Hi All,

Currently I am on a LSD 8.10 x 29, 115liters and I weigh about 75kg, advanced intermediate I like to think...lol
Great board, stable, super strong (shows no wear whatsoever which is amazing as this is my first board)
It goes great when the surf is up but feels a bit sluggish on the smaller stuff. It just needs a bit more speed before it kicks in.
Usually we get a semi clean beach break 1-4ft. Not very powerful.

Yesterday I got about 10 minutes on the 2015 starboard airborne 7"4. That was 85 liters and felt like very hard work and I figure will be too small if it gets a bit choppy. I can handle a fair bit of chop on my current set up. Once on the wave though, holy cow that made me think. So I am now the search is on for a board that is very dynamic and playful on the wave and biased towards handling the beach mush. I don't mind if it therefore flunks on big days. Maybe the bigger Airborne? Keen to get:
- Suggestions on other brands and types.
- Experience you may have with those boards
- Experience with a similar transition ( and did you go down a lot in volume)

bring it on!!
cheers
Rene

Sounds to me like you will be happy on a bigger Airborne.

Maybe also consider-
Hokua X32
The smaller Fanatic Allwave when the 2015 shape is released

I have the jp 8'2 widebody surf pro and it is great in the small mushy stuff.. Nice and loose n very fast!, I'm 70 kg and came down from a 10,5...could have gone smaller n narrower but surf doesn't get that big and clean here so this board ticks all the boxes for me so far!

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/Jimmy-going-carbon/

I'll have a 7'10 x 31.5" airborn for sale in about 3 weeks.......

Select to expand quote

Tang said..
I'll have a 7'10 x 31.5" airborn for sale in about 3 weeks.......

What did you get instead. is that the deep ocean vanguard shape. Looks interesting too so that is something to consider. I thought that those work better in bigger stuff?

How do you rate the Airborne for the small mush?

Oh as far as buying yours.. I am in NZ so that is a bit of a barrier...

How about this new board from Naish... perfect.

www.naishsurfing.com/product/hokua-78-le/

Select to expand quote

RRK said...
Hi All,

Currently I am on a LSD 8.10 x 29, 115liters and I weigh about 75kg, advanced intermediate I like to think...lol
Great board, stable, super strong (shows no wear whatsoever which is amazing as this is my first board)
It goes great when the surf is up but feels a bit sluggish on the smaller stuff. It just needs a bit more speed before it kicks in.
Usually we get a semi clean beach break 1-4ft. Not very powerful.

Yesterday I got about 10 minutes on the 2015 starboard airborne 7"4. That was 85 liters and felt like very hard work and I figure will be too small if it gets a bit choppy. I can handle a fair bit of chop on my current set up. Once on the wave though, holy cow that made me think. So I am now the search is on for a board that is very dynamic and playful on the wave and biased towards handling the beach mush. I don't mind if it therefore flunks on big days. Maybe the bigger Airborne? Keen to get:
- Suggestions on other brands and types.
- Experience you may have with those boards
- Experience with a similar transition ( and did you go down a lot in volume)

bring it on!!
cheers
Rene

Dade don't give up in this board. Yeah sure it was hard work bit just remember it was your first surf and in all likelihood you will get better with persistence. My general feeling at the moment is to have a look at the Minion or Vanguard style boards which are completely different in shape to any of the modern sups and are seemingly game changers in innovation. There are a number of threads taking place at this point in time so you can bone up in the information. And I might add that the aforementioned boards are much cheaper than what the mainstream boards are.

Select to expand quote

ghost4man said..

RRK said...
Hi All,

Currently I am on a LSD 8.10 x 29, 115liters and I weigh about 75kg, advanced intermediate I like to think...lol
Great board, stable, super strong (shows no wear whatsoever which is amazing as this is my first board)
It goes great when the surf is up but feels a bit sluggish on the smaller stuff. It just needs a bit more speed before it kicks in.
Usually we get a semi clean beach break 1-4ft. Not very powerful.

Yesterday I got about 10 minutes on the 2015 starboard airborne 7"4. That was 85 liters and felt like very hard work and I figure will be too small if it gets a bit choppy. I can handle a fair bit of chop on my current set up. Once on the wave though, holy cow that made me think. So I am now the search is on for a board that is very dynamic and playful on the wave and biased towards handling the beach mush. I don't mind if it therefore flunks on big days. Maybe the bigger Airborne? Keen to get:
- Suggestions on other brands and types.
- Experience you may have with those boards
- Experience with a similar transition ( and did you go down a lot in volume)

bring it on!!
cheers
Rene

Dade don't give up in this board. Yeah sure it was hard work bit just remember it was your first surf and in all likelihood you will get better with persistence. My general feeling at the moment is to have a look at the Minion or Vanguard style boards which are completely different in shape to any of the modern sups and are seemingly game changers in innovation. There are a number of threads taking place at this point in time so you can bone up in the information. And I might add that the aforementioned boards are much cheaper than what the mainstream boards are.

I am not giving up on the board. As I said it works well when the surf is bigger and faster. Just looking for something to maximize the fun when my current one is not in it's element. That turns into a monster and surfs really well in 3ft plus. Unfortunately we only sometimes get that size. The airborne felt so loose etc. and that made me think.
Are you saying that the customs are cheaper??? What is a ball park figure of a full custom build? ( I know Airborne's are very expensive so I want to make sure it is going to suit me well) We are just spoiled for choice!! LOL

Select to expand quote

Garethg said..


How about this new board from Naish... perfect.

www.naishsurfing.com/product/hokua-78-le/

ghost4man said..

RRK said...
Hi All,

Currently I am on a LSD 8.10 x 29, 115liters and I weigh about 75kg, advanced intermediate I like to think...lol
Great board, stable, super strong (shows no wear whatsoever which is amazing as this is my first board)
It goes great when the surf is up but feels a bit sluggish on the smaller stuff. It just needs a bit more speed before it kicks in.
Usually we get a semi clean beach break 1-4ft. Not very powerful.

Yesterday I got about 10 minutes on the 2015 starboard airborne 7"4. That was 85 liters and felt like very hard work and I figure will be too small if it gets a bit choppy. I can handle a fair bit of chop on my current set up. Once on the wave though, holy cow that made me think. So I am now the search is on for a board that is very dynamic and playful on the wave and biased towards handling the beach mush. I don't mind if it therefore flunks on big days. Maybe the bigger Airborne? Keen to get:
- Suggestions on other brands and types.
- Experience you may have with those boards
- Experience with a similar transition ( and did you go down a lot in volume)

bring it on!!
cheers
Rene

Dade don't give up in this board. Yeah sure it was hard work bit just remember it was your first surf and in all likelihood you will get better with persistence. My general feeling at the moment is to have a look at the Minion or Vanguard style boards which are completely different in shape to any of the modern sups and are seemingly game changers in innovation. There are a number of threads taking place at this point in time so you can bone up in the information. And I might add that the aforementioned boards are much cheaper than what the mainstream boards are.

I am not giving up on the board. As I said it works well when the surf is bigger and faster. Just looking for something to maximize the fun when my current one is not in it's element ( turns into a monster and surfs really well in 3ft plus.) Unfortunately we only sometimes get that size. The airborne felt so loose etc. and that made me think that I might look at something that is designed for the small, slow, beachies. Starboard is the only one I found so far that specifically mentions that in their design brief.
Are you saying that the customs are cheaper??? What is a ball park figure of a full custom build? ( I know Airborne's are very expensive so I want to make sure it is going to suit me well) We are just spoiled for choice!! LOL

Select to expand quote

Garethg said..


How about this new board from Naish... perfect.

www.naishsurfing.com/product/hokua-78-le/

Ah the new range is out! I like the look of them. Aren't the Hokua's more for big and fast rather then small and slow?
I also looked at the X32. Just looks so big. More width and volume than my current board and that feels big already. Maybe I should try the smallest one and see what it is like. Have you had a go on one of those maybe??

Select to expand quote

RRK said..

Garethg said..


How about this new board from Naish... perfect.

www.naishsurfing.com/product/hokua-78-le/

Ah the new range is out! I like the look of them. Aren't the Hokua's more for big and fast rather then small and slow?
I also looked at the X32. Just looks so big. More width and volume than my current board and that feels big already. Maybe I should try the smallest one and see what it is like. Have you had a go on one of those maybe??

The new 7"8 Hokua is 96 litres and a great shape. It really depends what type of board you are after, that would be my first choice and the 8"5 Mana the other option if you wanted a more all around board. Personally I like the Hokua in all conditions.

www.naishsurfing.com/product/mana-85-gt/

Mate I have a 2014 Naish 8"5 Mana GT for more of an all round ride..but i mainly use my fanatic Prowave...8"10 119L carbon It goes great in pretty much any size surf..fast responsive and stable out the back. Im 6ft and 95 kgs and advance /intermediate skill level. Looking at getting a short sup now like the ones mentions in the posts on here for a different experience. Unfortunately they dont have any here in NZ so still looking at my options..mite have to go custom on it.

Select to expand quote

Supmaori said..
Mate I have a 2014 Naish 8"5 Mana GT for more of an all round ride..but i mainly use my fanatic Prowave...8"10 119L carbon It goes great in pretty much any size surf..fast responsive and stable out the back. Im 6ft and 95 kgs and advance /intermediate skill level. Looking at getting a short sup now like the ones mentions in the posts on here for a different experience. Unfortunately they dont have any here in NZ so still looking at my options..mite have to go custom on it.

I am looking for the same. Something that you can ride more aggressive in the small stuff. I don't mind of it becomes 'unusable' in the big stuff (overhead and then some). I don't get into that most of the time anyway so I will take the trade off. Custom is another way to go but harder to resell. Who builds good sup's and is local in Auckland anyway? I would like to go with a guy that knows the breaks I surf mostly and has done a few SUP's.... (riding and building)

Select to expand quote

RRK said..

Supmaori said..
Mate I have a 2014 Naish 8"5 Mana GT for more of an all round ride..but i mainly use my fanatic Prowave...8"10 119L carbon It goes great in pretty much any size surf..fast responsive and stable out the back. Im 6ft and 95 kgs and advance /intermediate skill level. Looking at getting a short sup now like the ones mentions in the posts on here for a different experience. Unfortunately they dont have any here in NZ so still looking at my options..mite have to go custom on it.

I am looking for the same. Something that you can ride more aggressive in the small stuff. I don't mind of it becomes 'unusable' in the big stuff (overhead and then some). I don't get into that most of the time anyway so I will take the trade off. Custom is another way to go but harder to resell. Who builds good sup's and is local in Auckland anyway? I would like to go with a guy that knows the breaks I surf mostly and has done a few SUP's.... (riding and building)

another board to consider is the hobie raw 7'11" or 8'4" heaps of speed in gutless waves and very light 6.6 kg with leggy, deck grip and fins

X32 would be hard to beat, I have the 8.8, cause you won't believe how choppy it can be here, but would love to buy the short one, for cleaner waves.

The x32 is a blast........like Naish says "for powerless beach breaks" ,i got mine tested in Maroc and Lacanau and it is a pleasure to ride the 8'8. I weigh 93 kg and 1.93 tall so that's a perfect match!

Hi Rene,

I've got both the Airborne 7.10 x 30 and 7.4 x 28.5

I'm 65kg and intermediate level ….I surf 1 - 4 beach and point breaks on the Gold Coast

I guess the fact I have both gives you and idea what I think of them.

They are both super fun and loose.On a wave they are very easy to throw around. They are nice and thin it doesn't feel like you are riding a slab.

The 7.4 is hard work,I'd say 30% harder than the 7.10 physically and balance wise, plus it is handful with any chop.
The 7.10 is just as much fun and significantly more forgiving.

Both are boards where you need to be in the surf zone,you can't chase a wave like on a longer board.

I reckon you would love the 7.10 x 30 or 31.5

But that Naish looks good to!

Good Luck

Bob

Hey Rene,

Some nice boards above and Hilly those smaller JL's look sweet .I'll stick my hand up and say check out the JP's . It's a along drop from 8-10 to 7-4 make sure it's not too far. Here are 4 videos of the JP's. First one is of the new 8-6 , still probably a bit big for you but have a look at the 8-2 in the video pretty sweet board and very good. The second video is the JP boys charging at Straddie nasties beach break in Queensland , Jackson is on the 8-0 JP Geoff and Keahi are on the 7-4. So you can look at those as well. 3rd video is Jackosn on the 8-0 at Snapper and the last one is the crew behind a boat free surfing on the wake , Geoff is on the 8-0 Keahi on the 7-4. Geoff and Jackson are around 86kg Keahi 82kg. Myself and Bretty are 93kg on the 8-0. These 4 videos give you a really good look at the boards. Grab a drink and sit back , pretty entertaining

Hope this helps.


<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>

Select to expand quote

Piros said..
Grab a drink and sit back , pretty entertaining

If you insist :) Thanks

Jackson blows them all away, no dishpans

Thanks For all the reactions so far guys.
It pretty much seems to boil down to known brands.
Good part is that I can probably try them out as they are all available from the local shops.
Piros: I wish we would get waves like the here!
BobbyR: I tried the 7'4 and that is too small for me. If you struggle @65kg.... Will see if I can try the 31.5.
I will give the X32 a go as well. I was looking to go down in volume not up, but maybe it won't be in the way.

Keep sharing!!!