I think it might be interesting to summarise my wave-riding experience over the last six years, during which I have tried out many boards. This is because many people may be inclined, for financial reasons, to buy boards that are a few years old but still very good. I won't go back further than 2019. Over the years, I have owned the following models, which I have used extensively and on which I would like to give my humble opinion, especially with regard to side or side/off conditions in logo-high waves: Goya custom quad 89 (2018/19), Quatro Pyramid pro 87 (2020/21), Starboard Ultra 86 (2023/24/25), Quatro Pyramid 87 (2022/23), Tabou Da Curve 88 (2020/21), Goya Custom 4 89 (2020/21), Starboard Hyper 88 (2023/24/25) and Fanatic Grip TE 87 (2023).
I weigh 73 kg and I tested these boards in various spots in Sal, Cape Verde, Moulay in Morocco and in winter in the waves of Sardinia, where I encountered pretty much all wind and wave conditions.
My assessment is very concise, and I would also like to rank them based on their qualities but also on the severity of their flaws.
At the bottom of the ranking, I place the Starboard Ultra 86 because, despite having good surfing potential, it really conveys a sense of insecurity and poor control, making it unsuitable for fast waves and aggressive surfing.
I rank the Tabou Da Curves 88 and the Fanatic Grip TE 87 just above the Ultra 86; they provide good control but are not very radical when surfing, because they don't turn really tightly.
A better rating than the previous two goes to the Goya Custom Quad 89 (2019) for its excellent control (even if it is not very radical on the wave) and the Quatro Pyramid 87 (2022/23) for its radicality in performing tight turns (but the control is not great). These two boards therefore have excellent characteristics, but also some significant flaws.
The Pyramid pro 87 (2020/21) and the Goya Custom 4 89 (2020/21) are two beautiful boards. Both are instinctive, giving a good feeling and a sense of lightness. On the wave, the Pyramid is fluid and very radical, although unfortunately it does not offer much control or a sense of security on the most powerful waves (at high speed it bounces a little on the water), while the Goya is a little less nervous and less capable of making tight turns, but offers better control.
At the top of my list is definitely the Starboard Hyper 88. It's really hard to find fault with this board. Despite its narrow stern, it planes quickly and, above all, it is definitely faster than all the others. Control on big and fast waves is truly excellent, allowing you to make very tight turns and responding immediately to every impulse from the rider. It's a really great board. I also tried the 83-litre version of this model, which confirms my opinion.

Shame it would last about half as long as the Goya or Quatro boards and that's if you treat it well.

Very good writeup though and I have always wanted to see a hyper

yeh interesting!
i've not had that many waveboards, but after sailing a few you find boards which you just gel with straight away and they feel great with minimal tuning. Then there are others where you have to play round with fin and strap setups and get them close to what you want but never quite right.

ain't fooling me, Robot!

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Mark _australia said..
Shame it would last about half as long as the Goya or Quatro boards and that's if you treat it well.

Very good writeup though and I have always wanted to see a hyper

I believe all those boards are built in Thailand by Cobra, but it's clear that each brand asks Cobra for a specific type of construction and it may be that the Quatro and Goya standard is higher than Starboard; however, if I have to give my impression, the "carbon reflex" construction of Starboard seems sufficiently solid to me.

By checking the hulls and shapes of these boards, I tried to understand the origins of some of their characteristics, and I was able to draw some conclusions:
1) V-shapes in the area between the front straps and the fins (like the Pyramid and Starboard Ultra) make the board easier to ride rail-to-rail but much less controllable in big and fast waves; for DTL conditions or power and fast waves the best is the mono-concave or mono-biconcave shape without V.
2) The ability to carve tight turns depends not only on the curvature of the rocker line or the tail kick, but also on the curvature of the outline from the center of the board to the tail. I think that this is why the Starboard Hyper, despite its taut rocker line and poor tail kick (which is the opposite of what Starboard claims in its official description), manages to carve even tighter turns than the 2020 Quatro Pyramid (the red one, to be clear), which has a more curved rocker line and much more tail kick. I think the reason can be found in the fact that when we push hard on the edge to make tight turns, the board tilts on the water and the shapes that work are not only the curvature of the rockerline but also the curvature of the outline along the edge.
All this could be a good starting point for choosing to buy a new board that we have never tried before

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Doggerland said..
ain't fooling me, Robot!

Why you think so !!! Because of the quality of the materials used ? They don't seem any worse than the others, at least the "carbon reflex" ones. Perhaps the wood construction..... I don't know

Just a joke, actually liked your post. Thought is was safely over the top, sorry if needed.
Reasonably good memories of a twin Kode, rode well & no trouble construction-wise.

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Doggerland said..
Just a joke, actually liked your post. Thought is was safely over the top, sorry if needed.
Reasonably good memories of a twin Kode, rode well & no trouble construction-wise.

No, not at all! You don't have to apologize, I'm not a supporter of Starboard boards ; I'm not in a position to judge the construction of Starboards, but I remember that a few years ago there were some problems with the "wood" version,

Thanks for sharing, that's great!

What fins did you use with the boards and have you experimented with different fin setups and positioning? I think that can make a dramatic difference with these boards.

I am in a position to comment on them as I have been inside them - and the 2mm sandwich with one layer of carbon is ridiculous. I won't quote on them as I know there will be more and more issues as I work on it they have gone from the best wave board construction in about 2013 - 15, to by far the most fragile construction in the last few years. Starboard dropped the ball with regards to wave boards when Scotty and Hoops were no longer involved .

Interesting post. thanks for sharing
I Agree no one board better or worse but some you get used to over time.
i like to stick a board out for a few years til it's knackered or snaps. some notable board of last 15 years

starboard ev0 90 single fin. Fun but single limited it's tight tuens
starboard evil twin 87 sick board loved it
starboard quad 87 2012 bit of a dog but great on a bottom turn
fanatic quad 87 2012 bit smaller than quoted volume and a bit flighty, rails a bit too thin for me and tail very thin
stoney keel quad 103 amazing board first real board of around 100l that I found worked well 2013 ish
nude chopper 99 - amaaaazing
nide chopper 84 amazing but I'm 94kg so no good in QLD
jp radical quad 99 2015ish favourite board of all time snapped it though :(
starboard ultrakode 99 2018 nice board but really meh when down the line. Hard to rip a good top turn, played with so many fin setups. Never found the absolute sweet spot but always felt sort of 6/10 if that makes sense
new board sailed once duotone grip 4 99 feels sick on a wave definitely need to play around with fin positions. Moved 0.5cm back and makes a crazy difference to bottom turn drive already

anyway nice topic

I am yet to find a Pyramid that bounces and is not controllable, whatever the board size. Our waves are not that big though, but are choppy most of the time. Always plenty of control I think.



I maybe biased, as I am a big fan of pyramids, since the very first model. Even the 92 litres board what I have here (and I am light weight 72 kg) was buttery smooth with tons of control in the turns. Needed a bit more back footed approach than some other shapes, and perhaps a bit of playing with the mast foot position before you'll find the settings that work the best for your riding stance and style.



And 84 here. Never even a tough of not being in full control in some pretty sketchy situations. (OK, well, there was a though hahhahaha.)



The only pyramid I haven't used much (just one day) is the white 22/23 year model.

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ptsf1111 said..
Thanks for sharing, that's great!

What fins did you use with the boards and have you experimented with different fin setups and positioning? I think that can make a dramatic difference with these boards.

With the Pyramid 87 (both 2020 red and 2022 white) and the Starboard Ultra 86, the main center fins were a custom 16 cm G10 fin made in Maui and, alternatively, the K4 Scorcher 17, while the front fins were always the K4 Ezzy Asy 10 cm. With the Goya quad boards (2019 and 2021), I used the standard MFC fins (but they were really slow) and then replaced the rear fins with two thin and fast 15 cm custom G10 fins. Finally, on the Starboard Hyper, I tested the standard MFC K300 fin set, but I found them too stiff and not very forgiving, so I replaced them with 14 cm K4 Incinerator fins, which turned out to be excellent, very fast fins with really good grip, perhaps the best fins I have ever tried.
Positionig ? I just can say that all boards have very limited adjustment options for the front fins, while for the rear fins, I found that a "central" position in the box was adequate for all boards, with the exception of the Starboard Hyper, which required me to position the fins all the way back. In fact, with the K4s, I even slightly cut the head of the fins to be able to move them back another half centimeter.

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Taavi said..
I am yet to find a Pyramid that bounces and is not controllable, whatever the board size. Our waves are not that big though, but are choppy most of the time. Always plenty of control I think.

I maybe biased, as I am a big fan of pyramids, since the very first model. Even the 92 litres board what I have here (and I am light weight 72 kg) was buttery smooth with tons of control in the turns. Needed a bit more back footed approach than some other shapes, and perhaps a bit of playing with the mast foot position before you'll find the settings that work the best for your riding stance and style.

And 84 here. Never even a tough of not being in full control in some pretty sketchy situations. (OK, well, there was a though hahhahaha.)

The only pyramid I haven't used much (just one day) is the white 22/23 year model.

Pyramid ride wonderfully and instinctively, I agree. The red series (2020) is the best for me; I've used it for three years (it's the board I've used most on the waves). It's a board that's really excellent in average conditions, with logo-high waves or even bigger waves, as long as they're not too fast. In very fast waves, even if they are smooth as glassy (like Ponta Preta), it scared me because I always felt it was a bit "unstable," and I must say that this is the only flaw I have found. I can say this because, on the same day at Ponta Preta, I switched from the Pyramid 87 to an 84-liter Quatro custom board, and life improved greatly. But I repeat, this is a problem that only occurs with that type of very fast wave; in all other conditions, it is truly an excellent board

Stefano, maybe you prefer the hyper because you use rather big boards regarding you weight 73 -> 88 and the Hyper has a rather radical shape which "hides" some volume. But that should apply to the Payramid too, i guess.
Like Antoin Martin is explaining at the end of his video.

?si=P_a3JKL-vNnR4rw7

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Stefano W-surf said..
Pyramid ride wonderfully and instinctively, I agree. The red series (2020) is the best for me; I've used it for three years (it's the board I've used most on the waves). It's a board that's really excellent in average conditions, with logo-high waves or even bigger waves, as long as they're not too fast. In very fast waves, even if they are smooth as glassy (like Ponta Preta), it scared me because I always felt it was a bit "unstable," and I must say that this is the only flaw I have found. I can say this because, on the same day at Ponta Preta, I switched from the Pyramid 87 to an 84-liter Quatro custom board, and life improved greatly. But I repeat, this is a problem that only occurs with that type of very fast wave; in all other conditions, it is truly an excellent board

Could it be just the board size plus the fin combo that you used? Using 2-3 cm smaller center fin compared to the stock fin that's coming with the board, and adding totally different asy side fins - for sure this changes how the board behaves. And given the boards you used were quite big for your light weight, perhaps it was not the best possible setup for a thruster, in big and fast down the line conditions. Generally quads are calmer in such conditions. Maybe the SB board just felt better because it was a quad? I would love to see that ponta preta clip where you felt unstable. Try stock fins, they are amazing. I'd say, no need for asymmetric side fins on that shape if your intention is to go fast. For slowing it down and helping with a different sensation in the turns, then maybe.

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Taavi said..

Stefano W-surf said..
Pyramid ride wonderfully and instinctively, I agree. The red series (2020) is the best for me; I've used it for three years (it's the board I've used most on the waves). It's a board that's really excellent in average conditions, with logo-high waves or even bigger waves, as long as they're not too fast. In very fast waves, even if they are smooth as glassy (like Ponta Preta), it scared me because I always felt it was a bit "unstable," and I must say that this is the only flaw I have found. I can say this because, on the same day at Ponta Preta, I switched from the Pyramid 87 to an 84-liter Quatro custom board, and life improved greatly. But I repeat, this is a problem that only occurs with that type of very fast wave; in all other conditions, it is truly an excellent board

Could it be just the board size plus the fin combo that you used? Using 2-3 cm smaller center fin compared to the stock fin that's coming with the board, and adding totally different asy side fins - for sure this changes how the board behaves. And given the boards you used were quite big for your light weight, perhaps it was not the best possible setup for a thruster, in big and fast down the line conditions. Generally quads are calmer in such conditions. Maybe the SB board just felt better because it was a quad? I would love to see that ponta preta clip where you felt unstable. Try stock fins, they are amazing. I'd say, no need for asymmetric side fins on that shape if your intention is to go fast. For slowing it down and helping with a different sensation in the turns, then maybe.

I am not agree when you say that the board I used were big for my light weight: this may be true if you ride in windy spots like South Africa o WA, but my "home spots" are in Sardinia (Capo Mannu, Chia) and above all in Cabo Verde where winds are usually very light. In spots like these, where the wind is so light and so offshore and where the waves are so fast, you have to find the right balance in a single windsurf board. It must have a volume that can support your weight and your rig very well (otherwise you won't even catch a wave), but at the same time it must be easy to control despite its size. All this is essential because, despite the extremely light wind, you are forced to use a small sail (4.5 sq m. with 12-13 knots of real wind) because when you ride DTL on those waves, the apparent wind on your sail goes from 12-13 knots of real wind to 30 knots apparent wind and control becomes critical. In this respect, the Starboard Hyper 88 seems to be the right choice. I don't think Keith Teboul had this in mind when he created the Pyramid, but rather the conditions at Hookipa, where the wind is sideshore and the waves are a bit less fast.
I don't think it was a coincidence that the Hyper was born from a prototype created for Antoine Martin in 2022 ahead of the PWA championship that took place in Ponta Preta.

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Stefano W-surf said..
By checking the hulls and shapes of these boards, I tried to understand the origins of some of their characteristics, and I was able to draw some conclusions:
1) V-shapes in the area between the front straps and the fins (like the Pyramid and Starboard Ultra) make the board easier to ride rail-to-rail but much less controllable in big and fast waves; for DTL conditions or power and fast waves the best is the mono-concave or mono-biconcave shape without V.
2) The ability to carve tight turns depends not only on the curvature of the rocker line or the tail kick, but also on the curvature of the outline from the center of the board to the tail. I think that this is why the Starboard Hyper, despite its taut rocker line and poor tail kick (which is the opposite of what Starboard claims in its official description), manages to carve even tighter turns than the 2020 Quatro Pyramid (the red one, to be clear), which has a more curved rocker line and much more tail kick. I think the reason can be found in the fact that when we push hard on the edge to make tight turns, the board tilts on the water and the shapes that work are not only the curvature of the rockerline but also the curvature of the outline along the edge.
All this could be a good starting point for choosing to buy a new board that we have never tried before

Are you a shaper?

Very interesting topic.
Did you test the jp radical quad 2015 to 2020? The shape principle relates a lot to the starboard hyper, I reckon.

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Nicko29 said..
Very interesting topic.
Did you test the jp radical quad 2015 to 2020? The shape principle relates a lot to the starboard hyper, I reckon.

I've kept my 94 RadQuad from 2015-16 as I found it almost telepathic in cross off. It took time to dial but once I added fins the JP team riders were using, it transformed into a precise, fast weapon. I reckon part of its success was the ability to drive with either front or back foot. Just a wicked board in the right conditions. Its a bit worse for wear now but when swells up it's been the ducks guts for me.

And agree the Hyper looks very similar with some mods, be interesting to go for a blast for sure. Happy to receive the 88 for assessment...

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Stefano W-surf said..

Taavi said..
Could it be just the board size plus the fin combo that you used? Using 2-3 cm smaller center fin compared to the stock fin that's coming with the board, and adding totally different asy side fins - for sure this changes how the board behaves. And given the boards you used were quite big for your light weight, perhaps it was not the best possible setup for a thruster, in big and fast down the line conditions. Generally quads are calmer in such conditions. Maybe the SB board just felt better because it was a quad? I would love to see that ponta preta clip where you felt unstable. Try stock fins, they are amazing. I'd say, no need for asymmetric side fins on that shape if your intention is to go fast. For slowing it down and helping with a different sensation in the turns, then maybe.

I am not agree when you say that the board I used were big for my light weight:

Agreed, if it's float and ride, you'll need something around that size, if you want just one universal board.

I am glad you agreed with the friendly criticism about your fin setup though. And really, I am yet too see a pyramid that's unstable. They may feel more nervous than some quad fin in similar conditions, but I have always thought of this as a positive feature. They have less of this locked in feeling, and are always ready to turn even more than you intended to. Which may sometimes be a disadvantage and ruin some of your turns. With your fin selection you amplified this feature of the shape even further.

Do you perhaps have a video clip demonstrating the instability issues you had? And was the 84 litres custom board (that did not have these problems) a quad or a thruster?

BTW, Cape Town is not always windy. I don't think I have good clips in bigger waves, but the light offshore winds situation that you described, and then being fully powered when going down the line, is something that happens here as well. Never ever felt out of control with the pyramid though.

An example of a small wave light wind day. (Almost no wind close to the shore unfortunately). Is catching the wave in the spots that you mentioned anywhere near this difficult as in this clip at 02:03?

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Nicko29 said..
Very interesting topic.
Did you test the jp radical quad 2015 to 2020? The shape principle relates a lot to the starboard hyper, I reckon.

It's true, the outline of the Ultimate JP is very similar to that of the Hyper. I have never had the opportunity to try the JP, but I believe there are differences in the rocker line, because I think the Hyper has more tail kick, and perhaps there are also differences in the position of the rear fins.

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Taavi said..

Stefano W-surf said..

Do you perhaps have a video clip demonstrating the instability issues you had? And was the 84 litres custom board (that did not have these problems) a quad or a thruster?

Yes, sure, I think I have a short video shot in Ponta Preta where I didn't dare push the Pyramid into radical turns because of the serious feeling of insecurity it gave me; as soon as the board picked up speed, it started bouncing on the water even though the wave was really glassy (I hope to recover that video). The Quatro Custom, which did not have this problem, is a thruster (it's my current board in Cape Verde); it has a volume of 84 liters and a length and width of 228 centimeters and 58 centimeters, respectively, so almost the same as the Pyramid 87, and the outline is also very similar. The big differences are in the hull: the Pyramid has a noticeable V shape from the front straps to the stern, while the Quatro Custom has no V shape at all and is single-concave/double-concave. This factor convinces me even more that the V shape creates instability at high speeds.

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Stefano W-surf said..

Taavi said..

Stefano W-surf said..

Do you perhaps have a video clip demonstrating the instability issues you had? And was the 84 litres custom board (that did not have these problems) a quad or a thruster?

Yes, sure, I think I have a short video shot in Ponta Preta where I didn't dare push the Pyramid into radical turns because of the serious feeling of insecurity it gave me; as soon as the board picked up speed, it started bouncing on the water even though the wave was really glassy (I hope to recover that video). The Quatro Custom, which did not have this problem, is a thruster (it's my current board in Cape Verde); it has a volume of 84 liters and a length and width of 228 centimeters and 58 centimeters, respectively, so almost the same as the Pyramid 87, and the outline is also very similar. The big differences are in the hull: the Pyramid has a noticeable V shape from the front straps to the stern, while the Quatro Custom has no V shape at all and is single-concave/double-concave. This factor convinces me even more that the V shape creates instability at high speeds.

Good feedback! Thanks.

In this short video. It was March 1, 2024, and I had just arrived in Cape Verde; Ponta Preta was working well with a decent swell and it was my first wave I caught. The wind was about 13 knots. The sail was a Severne S1 4.4, and the board was a Quatro Pyramid pro 87 (2020). I remember that I basically couldn't surf that wave !!!! The board behaved strangely behavior, bouncing on the water (as you can easily see from the video), forcing me to shift my weight to my back foot to slow it down, dramatically losing grip on the lip of the wave. That board was definitely not suitable for Ponta Preta, at least for me! I immediately got out of the water to replace the board with an 84-liter custom Quatro which allowed me to regain confidence with the wave thanks to its very good stability, However I must say that the Pyramid performed very well in other spots (such as Canoa and The Secret ) with slower waves. I think that each board is designed for very specific conditions.
On the other hand, a few years ago I used a custom Novenove board by Kauli Seadi designed specifically for Cape Verde; unfortunately, I tried that board on the slow waves of Sardinia and thought it was a joke because I really struggled to get it to plane (it was really like a banana), but that doesn't mean it wasn't a great board, it just needs to be used in the right place.

Super glad you found and showed us the video, much more context now. And you are indeed bouncing there, a lot. I blame the fins and the way you have set it up, and how your weight and the rigs weight is transferred to the board. Nothing wrong with the board. Note that you are not going particularly fast there, and in all the turns you are sliding, not engaging the rail at all. This is not how pyramids behave, not at all.

Take a look at this. A bit smaller wave, but faster. And see how the board is stable in all turns, rail engaged, and can easily go screaming fast down the line, and always in control.



I'd say, if you set up a board, get it perfectly dialed with the stock fins first, and then, maybe, improve the feel with some other fin setup. That wave in your clip is so smooth. And the speeds are slow. There shouldn't be any bouncing, just smooth sailing. Play with the settings until you get everything in balance and smooth.

One more clip, with a quad, from the same spot. 72 kg and an universal travel board for me, 86 litres. Don't be afraid to put the board on rail, deliberately.



And why not a bit more Pyramid love, while on that topic. And stock fins again of course.

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Brent in Qld said..

Nicko29 said..
Very interesting topic.
Did you test the jp radical quad 2015 to 2020? The shape principle relates a lot to the starboard hyper, I reckon.

I've kept my 94 RadQuad from 2015-16 as I found it almost telepathic in cross off. It took time to dial but once I added fins the JP team riders were using, it transformed into a precise, fast weapon. I reckon part of its success was the ability to drive with either front or back foot. Just a wicked board in the right conditions. Its a bit worse for wear now but when swells up it's been the ducks guts for me.

And agree the Hyper looks very similar with some mods, be interesting to go for a blast for sure. Happy to receive the 88 for assessment...

HI Brent , its funny - I had the TOTAL REVERSE experience to you .,.. got all excited about Jp rad quads - due to the narrow tail under Backfoot - wanted less ankle damage on aerials etc ... borrowed a mates ... I couldn't have been more disappointed ! ... In glassy conditions the turns were nice - good for rotations on the wave , and nice blow tails etc ... the minute I started powering up on a 5.0 and things got faster - I felt the board went totally to pieces ... super skitty , felt like I was bottom turning on a pitch of rolling golf balls , and waves were semi clean - not even bad chop on the face .... these jp rad quads also had tons of double concave in them ,... skitty performance reminds me a bit how they talk about current starboard ultra (very low concave depth btw) - no control top end mid to top end ... needs glassy conditions ...

I like look of hyper - but if it was ANYTHING like the Jp radical quad (tail shape etc very similar ) ... I would be over it ...

You want perfect DTL and mega control on the wave - big single conc up front for rail hold.

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Taavi said..
Note that you are not going particularly fast there, and in all the turns you are sliding, not engaging the rail at all. This is not how pyramids behave, not at all.

The wave was fast; I was slow !!! That was the first wave I caught after a year away from Cape Verde, and as is normal (at least for me), I was just getting my bearings because, unfortunately, if you make a mistake in that spot, there's no escape for your equipment. So, on the first wave, no speed, no tight turns, just a slow entry to "feel" the wave with my weight on my back foot to slow down the board. What you say is absolutely true, i.e. that all this greatly accentuates the pitching of the board. The video is only here to highlight with images the flaw I was complaining about. However, that day I immediately felt that the Pyramid was too nervous even at that low speed, so I preferred to return to shore immediately to switch with a Quatro custom board. Maybe that the Pyramid 87 was too big for me in spots like Ponta because (to tell the thuth) in March 2024 I weighed less than 70 kilos ! Things would certainly have gone better with a smaller Pyramid.
I would like to point out that the new Pyramid 6 has a hull shape very similar to that of the Starboard Hyper: all V shape has been eliminated (apart from a small section at the bow, as in the Hyper), featuring a double concave that becomes a single concave at the stern. I know that this change in Keit Teboul's philosophy was determined precisely by the need to improve control.

I actually liked my Starboard Ultra 82 and 93 . I prefer the Tri fin set ups . For sailing at my local breaks they allowed for a fast waveboard that still tuned very well in my opinion. Compared to a lot of my other boards that were too flat and uncontrollable on wave when overpowed. I also liked it for local beaches and coronation sailing in West Aus when i am there. Having also owned in later models Severne Pyro, Nano, Fanatic/duotone grips in quad and tri.

At the moment still rate my Starboard Ultras and loving the new Duotone 2026 grip 3 .