Ok finally decided to buy myself a 10 ft (ish) Noserider for these summer 2 ft conditions. Now this will be a dramatic change from my usual sub 8 ft SUPS I ride and I have been struggling a bit on what to go for. Locally I am looking at the Laird Surfer 10 or 10/6 , Sunova Style 10 ft x 30” or the new Fanatic Stylemaster 10 ft x 30” It would seem that all of these boards get positive write ups and in the conditions I would ride a Noserider volume and stability are not an issue. Thoughts ?

Phil

Tough choice. Have a good look through the board talk and reviews section if you have not already. Popular topic.
From my limited experience they will all flex differently with very different constructions which will be a big factor on how they go and last.
I would suggest to also consider custom options like Deep, Sunnova and Surefire.

I really love the Laird 10 Surfer with Bamboo deck which I am pretty sure is heavier than the others and has a stringer. Has longboard feel but quite a few construction issues. Hope the new Lairds are more durable.

Look forward to some good input on this post because I am looking as well.......

most of the so-called noserider SUPs have too much nose rocker, not enough tail rocker, and rails that are too down n hard. imho, of course. ymmv.

Iv got the ECS 10' x 28.5 @ 125L Carbon inegra nose rider and love it! Turns really nice off the tail, maintains speed and only weights around 8kg. Here's some pics

Love my original 9'6 Style so much, I got the 2016 updated version. Demo the 10 if you get a chance - great boards.

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JoffaDan said..

Love my original 9'6 Style so much, I got the 2016 updated version. Demo the 10 if you get a chance - great boards.

Is there much difference between the two?
which is which?

Just realised I posted this in the wrong section !!! anyways have a chance of a Sunova 10 ft by 30 but probably would of gone for the 29” if I had the chance. Also demoed the Fanatic at the weekend which was nice and thin and seemed to paddle great onto the available waves. Now have the Laird 10 ft 6” in the garage to demo but it looks HUGE and a little heavy compared to the Fanatic. Testing on Saturday if not before. Any thoughts on the larger Sunova speeds ??? although the volume seems to jump up considerably compared to the Style’s

Phil

What height/weight are you Rossall?

ive got the 10x29x 130 litre Sunova Style. At my 5'8 & 77kg this board is about the perfect volume, but I definitely wouldn't what it to be any bigger.
I recon Dan's 9'6x27.5 could be a lot of fun for someone my size.

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Wicksy said..

Is there much difference between the two?
which is which?

G'day Wicksy,

The 2016 is on the left in that one. I will add another photo at the bottom. I emailed Sunova about the revision before my purchase and Bert emailed me back within a couple of hours.

Here is what he said...

"the upgrade was very subtle ..

we increased the nose rocker slightly ..
but not at the nose , we increased the rocker just forward of center , so it was a slightly more banana like in the middle..

in general , the board is designed to be walked , stomp on the tail , stall it , run to the nose..
or step on the tail and do a pivot style turn..

but sometimes you want to hang in the middle ..
as an example ..
your trimming along , the rail is locked in and you run to the nose..
take a step back , readjust your line then step back to the nose again..

the former rocker , was great off the tail and solid on the nose ,, but when you hung in the middle or took that step back from the nose , for a quick readjustment , it was a little sticky and slow to respond..
so we made it looser when standing in the middle , so your not forced all the way to the tail to readjust your line..

so now you can surf a whole wave , the board feeling free from the middle , setting up multiple nose rides and adjusting between nose rides without even needing to step to the tail.."

I've only had a chance to surf it 3 times, so I won't give my opinion just yet.

Here's a pic showing the difference side by side. The 2016 is on the right in this particular photo.

I went for the deep 10' looking specifically for nose riding only after trialling one. I am wrapped with the board as it nose rides beautifully, has great paddling for chasing weak waves and is very manoeuvrable. Really thrilled with it for summer waves.

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Rossall said..
Just realised I posted this in the wrong section !!! anyways have a chance of a Sunova 10 ft by 30 but probably would of gone for the 29” if I had the chance. Also demoed the Fanatic at the weekend which was nice and thin and seemed to paddle great onto the available waves. Now have the Laird 10 ft 6” in the garage to demo but it looks HUGE and a little heavy compared to the Fanatic. Testing on Saturday if not before. Any thoughts on the larger Sunova speeds ??? although the volume seems to jump up considerably compared to the Style’s

Phil

Hey Rossall
If you longboard you will love the Laird.
Just an exploded longboard @ 140lts for a 10'6" very fine rails & beautiful rocker.
Surfed knee high to way over head on the 10'6" Surfer.
Its a keeper.
Did you get the demo from Gavo ? if so that one is really heavy.
Weight is not a bad thing, same as Volane Logs it gives you great inertia.
Don't think there is any stock till the new Lairds come out!

You will like the Laird, they are great board, just make sure its the new model which are not as fragile

I only ride longboard style sups. I have the laird 10'6" and the 11'. The 11' is the old surftech model. Fairly robust, has been bashed about a fair bit, but survived. The 10'6" on the other hand is the newer one and its fragile. Check out post in the board reviews (laird10'6" issues). Youll be surprised. The board shape and design are awesome. They surf so well and are a lot of fun. Because of the issues with the 10'6" I am also now researching a 10' ish long board, and at the top of the list at the moment is the deep as I can get a custom made one and they seem to have a very good reputation. I also was looking at the stylemaster, but another pop out.Sunova style also sound like a good option, and I was looking at the naish nalu le until I saw the price.
Remembering you want nose riding abilities and I think what's also important is some speed. At this stage its the deep.

Go the Deep, pick your own dimensions, design and get full custom. I got 10'1"x28.5"x3 & 7/8" @ 120L and it goes great in tiny 1 foot stuff to well overhead, turns off the tail great and its a good nose rider. priced well and super tough, no rail type required and Simon backs his product. photo before the tail pad and deck grip went on, some guys just surfing them with tail pad, deck pad works for me with a little wax on the nose for tip time.

Yeah Fester it's from Galvo, borrowed the Fanatic from him also

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linter said..
most of the so-called noserider SUPs have too much nose rocker, not enough tail rocker, and rails that are too down n hard. imho, of course. ymmv.

Good point Linter, just learning to noseride myself and the sups I have tried didn't hang like a dedicated noserider mal. Personally if I only wanted to noseride I would not want the extra liters and float of a Sup and stick to prone. Still plenty of hang time and fun off the tail as well to be had.
Also agree with Uncle Fester a bit of weight feels good in many ways to me in this style Sup.

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Sfox said..
Go the Deep, pick your own dimensions, design and get full custom. I got 10'1"x28.5"x3 & 7/8" @ 120L and it goes great in tiny 1 foot stuff to well overhead, turns off the tail great and its a good nose rider. priced well and super tough, no rail type required and Simon backs his product. photo before the tail pad and deck grip went on, some guys just surfing them with tail pad, deck pad works for me with a little wax on the nose for tip time.

Sfox what $$ for a custom ??

$1750rrp pick up from factory at Burleigh heads on goldie when I got it last year. Included fins, tail pad and deck pad and 2 colours. Few extra options available for bit more. I don't think they would have gone up much if any?

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pohaku said...
Iv got the ECS 10' x 28.5 @ 125L Carbon inegra nose rider and love it! Turns really nice off the tail, maintains speed and only weights around 8kg. Here's some pics

Cool. Narrower than most in carbon construction. Might have to give one a try?

Only other decent option I have seen is a Deep custom?

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surfershaneA said..

pohaku said...
Iv got the ECS 10' x 28.5 @ 125L Carbon inegra nose rider and love it! Turns really nice off the tail, maintains speed and only weights around 8kg. Here's some pics

Cool. Narrower than most in carbon construction. Might have to give one a try?

Only other decent option I have seen is a Deep custom?

I rode one of these and a very similar offering from a larger manufacturers at Merimbula last year.

Both were great fun, both very similar to ride, and one is at least $1k less than the other.....

given that quad fin set up (and the pix), i'd gather that board is designed more for progressive longboarding than trad noseriding, though a good surfer can get to the beak on just about anything.

On the Sunova front ant thoughts on larger Speeds over the Styles ?

Surfed the first of the Smik 10'x30 Style lord last couple of days and was very pleased how she rode.
Coming soon

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JoffaDan said..

Here's a pic showing the difference side by side. The 2016 is on the right in this particular photo.

It's when i see pictures like this that i really see how far the Sunova boys have been setting themselves apart from the competition.

Just look how thin these production boards are... AMAZING!!!

Johnny

That Smik looks every similar to the deep

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Rossall said..
On the Sunova front ant thoughts on larger Speeds over the Styles ?

I have not seen a Style yet, so I can only comment on the larger Speeed first hand.
Your original question was seeking info about:
"a 10 ft (ish) Noserider for these summer 2 ft conditions"

1st, Speeeds in general.... then I'll discuss longer ones:

The Speeed is designed as a high performance board.... not at all, a longboard.
I always hesitate to talk about it's "noseriding" abilities, because it gets misunderstood, and the board gets labeled a "longboard".... which it most certainly is not!
It is, by far, the best SUP I have ridden.... it rips in all conditions.

Having said that, if ridden from the middle and front of the board, the parrallel rails allow me to enjoy some aspects of longboard surfing.
The nose is very scooped, so it is not a traditional noseriding experience.... but a unique twist.
As odd as what I am about to say is..... it's incredibly fun.

There are 2 ways you can work the nose on a Speeed
1 - at speed, the scoop nose is constantly "lifting" so you can run through a steep section on the nose.
It is near impossible to pearl if you are going fast. (pic 1)
2 - at slower speeds, the nose "plows" but provides great lift.
the 'plowing" creates a perfect "stall", that keeps you in the pocket longer. (pic 2)

I don't "Tip" ride the Speeed.... I simply surf it from the nose.

The amazing lift, at stall speed, is incredibly entertaining..... I can actually turn the board straight down the face, skim off the bottom, and lift right back into the hook, without leaving the nose. I could "steer" a longboard from the nose... but I could never go straight down. The scoop nose continuously climbs out of the water and allows for some very fun stall maneuvers.

Bert has designed the rails to cling to the face of the wave, which, as a bonus, works very well when riding the nose. It keeps the rail in the water, and the fins engaged, so there is very little tail slip when on the nose.

The bottomline is.... I sort of lost, a 50 year lust for longboards in summer, because I get all my yaya's from the Speeed.
part of that is because my last, very well loved, longboard SUP, was heavy-ish... and Sunova's spoiled me to the point that I no longer tolerated heavy boards.

Now.... all that noseriding on a Speeed was done on my 8'10.... it seems to be the "right" size and width for how I work the nose.
I have a 9'5 Speeed for my winter gear and conditions.
Generally the waves are not the clean, little peelers that I noseride in summer, so less time spent on the nose.
My experience seems to say, that at the longer size, the overall width makes the tail a bit looser when on the nose.
I don't seem to run up front and stay there, as much on the 9'5, so I don't think that a "longer" Speeed is what you are looking for..... but a smaller one might be

The bonus of a Speeed is..... you get a ripper shortboard SUP as well

Style:
Bert (Sunova creator, shaper) is a very serious longboard surfer...... he knows what he expects a longboard to do.
I have never seen a Style..... but I like the look of the updated version.
I would seriously consider a demo on the Style if you want a true longboard SUP. (and I am)

In all the pics, you can see how well the rail and tail stay engaged, and how the scoop in the nose provides constant lift.
I am sorry I don't have any good shot of hanging 5..... but I do venture there from time to time. I have never even tried for 10

I hope this helps.

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scott mckerc said..

Nice!
Will they come in Carbon construction ?

Hey fester
She is a full PVC wrap/ full carbon/

Hey Scotty,
Is Smik going to sell and demo in Melbourne? Good looking boards brother...

Cheers HappyG
yep.
will be doing a trip down the east coast surfing with a bunch of the boards late March into april