Looking for race board reviewers--anywhere race boards are made

[PonoBill]

Mark (Kiwi) Jackson got sick just prior to the Ke Nalu Race Board showcase, which upset him as much as it did me. Not only is he a fine SUP racer but he has a couple of very interesting boards and he's a really nice guy who is always fun to be around. Sick though he was, he contributed a great idea.

We have always offered Ke Nalu readers the ability to contribute to the board showcases by filling out a form and uploading photos, but it's a pretty low-key approach that focuses mostly on people reviewing the boards they already own. We've had a lot of good boards reviewed that way, but in many ways it makes sense to develop that further. Mark's idea, and now mine (since I've appropriated it), is to develop a group of reviewers who can approach designers, shapers and manufacturers offering to review their boards. This will be a useful endeavor both for surfboards and for racing, distance, and downwinder boards, but we're going to launch it with racing boards, followed soon after by surf boards.

The reviewers will have to opportunity to try boards they otherwise might not have access to without purchase. The shapers and manufacturers can expect a thorough, if subjective review, and our readers will get to see more boards tested from more manufacturers. No one has to ship any boards anywhere, and no one has to give anything away except a little time and perhaps some wear and tear on a demo board. Reviewers get credit for their reviews and can have a link to their website if they have one. Other bloggers are welcome to participate, especially since they already have an interest and skill in writing about our sport.

I am developing a set of forms and examples of the kind of information we want to gather. All the reviewers will be working from the same playlist. We're not going to elicit or publish unabashed praise, and we won't let anyone trash a manufacturer. We don't expect people to be unbiased, we assume bias, and so should the readers, but the information we gather will still help greatly in determining what board and in what configuration, will be most appropriate for you and your paddling venues. Manufacturers can nominate their own reviewers or even do their own reviews but we will provide full disclosure when that happens and readers will undoubtedly give more credibility to reviewers that are not directly employed by the company they review. We will support and display multiple reviews of the same board. Employees and owners of surf shops that sell multiple lines are particularly welcome.

We are also now able to start a forum thread (Ke Nalu has forum capabilities for talking about articles) for each review published. We hope to see a lively discussion and useful about board reviews.

Bottom line, we are looking for reviewers who live close to manufacturers or who have easy access to line(s) of boards. It will take you about half a day to review a board, given the kind of measurements we want to see, and the paddling you'll need to do. The form will be printable and you can either send it to us or transfer your hand written notes and photos to the online version of the form.

This will be an iterative process–as people review boards I expect we'll find new things to look at and consider. The reviewers will ultimately shape the review process. Should be fun.

The form to sign up as a reviewer is on Ke Nalu in this article  http://www.kenalu.com/2009/03/19/2009-stand-up-paddle-race-distance-and-downwinder-board-showcase%E2%80%93part-3/.

Once we're reviewed your form we'll provide private access to the reviewing materials.

[Byronmaui]

Is the forum going to be public or private? Do you have to be a reviewer to be part of the forum? To submit reviews do you have to be a reviewer? Good luck and look forward to seeing different boards.

Aloha

Byron

[PonoBill]

Public. Nope. And nope.