use it more!

I ride an oversized Acid 8'10 @120L and it is a keeper! I have had loads of boards but the Acid for me rips in waist high mush to grunty head high++!
I use Maui Fin Co Kai V2 fins and they made a great board amazing!

Nice one steveo,it sure is one of my favourites too ..it will tackle any size wave and can be ridden from the middle ,the nose just points down the wave and goes ..its a great shape and has the ability to dump off speed for turning .
I converted mine into a Quad set up as well ,for those that ride reef breaks its one to consider ,but you will have to order one
as it s popularity has dropped with so many new models on the market

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ricko said..
Gday Tardy , good info there at the start of this thread . I have a placid 8'7 that I'm just just not bonding with , I've a couple of good surfs on it in hollow waves but most times I don't like it ?? do you run quad setup on yours or thruster ?
I have an 8 '10 speed which is a weapon but I want a board for hollow beachys and I'm trying to like the placid
Richard

It's great to see that Tardy has helped make your board come alive. After my first 4-5 sessions on the Placid I was ready to move on. It just did not click. I know nothing about fins but I popped my c-drives on (thruster) and now the Placid is my go-to board. I have been tempted to try other fin combos, but if it ain't broke...

As Tardy says, it is not the board I would take out for hollow, fast waves. The new Flow or the Acid is great for that (I love the feel of the Acid when you have steeper waves and you want to just race along for maximum speed). But when you want to go top to bottom and have some fun, the Placid is perfect.

After several years and recently getting back into it, have just acquired 8'3 Placid as a gentle all around entry back to surf. Love it so far, very user friendly bumps over waves very easily and paddles well. Not any significant waves yet and can feel and see that it will work well as an everyday beach break board but when it turns on I'm gonna want something narrower for sure. Set up now as standard fins quad, will try that in first waves and then switch out to standard thruster. It reminds me a bit of the old JP wide body surf of several years ago but more refined. I can see myself either getting a Flash as second "better wave" board or simply swapping this out once I've had a few surfs to dial myself back in. I reckon the Flash looks good as an all rounder also?

I did forget to say the insane ...I do have a 9,11 insane which i find too long for me but amazing in huge waves ,but the shape really is nice ,SO I have decided to get a custom insane with a acid rocker line and add a litre over my 8'8 flow ,so 127,26 litres 8,10 x31,1/8 wide
looking to use it in bigger waves and reef breaks ,whatcha reckon on this plan ,? of this Insane Acid .

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surgolrun said..
After several years and recently getting back into it, have just acquired 8'3 Placid as a gentle all around entry back to surf. Love it so far, very user friendly bumps over waves very easily and paddles well. Not any significant waves yet and can feel and see that it will work well as an everyday beach break board but when it turns on I'm gonna want something narrower for sure. Set up now as standard fins quad, will try that in first waves and then switch out to standard thruster. It reminds me a bit of the old JP wide body surf of several years ago but more refined. I can see myself either getting a Flash as second "better wave" board or simply swapping this out once I've had a few surfs to dial myself back in. I reckon the Flash looks good as an all rounder also?

I love my Flash (8'6) as an allrounder but more so when it gets a bit bigger and cleaner. It really comes alive when the waves have more size and also bulletproof construction as mine is the older black carbon tape down the centre. I ride it as a thruster with the smaller 85 centre rear fin for better turnability. Love the continuous rail curve profile from tip to tail of the rounded pin tail.

I rode the 8'3 Placid for a while and found it very easy to ride but not as fast and performance orientated as the Flash.

"whatcha reckon on this plan ,?", Looks like a board for good curved waves, not sure how much more wave catching and stable it will be than the 8'8 flow you commented on in original post, but should be turnier and fit into good waves better. How big a waves do you envision riding this with? I'm no shaper but I'm not a huge fan of the pulled in flipped nose, but I'm sure sunova has it figured out a lot better than me.