Author Topic: Sunova Flow 8'7" review (with some comparisons to Skate 8'8" XL)  (Read 7509 times)

MDG

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Supthecreek encouraged me to post my impressions on my 8’7 Sunova Flow (and Sunova 8’8” XL Skate), claiming a newbie’s perspective would be helpful and relevant to others just starting out. So here goes. I apologize if the terminology I use is a bit off – I’m still learning. 

Background on my experience and board migration leading up to the Flow: Less than 2 years SUS, no prior prone experience. Currently 49 y/o, 170-175lbs. Surf mostly NH and Cape Cod. First board was a used Starboard Whopper - took me a couple days kooking around to catch my first wave, a pumping double overankle. I was hooked. Moved on to a used 9’2 Fanatic Allwave which allowed me to start working the wave face.

When I was ready for the next step, JimK of extremewidnsurfing.com provided some great advice and I ordered the 8’8” XL Skate through him last year (This is the same Skate that Creek reviewed recently - posted in Gear Talk).

From day one the Skate was super stable - to me even more so than the larger Allwave. Whereas the Allwave felt corky, the Skate feels grounded. The Skate provided a jump in performance over the Allwave - thinner more refined rails, thinned out nose and tail (albeit wide) delivered improved carving and it holds the face better with more speed when the waves wall up a bit.

The Skate remains a blast to ride but I wanted a board that would be quicker rail to rail in good waves and also better suited to handle steeper, larger waves with power. I knew I was going to get another Sunova, but so many choices – Speeed, Soul, Flow, Acid, etc. So I read countless Zone reviews, spoke to Creek and others who ride different Sunovas, had the pleasure of meeting Tino during his Spring East Coast tour and demoed fellow Zoner Badger’s 8’10 Flow (the lower volume 120L model – not the current 131L model).

I kept coming back to the Flow. I spoke to JimK to confirm that it would be the correct option for the style of surfing I am aspiring toward and I placed an order for the 8’7” - once again great advice, pricing and service from JimK. The board was packed super well – it arrived in perfect condition. Even came with 5 fins to cover all options. Kudos to the people at the factory who packaged it up.

Sorry no pics to compare against the Skate. Virtually same length but laying it on top of the Skate underscores how different the shapes are. Much curvier outline with pulled in nose and narrower tail (although still wide compared to a Speeed or Acid). More pronounced rocker. Tail and nose are even thinner than the Skate’s, concentrating its 120.5L volume a bit more toward the middle compared to the Skate’s 133.2L volume. 

First session – small with side chop. Normally I wouldn’t even go out but was anxious to test the new board. As expected the Flow did not have that initial 'glued to water' feeling that I had the first time I stood on the Skate. It was twitchy and I fell quite a bit, but before the session ended I was finding it fairly easy to brace and right it. Although not in the same league as the Skate, I was pleasantly surprised with the stability paddling out through the whitewater. Yaw was very pronounced compared to the Skate. Waves were soft and flat and the Flow felt very slow trimming down the line - not the best conditions for this board, so I was not discouraged. I was mostly interested in testing the balance anyway. 

The next session was...magic! Steady diet of clean waist/stomach high with some bigger sets rolling in. The pronounced yaw was now an advantage in the surf – pivot turns into the waves are super easy compared to the Skate. Turning from the middle is a breeze - just like I read about. Almost turns through osmosis - twist your torso and tweak your weighting is all you need. Plant the back foot further back toward the kick pad and rail to rail cutbacks are amazing. It took me a while to be able to turn the Skate sharply - but I need to move the back foot from rail to rail on that wide tail. The Flow is effortless and with more snap - unless the waves are small and mushy with no power…then the Skate shines.

I have had a couple more sessions on the Flow now in decent conditions. Despite the curvier outline and more pronounced rocker, the Flow feels faster for the initial few strokes into the wave and my wave count has been surprisingly high. On the wave the Flow really instills confidence. It likes to be worked rail to rail and It seems to reward more aggressive surfing (by my standards). I look forward for some bigger days with real juice.

The Skate got me hooked on the Sunova brand – durable, lightweight and so damn fun. In my opinion the construction is truly unique and really does provide a smooth ride where other boards I have tried can feel harsh and bouncy. And they are beautiful boards – if I had a nickel for every time someone stopped me coming out of the water to ask me about the Skate and comment on how great it looks, they would have funded the purchase of the Flow!

The Zone has been a great resource. It has accelerated my learning curve, led me to great board choices and introduced me to some fantastic people.

MDG
Sunova Flash 8'6"
Bill Foote Rocket 8'4"

Seacoast NH

supthecreek

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Re: Sunova Flow 8'7" review (with some comparisons to Skate 8'8" XL)
« Reply #1 on: June 29, 2016, 02:43:04 PM »
MDG... That was great... nicely detailed.... that was really nice take on the Flow as compared to your other boards.

I really encourage all Zoner's to post their board thoughts.... it all adds up to info that someone will find helpful, and that's what it's all about!

And thanks so much for sharing your Skate and little Flow with me.... I didn't ride the 8'7 for long... but I had a blast on it!

See you in a few weeks... and don't forget the Skate.... I want to log some more time on that board ;D

Zooport

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Re: Sunova Flow 8'7" review (with some comparisons to Skate 8'8" XL)
« Reply #2 on: June 29, 2016, 03:51:49 PM »
I wish you guys would shut up about the Sunovas.  Every time someone posts a glowing review like this, it makes me want one and my wife says she will divorce me if I buy another board.  So please start saying Sunovas are lame for the sake of my marriage.
8'6 Soul Compass
9'1 Sunova Creek
9'6 WaveStorm SUP
9'8 Starboard Element

SupPadre

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Re: Sunova Flow 8'7" review (with some comparisons to Skate 8'8" XL)
« Reply #3 on: June 29, 2016, 07:12:57 PM »
An epic first post.

JimK

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Re: Sunova Flow 8'7" review (with some comparisons to Skate 8'8" XL)
« Reply #4 on: June 29, 2016, 07:38:19 PM »
Nice job Great review ... but then I knew it was Glad Creek got you to post it I didn't feel it was within my  authority to post an email you sent to me. I told Creek about it and he said he'd talk to you

GREAT JOB DUDE!

JimK
Extreme Windsurfing

Badger

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Re: Sunova Flow 8'7" review (with some comparisons to Skate 8'8" XL)
« Reply #5 on: June 30, 2016, 03:03:08 AM »
Excellent review Mark.

Great to see that you stopped lurking and became a full fledged Zoner.
Kalama E3 6'1 x 23" 105L
Axis HPS 980 / PNG 1300
Sunova Flow  8'10 X 31"  119L
Me - 6'0" - 165lbs - 66yo

NEplay

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Re: Sunova Flow 8'7" review (with some comparisons to Skate 8'8" XL)
« Reply #6 on: June 30, 2016, 08:21:45 AM »
Got to meet Mark in the water this morning. He was finishing up a 4 hour session-I think he is bit bad

I tried used his flow for two baby tiny waves and it was fun. Thank you very much Mark. I feel like the Focus 12'6 Bluefin was the more appropriate tool for the day, not sure if the multitude of longboarders and Quebecois would agree  8) 8)
New England Is My Playground

Tom

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Re: Sunova Flow 8'7" review (with some comparisons to Skate 8'8" XL)
« Reply #7 on: June 30, 2016, 09:25:44 AM »
I wish you guys would shut up about the Sunovas.  Every time someone posts a glowing review like this, it makes me want one and my wife says she will divorce me if I buy another board.  So please start saying Sunovas are lame for the sake of my marriage.

I totally understand and boy, I sure do miss her. ;)

Zooport

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Re: Sunova Flow 8'7" review (with some comparisons to Skate 8'8" XL)
« Reply #8 on: July 10, 2016, 01:41:37 PM »
I wish you guys would shut up about the Sunovas.  Every time someone posts a glowing review like this, it makes me want one and my wife says she will divorce me if I buy another board.  So please start saying Sunovas are lame for the sake of my marriage.

I totally understand and boy, I sure do miss her. ;)

LOL Tom.  Hmmm, no wife = more time and money to surf.  Hmmm. 
8'6 Soul Compass
9'1 Sunova Creek
9'6 WaveStorm SUP
9'8 Starboard Element

SlatchJim

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Re: Sunova Flow 8'7" review (with some comparisons to Skate 8'8" XL)
« Reply #9 on: July 11, 2016, 10:37:56 AM »
Mike and Tom you guys are a riot!  ;D

Strangely, I read the review in an effort TO find a board that was a good fit for my wife, since the other thread says they're on sale here in the US.  I think she'd love to demo the Flow vs the Acid.  MGD: your review was incredible, thanks!

Zooport

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Re: Sunova Flow 8'7" review (with some comparisons to Skate 8'8" XL)
« Reply #10 on: July 11, 2016, 11:23:14 AM »
I've been working on my wife trying to get her to try SUP.  So far, no luck.  If I could just get her interested, then I could buy boards "for her." 


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9'8 Starboard Element

Timi

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Re: Sunova Flow 8'7" review (with some comparisons to Skate 8'8" XL)
« Reply #11 on: July 17, 2016, 01:56:25 AM »
Nice review MDG! And yes, the "newbie perspective" is very helpful, at least for me. Even encouraged me to register and think about sharing my newbie perspective on and experience with my sunova soul.

MDG

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Re: Sunova Flow 8'7" review (with some comparisons to Skate 8'8" XL)
« Reply #12 on: July 18, 2016, 05:44:21 AM »
Thanks all for the kind words. I wanted to get a few more sessions on the Flow before circling back – but lack of decent surf has kept the Flow on the shelf. I have turned to the Skate to get the most out of a couple of knee high mush sessions over the last 2 plus weeks. I did get to try the Flow in quad set up right after writing the review (first sessions were thruster with 3D 7.0s). I must admit I did not like quad. Perhaps the stock Sunova fins were too big (105 front, 94 rear) or it was just user error, but it felt super stiff...and I missed more waves and fell more paddling into waves (again, user error?).  I don’t have enough experience on different fin set ups to know what works best – but I was expecting the quad set up to be  looser and it was just the opposite (conditions were similar size as previous sessions on thruster). I need more TOW in different set ups in different conditions. 

Zooport – maybe my ‘bad’ experience with quads will help save your marriage. Silver linings.  ;)

Timi – please do post your review on the Soul. I was very interested in the Soul early on in my search but was able to piece together enough feedback from various postings on the Flow to push me in that direction. Sharing your experience on the Soul may be the ‘piece’ someone is looking for to help them with their decision.   
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Bill Foote Rocket 8'4"

Seacoast NH

nalu-sup

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Re: Sunova Flow 8'7" review (with some comparisons to Skate 8'8" XL)
« Reply #13 on: July 19, 2016, 04:50:22 PM »
MDG, +1 on your feeling about quads on the 8'7" Flow. I have ridden mine with various fins in thruster mode, including the 3D 7s you mentioned; currently running the Sunova 94s that come with the board as rear quad fins and using them as thruster side bites, and using a very flexy 4.5" center fin. I tried a couple of different thruster options and found them interesting at first. Bottom line for me involved two issues; the rail to rail transitions felt too "black or white" feeling kind of twitchy without a flowing rail transition, and the board felt like it had too much drag whenever all four fins were in the water (for example taking a straight drop out onto the flats before cranking a turn back up the face). I am very happy with the current thruster set up.
8'7" Sunova Flow 
8'8" Sunova SP25
9'0" Elua Makani
9'0" Tabou SupaSurf 
14' SIC Bullet 2020

 


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