X-14 or Dominator

[Brett]

Thinking about moving from a Bark Competitor to a 14fter.  Looking at a Dominator or SIC X-14.  Anyone have experience with the X-14?  I paddle flatwater, 6"2" and 195.

[PonoBill]

I should have tried the X14 this weekend. I paddled a new bullet 12 and was blown away. it was so fast upwind that I just couldn't believe it. I stared at the bottom for ten minutes trying to figure out whats going on there. 

[Area 10]

I own both boards. Both are great. Lots has been written about the Dominator, and you'll know what to expect if you have a Competitor (so did I).

The X-14 is a delight. It must surely be a contender for the best all-round 14ft board there is. I do not understand why more people do not rave about the design genius of Mark Raaphorst. Maybe they are just getting on and enjoying the boards. Maybe it's just that not many people outside Hawaii have tried them yet. Or maybe people look at the width of the X-14 (29.5") and expect it to be a slug, despite its international race successes.

I've just come back from a ocean paddle. It was upwind/DW/cross-wind in 2ft chop and 15-20 knots, and a heavy tidal rip, with lots of water moving around in all different directions. Those are typical for the conditions where I live, and where using a flat water race-capable board becomes pretty unpleasant, sometimes even impossible (at least for me). But I had a blast on the X-14. The low nose volume and other features of the design I cannot fathom (and I have tried - my thoughts about Raaphorst's designs are the same as PonoBill's) mean that the board is just so easy to direct where you want it to go, rather than where the conditions want to send you. And the width means it is extremely stable. It is a very comfortable paddle. The handle (the best in the business IMO) and fittings for carrying the board with your paddle are also great especially when it is windy. Tomorrow I am going to GPS it in sheltered perfectly flat water, back-to-back with the Dominator and I'll let you know how it gets fares. But at the moment I am just blown away by the sophistication of what Mark has achieved here.  It is just so user-friendly and fast in bad conditions that if it is even half as good in decent conditions it will be an incredible design achievement.

What are your priorities for your 14? If it is flexibility and all-conditions capability as well as flat water speed then it is a no-brainer: Even though the Bark is very good for a race board in terms of flexibility, the X-14 still wins hands-down because e.g. you could e.g. fish off it, put your kids or dog on it, or do yoga on it, as well as take it out in far grimmer conditions than the Bark will cope with. But if you are ONLY concerned with flat water racing then perhaps there is more to think about, and it may come down to your paddle style and how you like your boards to feel in terms of e.g. tracking and buoy turns etc as well as your physical dimensions. Anyway, as I say, I'll let you know about the X-14's pure flatwater speed relative to the Dom's (at least with me on them) tomorrow.

Hope this helps a little.

[bluecrab]

I own the x-14.  Great board.   I use it for ocean/river paddling, always chop, lots of upwind and it handles extremely well.  The deck is concave so the center of gravity is lower and you can position your feet special ways for added stability in heavy side chop. 
I went with the twcc over the carbon because it was a 4lbs difference and I hoped it would be tougher.  I'm happy with my decision.
The only downside is its hard to surf because of the concave deck, but its a 14ft flatwater board so whatever.
I highly recommend it.

[PonoBill]

On Friday I took a friend out paddling, we were aiming to do his first downwinder, but the wind wasn't cooperating, so we went by the event site to see what was going on. We wound up demoing a few boards, including the standamaran, the SIC bullet 12 and 17. My friend is a decent paddler but when we paddled against the wind and swell, I was on a 17 and he was on the Bullet 12 and I thought I'd be waiting for him. Instead I was paddling all out, chasing him and slowly losing ground. When we turned around I caught and passed him, but mostly because he didn't know how to catch bumps.

We swapped boards and I smoked him both ways.

I cite this not as some test--too many weird variables-- but rather as an anecdotal evidence that Mark is doing something very strange to his boards. They don't look radical, but they are. Incidentally, Mark did VERY well in the open course race on the Bullet 12, beating a lot of very fast paddlers on unlimited and 14' boards. I think he was in the top five overall. A board worth looking at no matter who you are. .

[Chilly]

After months of searching, I ordered a Bullet 12 SCC. My first choice was a Bullet 14 V2, but it’s not a production model and shipping to Florida was expensive. There were a lot of reasons why I selected the Bullet 12. One of them was Mark. The guy knows his shit. The other reason was,,,, Bill put it best “They don't look radical, but they are.” 

[raf]

ditto on the Bullet 12-6.  I own one and its an amazing board.  Very fast upwind and downwind, handles side-chop like a dream.  It is very different from the 14 Bullets in that it has much less nose rocker.  No slap-slap-slapping going into chop.  It just pierces through effortlessly.  I have used it in 2 races and done better than I expected; 3rd place mens elite in Paddle to the Point, and 2nd and 1st place respectively among 12-6s on both days of the Lobster CUP 25 miler.  I'm now hooked on racing!
I had the TWCC but switched it out for a SCC as the weight difference was huge (felt at least 6 pounds lighter although I didn't have it on a scale).  I believe SIC is coming out with a V2 Bullet 14 for 2014 which will be closer to the 12-6 rocker profile. 

As a side note, it surfs better than any other 12-6 I have been on.  If you want to surf it, I highly recommend the SCC construction to reduce swing weight. 

Raf
www.soposup.com
owner of Soposup, Maine's 1st dedicated SUP shop
SIC dealer AND believer

[freetobeme]

Since you say you paddle flatwater than I would go Dominator.  It's a great board.  Works well in everything.  I raced it this weekend in nice harbor conditions without chop and in another race in 2' lake waves.  Very steady.

[Fog City Rider]

I paddled an x14 and at my size, it felt sluggish and unnecessarily wide.  You got 30 lbs. On me, but if you are comfortable on a Competitor, then I'd say you could get a much sleeker and faster board.  Like the Dominator :-) , or something else in the 27-28 range.

The additional length of a 14 aids stability quite a bit, so I'd go narrower not wider it you're looking for performance.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

[SUPtanker]

I wonder if the x-14 SIC Georges Cronsteadt is racing is narrower than standard. He seems to be doing very well on it.

[Brett]

Thanks for the input.  I love my Competitor and had planned on buying a Dominator.  I paddled a Bullet 14 in the Gorge last week, which I fell in love with.  That got me thinking about SIC and the X-14.   Sounds like I'd be happy with either board.

[TN_SUP]

Is the SIC 12'6" you are referring to the same one reviewed on paddleboard specialists video blog?
I've been looking for more feedback on it too.

[corlot]

The Sic x14 that George paddled is 26 inches wide. The reps said it will be a model for next year. I was super impressed with it. Stunning sup!

[lucabrasi]

The handle (the best in the business IMO) and fittings for carrying the board with your paddle are also great especially when it is windy.

Just that little detail moves it way up the charts for me on the 14 footers I am considering. Far and away light years ahead of anything else I have seen. Now if I could just paddle a few of them......

[westbeach]

The Sic x14 that George paddled is 26 inches wide. The reps said it will be a model for next year. I was super impressed with it. Stunning sup!

A narrower board is what I am waiting for from SIC.