What board do I want?

[MB]

I used to SUP surf and do some bay paddling, but I've spent a lot more time in kayaks the last few years. I just dug out the 10'10" x 28" old Bic Jungle and took it for a spin, and I'm now motivated to look for a new board for my 50th birthday. Here's what my usage is likely to be in order of frequency:

1. Paddling on the local bay (Bellingham, WA) in all conditions, incl. downwinding.

2. Taking it to the coast when I kayak surf. This would likely be kayak surf in the morning, SUP outside the break in the afternoon + windy days. Surfing performance isn't critical, but I want to be comfortable getting out and back in through shore break.

3. Dedicated downwind trips to the gorge.

I'm not planning to race so I'm happy to trade some top end speed for stability. That said, my balance is decent and I like fast things :-) - I'm thinking one of the 14' boards. I'm 5'10" and 180lbs. Let me know what you think.

Thanks

Michael

[Area 10]

Lots of choices if you arent going to surf seriously with it.

Some obvious ones:

Naish Maliko
SIC Bullet
Jimmy Lewis Rail or M14.
Hypr Hawaii gun 14 (if you DO want to surf it).
Starboard All Star

[Jacko]

Something like the EVO 2.0 https://www.oneoceansports.com/partners would work, really fun board which is great in the surf and unreal for some DW. Built super strong and very light depending what construction you choose.

[gone_foiling]

Infinity Downtown flat deck - unreal surfer and bomb proof.
Sic Bullet v2 - magic carpet ride on Dw.

[MB]

@gzasinets - have you been on the 2020 Bullet, or can anyone else compare it to the V2? Of the ones listed so far, any clear favorites for stability in chop / small bump performance?

[Luc Benac]

There us a thread about just that inbthe Seabreeze forum.

[MB]

Thanks Luc, good info, and I like the sound of the 2020. The potential construction issues though...

[gone_foiling]

@gzasinets - have you been on the 2020 Bullet, or can anyone else compare it to the V2? Of the ones listed so far, any clear favorites for stability in chop / small bump performance?

I haven't been on the 2020 version. But older ones are my favorite dw boards.

[PonoBill]

You really need to pick one or two of those criteria. Gorge downwind is extremely specialized as you probably already know, so adding that to the list makes it impossible, or at the very least a huge compromise. Short period but very large swells, cranking wind. How many boards really excel or are even good at that? If your real name is Fiona or Connor you can make anything work, but actual humans need boards that help them. Good at everything means great at nothing.

In normal times you can just rent a board that rocks in the gorge from Big Winds and pick something that works for your other two criteria that will work. This year the big winds event center rental center is not even there. If I were going to try to get a board that fits all three criteria it would be a black and white 2018 SIC Bullet 14 from Craigslist. There must be some for sale, I don't see them on every car in the Gorge this year. In prior years they were like belly buttons--everyone had one.

If nothing else, playing in the surf means falling a lot. that means anything that doesn't have a flat deck and that is too thick is out. You'll wear yourself out just getting back on it. By that criteria a Bullet 17 is kind of fun as long as the surf and/or chop isn't too nuts. They are easier to remount than almost any 14.

[burchas]

...Of the ones listed so far, any clear favorites for stability in chop / small bump performance?

Naish Maliko is very fun board for these conditions, works really well in the Gorge. The Sic Bayonet is also great for this. The 2020 Bullet seems to have many design elements taken from the Bayonet so I suspect it
will be a really fun board, eager to put my hands on one.

[PonoBill]

I knew Burchas would jump in with the Naish Maliko. He made that thing fly in the Gorge.

[Luc Benac]

I knew Burchas would jump in with the Naish Maliko. He made that thing fly in the Gorge.

:-) Maliko united!!!

[MB]

Thanks for the info guys! Based on what's said here and some other reading, I think the 2020 Bullet is my first choice with the V2 Bullet or Maliko in second. I do have concerns about the durability issues on all these boards though. Are the other boards mentioned here (e.g. JLs and Hypr) close in non-surf performance b/c they seem to be much more durable?

[Luc Benac]

2018/2019 Maliko are rock proof but heavier at 28~29 lbs.

[robon]

Great suggestions here and I think the Maliko would be a good choice with it's slimmer profile for handling steep swell, and messy conditions. The Columbia River where I live is nothing like the Columbia on the Gorge for the wild DW conditions, but I have paddled some days when the wind is howling on the Columbia against the current, the same on the Kootenay River, and it makes for considerably steeper and larger wave swell than normal, and you want a board that is going to deal with it well.

I'm waiting on further reviews for the new Maliko because it sounds like the construction has been downgraded in favour of weight savings, but we'll see. I'll take a 28-29, 30  pound board over a 26 pound board with egg shell construction any day. The slight bump up in volume with the new Maliko may make it work better for a slightly heavier paddler as well. The new Bullet sounds interesting, but given early reviews on durability, it would be dragonfly construction for me.

I took a 2019 Fanatic Blitz 14 x 26" BXF for a short demo yesterday, but it was very calm conditions with a few boat wakes mixed in. Narrow tail equals a bit less stability when stepping back but lots of rocker, so it could be good in the short period stuff. It seemed fine in side on boat chop, but I really can't comment on DW performance or truly messy conditions. Seemed to accelerate well on the flat despite the rocker, and didn't push nearly as much water as I thought it would.

The Blitz I paddled had soft construction on the rails and this was very disappointing for a supposedly PVC wrapped board that has a listed weight of just under 28 pounds. I could push the rails in noticeably with my thumb for a few feet on the both sides on the rail edge just above where the interface of the rail is on the edge. I had a Naish Glide that was this soft, and it was a fucking durability nightmare. I'm hoping this Blitz slipped by QC in the factory because it's just not acceptable. This was a demo model and I would need to check the rail edge on another to draw a conclusion.