Standup Zone Forum
Stand Up Paddle => Gear Talk => Topic started by: Ichabod Spoonbill on March 11, 2017, 09:15:11 AM
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Okay, I'm putting my damn money where my mouth is. I got a Pau Ricochet 11' Big EZ board which will be a long-term test.
An 11' all-around is kind of backwards step. The tendency is as you get better you go for a more specialized board. But that's not most SUPers. Most people get one board, so I'm going to put this board through a long term test as a one-board quiver. (It's part of a SUPexaminer series I'm doing.) I just unpacked it so didn't get a great shot of the whole board. It's weird unpacking a board in the snow, but it was 60º last week, I swear!
The Ricochet texture is a little odd. Not bad, just different. It reminds me of some of those matt-finish books. It's not plasticy like one of those Bic Dura-Tecs, but it doesn't quite feel the same as a standard EPS board. It doesn't feel very hard, but from what I understand the strength in this board is how the walls bend. I don't think will be a problem.
Not a lot of rocker in this board. It'll be fine for the wimpy surfing I do, but the curve looks biased towards flatwater. It's got a planing nose, but the rest of it feels like a cruiser. It's pretty flat, so I'm sure it would fine for yoga.
It's got nine of these Seamount plugs. This is a fancy name for a screw mount instead the bungie tie-downs were used to. You can get all sorts of accessories for the Seamounts like phone and rod holders. Soon I'll be getting a GoPro mount and some bungie tie-downs. I like the Seamount on the underside of the nose so I can mount an underwater GoPro.
Can somebody tell me what this hole through the tail is for? A flag plug? I'm confused.
I'll get this thing on the water soon. It's 25º and windy right now. In the next week or so. I'm really looking forwards to testing this out!
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Oh, I meant to add that the board bag is really tight. I could barely get it on. Maybe that's the temperature?
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Sweet 8) Looks like a very cute all-arounder. What's the weight?
The holes look like a M8 RAM mount which is good news if it is.
Lots of possible attachments. If you have a bigger hole with nothing
in it, it might be a http://supthinktank.com/connexsup/ could not see
clearly from the pics.
Personally I like the matte finish. Both for look and practicality.
What your plans for this board?
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Pau Hana Big EZ was my 1st real paddle board. Bought it in 2008 and just sold it last year. I'm interested to see if your new board weighs 30lbs as they advertise and just how tough their new material really is. I'm gonna move to Florida sometime this year and I'm interested in their Endurance board in this material for rivers,springs and canals. Looking forward to your review.
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Reading some about it seems like they're SeaMount™ System which looks like a threaded
mount. probably compatible with some RAM mounts, worth checking.
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Burchas, I think they are a RAM mount. My plans are to do everything I can to this board. I want to see if this Ricochet material is BS or not. I also want a good all-arounder for myself. I don't always want to use my 14' race board. To me, this thing is like a little jeep or something. I can bring it almost anywhere.
I was thinking about the Endurance. It's a good idea. I still want a cruiser/surfer for vacations or if I want to bring a board with me for whatever. I also want something that can take a beating. So we'll see how it goes. I mentioned before I might try some science on this thing too. I'd love to pair it with a Smartfin (http://smartfin.org/project/). I tried contacting those people but I never heard back. Anybody got an in?
Hana, how was the Big EZ for surfing?
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One review showed guy in Hawaii and his wife surfing this board. I just surf the small East Cost stuff rarely but it feels like surfing a long board. I used it mostly for paddling the ICW and island hopping. I tried several fins and amazingly a Larry Allison Ninja fin worked wonders on this board. Great glide and much better tracking into chop or wind. I never tried any of the newer fins as I don't think I paddled it for 3 years before I sold it last year when I bought a SIC F-14. It was one of the first Big EZ's out and came with a Fiberglass Fin Co. Dolfin surf fin. Used that to putz(limits of my surf ability) around in the surf.
Hate I sold it.It was the yellow and white with snow camo pad and the Pau Hana surfing Hawaiian emblem. It looked great hanging on my enclosed back porch !!
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http://www.supsurfmag.com/equipment-stand-up-paddle/reviews/stand-up-paddle-board-review%3A-the-big-easy-by-pau-hana.-tandem-anyone?-20090605761/
Hope this link works. The pic of the yellow board is just like mine except the blk/white snow camo pad,no tie downs,simple board. Note the Hawaiian surfing emblem back then. I bought my board about 6 months before this first review ever came out. I don't know if they have tweaked the rocker,rails,bottom,etc. thru the years or if still the same.
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Thanks, Hana. That worked. Good reviews. I think the current Big EZ shape is a little different than what's in this review, but not much. I might consider a Ninja fin if I do a lot of flatwater on this. And since I will be doing a lot of flatwater, I should look at one. The board does weight around thirty pounds. It has a nice Y handle, so that makes it easier to handle.
I was hoping for some nicer weather this week, but it looks like we're getting 12"-18" of snow. Holy crap!
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Nice looking sup. Looking forward to your review of her to see how she performs for you.
Thanks for posting your photos too.
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Man I surfed with the owner of Pau Hana, Todd, today. Great guy.
We sat at the PPG this year and casually tossed baseball sized rocks at one of those about 10 feet away. It's tough man.
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Cowboy, that's exactly why I bought the thing. But it's great to hear independent confirmation. Thanks.
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You could leave the fin off and use it as a sled this week in all the snow headed your way ;D That would tell us something about durability!!
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I've been thinking about that very idea… Once this blizzard stops, who knows? (It hasn't actually hit us yet, but soon they say. Soon.)
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Sweet! Nice size board. Should be fun to surf. I hear water chestnuts will pierce it though..... ;)
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Don't you even joke about those things, Stoney! They are pure EVIL! Go right through your boot. ;D
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LOL...I remembered your story about getting stuck in devils triangle with your daughter...can't imagine having to deal with those things.
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Icky... congrats!
and I am pretty sure the "thru hole" is for your leash string.
loop the string, tie the knot, push the loop trough the hole.... then attach your leash to the loop.
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Thanks, Creek. One of these days you're going to have to get me on a Sunova. Maybe then I'll see the light!
I was looking at the Pau Hana lit, and I think it's a pass-through for a locking strap. Makes sense.
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I finally was able to get out on this thing. Boo snow.
When I looked at the river at noontime the conditions were almost glassy. Perfect conditions for a maiden voyage, especially when the water is still hovering around 40º. Or course, when I got down there at about 2PM the wind had decided to screw with me. Out in the channel things were about 10mph with little whitecaps.
https://youtu.be/Fz2deuQ574c
I launched anyway. Nothing like survival paddling to get a feel for a board!
First impression was that this board is a little more directional than other all-arounders I've paddled. The winds weren't pushing it too hard to one side, and I wasn't having to change sides as often as I expected. There also wasn't as much board slap in the short period chop as I've had with my NSP 11'. I'm not sure why, because this new board's 2" wider, so that would mean more exposed area in the bow? I don't know, but the board was smoother.
No surprise, the board was super stable. The chop didn't toss it around much. I paddled about a mile upwind then did a downbreezer. That part was really fun. The conditions were one of those odd moments when the current and the wind were going in opposite directions. This tends to make bigger chop. The board felt like it really wanted to get on a plane. I got a few small rides in the chop, but even when I didn't the board kind of sailed along. I'd love to surf this thing in small waves.
I never actually fell, but I did go to my knees once when the nose pearled. The board also responded pretty well to foot steering. My other wide board doesn't steer well with weight shifts, but this one was responsive. I had the single fin on for flatwater.
The ricochet material may be tough but my KeNalu paddle made a lot of marks. I guess I'll have to get used to that. Otherwise I think this is a good ride for me. This is probably as good a noodling around board as I could ask for.
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Old topic, but I got some video of me on the Pau Hana.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSaJho9A6ys&feature=youtu.be
A few pics too. My son was working the camera. He got some nice shots!