Allstar 2017 changing ?

[Area 10]

Nice! I'd like one of those in a 26" wide please 😀

Yeah my recent purchase was a custom too. It's crazy that you can actually get customs made locally here in the UK for no more (or actually less) than a standard big brand Thailand factory production board. And it will be better made too. What on earth happened to "economies of scale'? It's disappeared in a maelstrom of middle-man margins I guess.

[Eagle]

ukgm - no margins of error?

burchas - that custom kinda has a AS look.

A10 - would think that your SW23 will take a bit to get your balance point.  I still remember the first time on my AS23 - I could only paddle about a mile before stopping and turning around.  That was so lame - but 5 miles is really good.  No doubt board widths are dropping - but smart brands stock many widths to cover the bases.  Would think if you paddle your SW for a while - you will find all your other boards become ultra stable.

[burchas]

Rather than getting annoyed by boards designed for nano people...

This is my upcoming custom. It a 14x24 @275ltr, 21-22lbr. Guess which maker and model?

This is the new unreleased Infinity Blackfish with some modification.
a little more rocker line than the Allstar, especially nose rocker. Nose kick is a combination of Ace, NSP Puma. Less nose volume than
the Allstar and straighter outline Nose to tail. The Tail is also wider.

Of course the bottom is also very different. Deep tapering concave from tail
to mid-section, much more rounded rails tucking into the bottom creating a
a rounder shape from the mid section to the nose. And  a Larry Allison 4 fin setup for good measures.

25% cheaper than AllStar and it will fit me better than any production Allstar or blackfish for that matter.

Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't make sense to go and order ahead a production board, unless of course you buy used one on a fire sale at the end of the season and get it right away.
Otherwise I'll get a custom. Pay less, get more and still support American workforce. Good karma built in.

[Eagle]

Probs if I could not find a board that was good for me I would go custom - but every board I have ever paddled seems fine to me.  Just different and tweak with a fin.  Some tippier - some fatter - some faster - some bigger - all have their very own pros and cons.  And all good for what they were designed to do and who they were targeted for.  Same with skis and snowboards.  The key for me was being able to always test them out before paying.  Lucky here we always have a decent selection of boards except JL and Naish.  Tons of used SB and SIC though.  Maybe body weight has something to do with it - maybe balance - but all are stable given a bit of time.  My wife and I are very average middle age paddlers with not so great balance.  But do paddle when no one else goes out.

[Luc Benac]

This is the new unreleased Infinity Blackfish with some modification.
a little more rocker line than the Allstar, especially nose rocker. Nose kick is a combination of Ace, NSP Puma. Less nose volume than
the Allstar and straighter outline Nose to tail. The Tail is also wider.
Of course the bottom is also very different. Deep tapering concave from tail
to mid-section, much more rounded rails tucking into the bottom creating a
a rounder shape from the mid section to the nose. And  a Larry Allison 4 fin setup for good measures.
25% cheaper than AllStar and it will fit me better than any production Allstar or blackfish for that matter.
Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't make sense to go and order ahead a production board, unless of course you buy used one on a fire sale at the end of the season and get it right away.
Otherwise I'll get a custom. Pay less, get more and still support American workforce. Good karma built in.

NICE!!!
It looks like a cross between the Blackfish ST and the Blackfish DW.
I think that they are also preparing to release a flat water/ really fast Blackfish with a round bottom.

[burchas]

This is the new unreleased Infinity Blackfish with some modification.
a little more rocker line than the Allstar, especially nose rocker. Nose kick is a combination of Ace, NSP Puma. Less nose volume than
the Allstar and straighter outline Nose to tail. The Tail is also wider.
Of course the bottom is also very different. Deep tapering concave from tail
to mid-section, much more rounded rails tucking into the bottom creating a
a rounder shape from the mid section to the nose. And  a Larry Allison 4 fin setup for good measures.
25% cheaper than AllStar and it will fit me better than any production Allstar or blackfish for that matter.
Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't make sense to go and order ahead a production board, unless of course you buy used one on a fire sale at the end of the season and get it right away.
Otherwise I'll get a custom. Pay less, get more and still support American workforce. Good karma built in.

NICE!!!
It looks like a cross between the Blackfish ST and the Blackfish DW.
I think that they are also preparing to release a flat water/ really fast Blackfish with a round bottom.

You are correct Luc. It is actually based on their rounded bottom flat water
prototype. Dave tamed the rails and bottom by few degrees to make it more
stable and than added the nose based on my specs.

[Luc Benac]

This is the new unreleased Infinity Blackfish with some modification.
a little more rocker line than the Allstar, especially nose rocker. Nose kick is a combination of Ace, NSP Puma. Less nose volume than
the Allstar and straighter outline Nose to tail. The Tail is also wider.
Of course the bottom is also very different. Deep tapering concave from tail
to mid-section, much more rounded rails tucking into the bottom creating a
a rounder shape from the mid section to the nose. And  a Larry Allison 4 fin setup for good measures.
25% cheaper than AllStar and it will fit me better than any production Allstar or blackfish for that matter.
Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't make sense to go and order ahead a production board, unless of course you buy used one on a fire sale at the end of the season and get it right away.
Otherwise I'll get a custom. Pay less, get more and still support American workforce. Good karma built in.

NICE!!!
It looks like a cross between the Blackfish ST and the Blackfish DW.
I think that they are also preparing to release a flat water/ really fast Blackfish with a round bottom.

You are correct Luc. It is actually based on their rounded bottom flat water
prototype. Dave tamed the rails and bottom by few degrees to make it more
stable and than added the nose based on my specs.

Did you by any chance tried the new Flatfish? There were selling a proto on their page, it looks like a very nice board but definitely should be tippy compared to the traditional Blackfish.

[viatormundi]

The new board is at my home place and the first paddle in flat water is done.
Actually I'm not faster than with the Sidewinder, but also not slower.
For me, pivot turns works better with the Allstar and also when drafting the board ist more good-natured.
Paddling straight is easier with the Sidewinder. I think, this is the result of the different fin position.
All in all the Allstar is a nice board

Also, would you say that the Allstar is not way better than the Sidewinder? The new Allstar has good reviews here in Spain but after many years with Starboard I have decided to choose another brand and model. Ordered a 2017 14X25 Sidewinder in white color, I hope I did the right choice :-)

[mr_proper]

The Sidewinder is a super board. Very light, very stable, accelerates fast and takes even the smallest waves.
The Allstar I chose, because I hope to be a little faster than with the Sidewinder.
The Sidewinder is now for sale, but should I am not faster with the Allstar and I still have the Sidewinder, then I will sell the Allstar and keep the Sidewinder.

[burchas]

This is the new unreleased Infinity Blackfish with some modification.
a little more rocker line than the Allstar, especially nose rocker. Nose kick is a combination of Ace, NSP Puma. Less nose volume than
the Allstar and straighter outline Nose to tail. The Tail is also wider.
Of course the bottom is also very different. Deep tapering concave from tail
to mid-section, much more rounded rails tucking into the bottom creating a
a rounder shape from the mid section to the nose. And  a Larry Allison 4 fin setup for good measures.
25% cheaper than AllStar and it will fit me better than any production Allstar or blackfish for that matter.
Maybe it's just me, but it doesn't make sense to go and order ahead a production board, unless of course you buy used one on a fire sale at the end of the season and get it right away.
Otherwise I'll get a custom. Pay less, get more and still support American workforce. Good karma built in.

NICE!!!
It looks like a cross between the Blackfish ST and the Blackfish DW.
I think that they are also preparing to release a flat water/ really fast Blackfish with a round bottom.

You are correct Luc. It is actually based on their rounded bottom flat water
prototype. Dave tamed the rails and bottom by few degrees to make it more
stable and than added the nose based on my specs.

Did you by any chance tried the new Flatfish? There were selling a proto on their page, it looks like a very nice board but definitely should be tippy compared to the traditional Blackfish.

No, Dave was still covering the board after he got it out for testing. He has been killing it everywhere he participated lately using this board.

Has a lot of roll, but very good secondary stability.

[Eagle]

It seems like the trend is making board shapes more and more similar to competitor boards - with a tweak here and there.  One flat water specific model and one more all water when it comes to racing.  Then you get the more general use boards that have more DW attributes - and the full on DW boards.

Like the change from the sharp deep vee to a more cutting bulbous nose.  Definitely works when faced with start and draft train wakes and little bumps.  Nevertheless the silent cut of a deep vee is super relaxing for fun paddles.  Fanatic cut out its 2016 full deep vee Strike to a more common 2017 cutting bulbous shape.  Makes sense.  Just so interesting to listen to these promotions say one thing one year - and something completely different the next.   

[yugi]

It seems like the trend is making board shapes more and more similar to competitor boards - with a tweak here and there.  One flat water specific model and one more all water when it comes to racing.  Then you get the more general use boards that have more DW attributes - and the full on DW boards.
...

I see competitor boards becoming more all-conditions. Which I find really cool. I see the same board being used from flat to downwinds. Yes, manufacturers do provide flat water models but they seem less used by racers, at least the races I see.

Team Naish certainly use the Jav Maliko for everything, flat to chop to downwind races. Arthur Arutkin told me he uses the Fanatic Falcon for everything. He's doing well on it too: 3rd in pure flatwater distance race at the worlds.

Flatwater displacement boards are offered but seem less used by racers. At least to travel to races. It's almost as if they are more for non-race river or lake use.

Re Fanatic: I much prefer the 2016 version Falcon. Shame they boof it up again. Those video's never really show the board, the hull shape, the profile. They completely miss the point of making a video. They really lost a nice market position they had.

[burchas]

It seems like the trend is making board shapes more and more similar to competitor boards - with a tweak here and there.  One flat water specific model and one more all water when it comes to racing.  Then you get the more general use boards that have more DW attributes - and the full on DW boards.
...

I see competitor boards becoming more all-conditions. Which I find really cool. I see the same board being used from flat to downwinds. Yes, manufacturers do provide flat water models but they seem less used by racers, at least the races I see.

Team Naish certainly use the Jav Maliko for everything, flat to chop to downwind races. Arthur Arutkin told me he uses the Fanatic Falcon for everything. He's doing well on it too: 3rd in pure flatwater distance race at the worlds.

Flatwater displacement boards are offered but seem less used by racers. At least to travel to races. It's almost as if they are more for non-race river or lake use.

Re Fanatic: I much prefer the 2016 version Falcon. Shame they boof it up again. Those video's never really show the board, the hull shape, the profile. They completely miss the point of making a video. They really lost a nice market position they had.

This is for you yugi. It seems that they chose to go pintail on their 14"
unlike recent trend with these kind of boards.

[yugi]

Very NSPish.

Fast but tricky for kick turns. Jake just makes it look easy. There's some Ace DNA in there. I was really impressed by the Ace upwind speed of Penelope Strickland-Armstrong in the worlds tech race. The wide front and narrow tail looked like it helped the board stay very much on the surface of the waves upwind. I believe it is the Ace theory that the rider stays a bit more "put", the bow raises on a wave up front and the pintail doesn't penalize speed as the stern gets sunk. All nice theories each time with Fanatic but they change too much and are a bit weird in some conditions. 

I must be getting old, I trust things that evolve logically.

[ukgm]

It seems like the trend is making board shapes more and more similar to competitor boards - with a tweak here and there.  One flat water specific model and one more all water when it comes to racing.  Then you get the more general use boards that have more DW attributes - and the full on DW boards.
...

I see competitor boards becoming more all-conditions. Which I find really cool. I see the same board being used from flat to downwinds. Yes, manufacturers do provide flat water models but they seem less used by racers, at least the races I see.

Team Naish certainly use the Jav Maliko for everything, flat to chop to downwind races. Arthur Arutkin told me he uses the Fanatic Falcon for everything. He's doing well on it too: 3rd in pure flatwater distance race at the worlds.

Flatwater displacement boards are offered but seem less used by racers. At least to travel to races. It's almost as if they are more for non-race river or lake use.

Re Fanatic: I much prefer the 2016 version Falcon. Shame they boof it up again. Those video's never really show the board, the hull shape, the profile. They completely miss the point of making a video. They really lost a nice market position they had.

I agree with this. The market for flatwater specific boards must be very small now and I'm not getting one next year as they are a nightmare to sell on. People generally like the all-water option..... even if they don't use it on all-waters !