I'm pretty stoked to see the new dims landing. The pilot surf, pilot mid, and aviator downwind boards all got a huge swath of upgrades to dimensions and look sick! Plus the price point on those Pilot mid's look unreal for wingers who want length and lower volume.

sunovasurfboards.com/en/legends/casey/pilot-mid
sunovasurfboards.com/en/legends/casey/pilot-1
sunovasurfboards.com/en/legends/casey/aviator-downwind-casey

Can someone explain the practical differences in layup options for these boards? Also, what is the "stock" layup? I can't find a clear answer on the sunova website. That mid is very close to what I've been asking for (slightly narrow though).

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Velocicraptor said..
Can someone explain the practical differences in layup options for these boards? Also, what is the "stock" layup? I can't find a clear answer on the sunova website. That mid is very close to what I've been asking for (slightly narrow though).

sunovasurfboards.com/en/technology#:~:text=Available%20in%206%20layup%20types,literally%20something%20to%20suit%20everyone.

Scroll to the bottom of the page and watch the video on the layups. Standard is what they recommend for everyone. Vapor is what I get. Lighter but not as abuse proof. You can also call Poseidon Standup in SoCal and Christian will talk you through it.

Real world results: On my boards it shaves about .6 kilos off of the published weight. My Carver has over 2500 miles on it and is doing great.

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BWalnut said..

Velocicraptor said..
Can someone explain the practical differences in layup options for these boards? Also, what is the "stock" layup? I can't find a clear answer on the sunova website. That mid is very close to what I've been asking for (slightly narrow though).

sunovasurfboards.com/en/technology#:~:text=Available%20in%206%20layup%20types,literally%20something%20to%20suit%20everyone.

Scroll to the bottom of the page and watch the video on the layups. Standard is what they recommend for everyone. Vapor is what I get. Lighter but not as abuse proof. You can also call Poseidon Standup in SoCal and Christian will talk you through it.

Real world results: On my boards it shaves about .6 kilos off of the published weight. My Carver has over 2500 miles on it and is doing great.

Can I assume standard is what a stock board comes in? Is Vapor more fragile than the average production boards out there? Any differences in stiffness?

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Velocicraptor said..

BWalnut said..

Velocicraptor said..
Can someone explain the practical differences in layup options for these boards? Also, what is the "stock" layup? I can't find a clear answer on the sunova website. That mid is very close to what I've been asking for (slightly narrow though).

sunovasurfboards.com/en/technology#:~:text=Available%20in%206%20layup%20types,literally%20something%20to%20suit%20everyone.

Scroll to the bottom of the page and watch the video on the layups. Standard is what they recommend for everyone. Vapor is what I get. Lighter but not as abuse proof. You can also call Poseidon Standup in SoCal and Christian will talk you through it.

Real world results: On my boards it shaves about .6 kilos off of the published weight. My Carver has over 2500 miles on it and is doing great.

Can I assume standard is what a stock board comes in? Is Vapor more fragile than the average production boards out there? Any differences in stiffness?

Yes, standard is what you can expect any board off the shelf to come as. If you happen to be buying a board at the shop or a used one and want to confirm the layup you can look for this image on the board:


The feather is vapor. A fist is standard. A bullet is bulletproof.

Yes, vapor is going to be more fragile than a standard layup. All shops and Sunova staff have always recommended the standard layup to me. Going vapor is going to save a bit of weight, but I think people who traditionally smash their gear should stick to standard. I didn't feel any stiffness changes in vapor vs standard boards that I've ridden.

You can order any board in different layups for no additional charge.

The 8.4x20x125l looks very sexy.I want one.

The 8.4x20x125l looks very sexy.I want one.

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Jeroensurf said..
The 8.4x20x125l looks very sexy.I want one.

Yeah that's the one I am recommending for my buddy.

I pulled the trigger on two customs:
5'11"x20"x77l Carver
5'9"x20"x64l Pilot

Is the pilot mid the new Carver? What about bigger sizes?

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Frankenbeutel said..
Is the pilot mid the new Carver? What about bigger sizes?

My guess is that the Pilot range only gets big enough to be seriously considered for prone (I don't prone so someone can correct me on this). Beyond that, true wing sizes for most people are Carvers. There's a little overlap for big Pilots and small Carvers though.

Im probably going to buy a 6'1 Pilot Mid, customizing with another ~1" of width. Specifically for winging. I think these lower volume mids are going to be excellent for more advanced winging.

Ive said it before but volume neutral or positive for a midlength is just a way to broaden the market for these boards to include more novice riders. From my experience the volume is not a benefit to an advanced rider, but I say that coming from experience riding the higher volume boards (haven't yet had the opportunity to ride a lower volume mid).

What do you weight Velocicraptor? because IMO rider weight and size also gives different needs (Being 98kg and riding a 92 as lightwind an 56l as highwind

~80kg

In my experience, the power to get a -20 sinker to the surface is no greater than the power needed to get onto foil from there (ulness you are using huge foils - my foils range from 700-1100). Longer board with more surface area will mean getting to the surface and moving is only easier than on a smaller board with the same volume.

More volume is valuable for different riders with different goals and winds in mind. I don't think it's necessarily advanced vs beginner.

An advanced rider who tries a lot of progressive moves that result in falls or who is riding with underpowered sails and small foils might value the added volume. That same rider might also really value a low volume board for days when they are trying to squeeze a little more performance out of the board because they don't intend to do the same kind of riding that will result in as frequent of falls.

Different tools for different days.

I can't stand riding volume neutral or higher in anything but flatwater. Particularly in these narrower shapes, I find more volume means less stability in complicated conditions. Gorge is easy because swell and wind aligns - so I agree thats an outlier, but open ocean thats often an exception to the norm. I find it so much more stable if I can sink the board below the water so that Im not getting tossed all over the place by waves, chop, refraction, etc... In flatwater or very organized conditions it matters less.

Probably just a different skill to develop. I don't seem to have issues with water starts when in the ocean on a neutral volume board. I really value the smaller sail and foil tho.