Standup Zone Forum
Stand Up Paddle => Gear Talk => SUP Gear Reviews / Newly Acquired / On Order => Topic started by: Badger on December 12, 2017, 03:43:46 AM
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I've had about six sessions on the 7'6 SF and so far I am very happy with it.
I had no opportunity to demo one. I'm the first to order one in NH. My two biggest concerns were stability and volume.
Before this, the smallest board I'd been on was my 110 liter 8'4 x 29" Sunova Flow. The 8'4 Flow surfed great but didn't go well on the small mushy waves that we often have here. It also didn't have the stability I needed for bigger waves and would only work for me on the cleanest days. So after a ton of thinking and research, I traded it in on the Super Frank 7'6 x 31".
The Super Frank is 115 liters. I was worried that having that much volume in such a short board might be too much for my 170 lbs. The moment I got on it alleviated all my concerns. The board was considerably more stable than my 8'4 Flow and the volume, while a bit more than I needed for my weight, didn't feel too floaty or corky at all.
The first day was knee to waist and mushy. I started catching waves right away. I had no trouble adjusting to the shorter length. The first thing I noticed was the speed. It's way faster than my 8'4 in the small stuff. The ability to carry more speed through the waves allows for snappier turns. It also enables you to ride much higher on the wave keeping you ahead of the curl making it much easier to outrun the wave.
Bigger waves were a bit trickier. I had it out on a couple of head high days. Take offs were more challenging because the board just wants to go, kind of like a skateboard on a steep hill. I think it will be fun on bigger days as long as it's clean, but if there is any kind of chop, I would prefer my 8'10 Flow which I keep around just for that reason.
So the Super Frank is an awesome board that makes slow mushy surf into very fun waves. It's fast, stable and maneuverable. It's everything I had hoped it would be.
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Nice review. Glad to see you like your new board even and you made a good choice. I am in the same boat as you. Can't demo board since they aren't very many sup dealers in my area. BTW, those waves in the background of the photo, those are some of the same type of waves I have encountered down at Surfside, Texas where I sup surf.
Thanks for sharing your review.
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Great Review Badger! I got to hold and check out two of these boards when i was at 101 Paddlesports out in SF. Very cool design. like a more refined pocket rocket. Viewing the sick vids of guys ripping small mushy waves in florida seems like a great quiver weapon.
i have a 9'1 Supertech in carbon- and i've only managed one very small ding- at it only comes out in the juice- these JL boards are constructed great!
I have two small wave mush boards that I dont like independently for different reasons (one has always not been enough volume- the other i have grown to hate the fin placement)
i'd love to see a Super Frank vs Shroom vs Slate vs Hypernut style review. Small mush wave rippers! to see whats next.... gotta get ready for summer 2018 on the east coast!
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Viewing the sick vids of guys ripping small mushy waves in florida seems like a great quiver weapon.
Can you share those vids with us? I'd love to see them.
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here is a video
https://www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Stand-Up-Paddle/SUP/North-Florida-SUP-Surfing-with-Jason-Latham?page=1
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Thanks nt, that's the best video I've seen of the Frank. I wish there were more.
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Thanks nt, that's the best video I've seen of the Frank. I wish there were more.
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Yep . Exact vid I was talking about
Sent from my Moto Z (2) using Tapatalk
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Great review - I may end up with one at some point. I'm guessing it's just a better version of my JP Surf Wide 7'4" which I love in small, short period waves.
I will say the few times I've had it out in bigger stuff (chest+) it's a bit tricky to ride because as you said, it wants to go, and it can be difficult to setup a bottom turn quick enough.
I could foresee more of the industry moving to this shape because it allows intermediate riders to get back on the tail properly in less than perfect waves.
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Just found another one so i figured i would add it
https://vimeo.com/216209224
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Quick review on the 7'6" JL Super Frank Lean, I debated back and forth between the Lean and the Regular model, very happy I went with the Lean. I'm 175 lbs and this is the lowest volume board (100L) I've had to date. I've had this board for 2 months or so now in a variety of conditions, knee high mush, head high hurricane swell, etc.
-Performance:
The main thing with this board is you can ride much shorter than typical with stability to support you. I have absolutely no issues with stability on this board, frankly, I could go a bit thinner overall and lose probably another 5-10L of volume and be fine. The board does not yaw like the JP Surf Wide. I do take waves a bit later than I would on the SuperTech, a few quick paddles and I'm in. It's very lively, and I can get to the tail really easily even on weak waves. On steeper waves, you do have to keep your wits to make sure you don't pearl it based on the rocker (which is obvious based on it's design).
-Build/Quality:
I have not had any issues with rail scrapping on this one, I had issues with the SuperTech, and my Hippostick paddle seems to scrape all my boards eventually (same happened with the F-One board I had). I love the design, and simple color scheme. Fins are solid, I started with a thruster setup but have moved to the quad. My only downside is the pad becomes quite slick, ever since moving to a waxed top, I almost prefer it. It's a bit more work each session to wax, but I know I have stability.
-Who this board is for:
If you are in that 70-80 kg range and fairly experienced, I see no issues with dropping down to the 7'6" Lean, it's great for weaker waves and overall progression as you can get back on the tail so easily and work the board as it's designed for. I will basically ride it in almost all east coast conditions except for when we have overhead hurricane swell with strong offshores, or in pumping Costa Rica surf, etc. when I use my SuperTech.
My quiver is pretty much complete at this point, I may drop down the 8'8" SuperTech to the 7'11" at some point in the future, but.....right now I'm pretty happy with what I have.
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thx ap
great review--i am 6'2" 185, so we are cut similarly--never considered a board this short to be an option (i am 60, so that's where we differ in a big way) but your review impressed me--maybe someday, tho better hurry up given my toe tag is looming!
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I still have the 7'6 Wide and love it. I know a guy with a 7'6 Lean but haven't tried his board yet to compare.
I weigh 170 and just turned 61. I'm happy with the stability of the Wide. I can handle a moderate chop with it but need fairly clean conditions to ride it on bigger days (shoulder high and above).
I'm sure I could ride the Lean but I think I would be limited to surfing it only on very clean days.
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I have the 8’6 JL SF Wide version, it’s the only board I ride and love it. I don’t want to go shorter this board paddles great and I like to be able to paddle away from a crowded lineup. I’d really like to demo the 8’6 Lean. I’m a couple months away from turning 55, 5’9, 205lbs. For Northern NJ waves this board is perfect.
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super frank is a nice board.
what fin setup are you guys using?
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super frank is a nice board.
what fin setup are you guys using?
I’m riding it as a quad using the JL stock fins plus a true Ames nubster.
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super frank is a nice board.
what fin setup are you guys using?
Stock quads now, may try the 2+1 Blackstix setup I have on my SuperTech right now.
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I was running stock quad until a few sessions ago, then switched to stock thruster.
Thruster seems a little more responsive in the turns which I like.
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Where can you buy this board? Hard to find online.
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Where can you buy this board? Hard to find online.
http://shop.101surfsports.com/shop/Stand-Up-Paddleboarding/Stand-Up-Paddleboards/Surfing-Stand-Up-Paddleboards.htm
Where I got mine.
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Where can you buy this board? Hard to find online.
http://jimmylewis.com/dealers/
You can buy direct from the site too, also if you have any questions, e-mail Jimmy/Marlon, they are extremely responsive.
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I was running stock quad until a few sessions ago, then switched to stock thruster.
Thruster seems a little more responsive in the turns which I like.
Yeah, I shifted over to a 2+1 Blackstix setup that I had on my SuperTech for smaller surf (which this board took the place of anyways). Really loved how it turned and the smaller center fin keeps speed well. It loosens the back end up enough without loosing too much grip on the initial bottom turn.
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I was running stock quad until a few sessions ago, then switched to stock thruster.
Thruster seems a little more responsive in the turns which I like.
Yeah, I shifted over to a 2+1 Blackstix setup that I had on my SuperTech for smaller surf (which this board took the place of anyways). Really loved how it turned and the smaller center fin keeps speed well. It loosens the back end up enough without loosing too much grip on the initial bottom turn.
Did you look at the Futures Roberts 5 fins? seems close to the Blackstix but comes with 5 fins so quad set up option available...
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Well I tried thruster for a few months on the Super Frank and switched back to quads today. Definitely like the quads better. It's faster and feels more solid on the wave.
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Well I tried thruster for a few months on the Super Frank and switched back to quads today. Definitely like the quads better. It's faster and feels more solid on the wave.
Yeah, I'm about to switch back as well.
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I find that every time I make a change I like it better, even when I go back.
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The thruster did help me get more vertical on the wave but overall made the board feel slightly sluggish. Quads just feel more suitable to this type of board shape and possibly my style of riding. My 8'10 Flow is also a quad so maybe it's just what I'm used to.
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Yeah, I mean for me it's a pretty simple trade off:
Quads are faster, but I like how a thruster reacts when I get back on the tail. Again, the primarily point is that the fins aren't really that important if I'm not on the stomp pad with my back foot, which is something I'm struggling with getting consistently.
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yep--way too many variables (incl weak operator skills!) for me to have strong opinions about the effect of fin swaps
i feel like ill never be skilled enough, and never have time on consistent clean, reasonably powered waves, sufficient to make judgement about minor fin tweaks
i figure the shaper and team riders know way better than I about what will work best
so i usually ride stock and replace with closest i can find
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yep--way too many variables (incl weak operator skills!) for me to have strong opinions about the effect of fin swaps
i feel like ill never be skilled enough, and never have time on consistent clean, reasonably powered waves, sufficient to make judgement about minor fin tweaks
i figure the shaper and team riders know way better than I about what will work best
so i usually ride stock and replace with closest i can find
Yeah, I completely agree with this, although.........I will say that last year when we had a nice run of waves I tried a ton of different fins/fin setups and settled on the Blackstix for my SuperTech, and I really like them for that board. They are a bit faster/looser than the stock fins, although they are very comparable in size/foil.
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I like the quad for the speed and face hold and I am back to the thruster now and learn to adjust but if I ever found a racy type wave then I'll be on the quad for sure.