Standup Zone Forum

Stand Up Paddle => Gear Talk => Topic started by: ninja tuna on October 24, 2018, 11:27:40 AM

Title: The new Portal Phantom
Post by: ninja tuna on October 24, 2018, 11:27:40 AM
Looks like it surfs good.

https://vimeo.com/296636090
Title: Re: The new Portal Phantom
Post by: TallDude on October 24, 2018, 12:00:04 PM
It's interesting how less he ripped without the paddle. Looks like a fun shape.
Title: Re: The new Portal Phantom
Post by: 805StandUp on October 24, 2018, 01:28:47 PM
Because it is tailored to paddle-enhanced surfing?  As a fan of rounded pins, I am kind of digging the lines, rails and rocker of the board... though it does remind me of a funboard.
Title: Re: The new Portal Phantom
Post by: Night Wing on October 24, 2018, 02:32:20 PM
What caught my eye about this sup, no deck pad. Is it a sup or a prone surf board?

Anyhow, the guy surfs it really well.
Title: Re: The new Portal Phantom
Post by: JEG on October 24, 2018, 02:44:01 PM
nice board and vid  ;)
Title: Re: The new Portal Phantom
Post by: supsean on October 24, 2018, 02:51:03 PM
It is a SUP board. Erik was an instructor down in Costa Rica at Blue Zone SUP and ran the podcast Paddlewoo, so he is a dedicated SUP surfer. He did come from prone surfing though.

I actually spoke with Erik about the lack of deck pad on the board that he brought to the the APP Long Island surfing event, and he just doesn't like 'em. He will put them on, if you want. Either a full pad, or a middle pad/stomp pad.

I think Fisher Grant surfed a prototype of the Phantom for the competition. I also saw him prone surfing on it quite nicely after the event...

He recently relocated to Rhode Island, and its really nice to have a local shaper. Hopefully he will have a demo...

–sean
Title: Re: The new Portal Phantom
Post by: APPST_Paddle on October 24, 2018, 03:03:49 PM
+1 on not liking a deck pad and the shape of this board.
Title: Re: The new Portal Phantom
Post by: supnsurf on October 24, 2018, 03:28:34 PM
I wonder what the size of that board is ? It would be fun to have a board you could surf and SUP well . 
Title: Re: The new Portal Phantom
Post by: 805StandUp on October 24, 2018, 04:32:07 PM
I wonder what the size of that board is ? It would be fun to have a board you could surf and SUP well .

Interestingly I emailed Erik earlier to find out.  Here is his response:

"I'm riding a 7.7 x 26.5 at 88L and a 7.11 x 27.5 at 100L."
Title: Re: The new Portal Phantom
Post by: Area 10 on October 24, 2018, 06:39:18 PM
Yeah, it’s a funboard.

It’s a shame that over the last 10-12 years SUP surfing hasn’t developed its own unique style and moves. This guy is an excellent SUP surfer, but what he is doing would be unremarkable by prone surfing standards. Furthermore, we are aping shortboarding, where we’d have inherently more success aping longboarding. Silly, really, IMO, and weakens the USP of SUP.
Title: Re: The new Portal Phantom
Post by: PonoBill on October 24, 2018, 07:18:34 PM
Because it is tailored to paddle-enhanced surfing?  As a fan of rounded pins, I am kind of digging the lines, rails and rocker of the board... though it does remind me of a funboard.
Definitely funboard size. He does better sup surfing because he's got a good paddle anchored cutback--my favorite turn, and the source of every broken shaft I've ever sat on while falling. He turns from the rail and tail. Of course, we're just seeing a sample, but better longboarders turn a lot from the nose and middle of the board and go back to the tail mostly to come off the lip or to stall the board. Shortboarders turn from one place all the time, kind of like what he's doing, parked behind the handle. Nothing wrong with that, but it's kind of limiting. So I sort of agree with what A10 is saying. There isn't a SUP style, except at the outside edge with Zane and his buddies. And that's more shortboard slashing than something we can really claim. As much as I respect everything Kai does, I think his surfing is even a little more shortboard-y and aimed at what a contest judge wants to see than anything with the character that he could undoubtedly bring to the sport. Maybe we'll get there when people calm down a bit about being on boards that sink past their knees when they stop moving.

Those little slope-y mushburgers aren't going to show a lot of drama no matter how he surfs it.
Title: Re: The new Portal Phantom
Post by: mrbig on October 24, 2018, 07:23:04 PM
Funboard nose planshape. Not a needle.
Title: Re: The new Portal Phantom
Post by: 805StandUp on October 26, 2018, 12:28:01 PM
Definitely funboard size. He does better sup surfing because he's got a good paddle anchored cutback--my favorite turn, and the source of every broken shaft I've ever sat on while falling. He turns from the rail and tail. Of course, we're just seeing a sample, but better longboarders turn a lot from the nose and middle of the board and go back to the tail mostly to come off the lip or to stall the board. Shortboarders turn from one place all the time, kind of like what he's doing, parked behind the handle. Nothing wrong with that, but it's kind of limiting. So I sort of agree with what A10 is saying. There isn't a SUP style, except at the outside edge with Zane and his buddies. And that's more shortboard slashing than something we can really claim. As much as I respect everything Kai does, I think his surfing is even a little more shortboard-y and aimed at what a contest judge wants to see than anything with the character that he could undoubtedly bring to the sport. Maybe we'll get there when people calm down a bit about being on boards that sink past their knees when they stop moving.

Those little slope-y mushburgers aren't going to show a lot of drama no matter how he surfs it.

Agree--the paddle driven cutback is one of the most fun things to do on the SUP!  Interestingly, Erik used to live in Nosara and surf low volume boards until he started making his own boards and went up some in volume.  I am actually surprised that everyone initially started to make blown-up shortboards for surf SUPs as opposed to boards shaped more like this one.
Title: Re: The new Portal Phantom
Post by: JEG on October 26, 2018, 12:46:19 PM
Step down rails is the way to go and it wont be long till everyone will be building that way.
Title: Re: The new Portal Phantom
Post by: BrentP on October 26, 2018, 04:50:09 PM
Guys like Dave Daum have been doing step rails for quite awhile with Daniel Hughes boards. I've only tried and angled rail i like the looks of the step. Both Riviera and Infinity used to make a mid length kinda board i think that NUGG was 8' x 28" similar shape you could nose ride it and rip it off the tail fun board!
Title: Re: The new Portal Phantom
Post by: mrbig on October 26, 2018, 05:01:10 PM
Erik did it in a new and unique way. The thin edge is not just at the rail.

As he said he laminated a trimmed funboard to a short board.

Birth of the Barra and the Phantom!
Title: Re: The new Portal Phantom
Post by: SUP Sports ® on October 27, 2018, 09:04:49 AM
Guys like Dave Daum have been doing step rails for quite awhile with Daniel Hughes boards. I've only tried and angled rail i like the looks of the step. Both Riviera and Infinity used to make a mid length kinda board i think that NUGG was 8' x 28" similar shape you could nose ride it and rip it off the tail fun board!

Yep...Bill Stewart popularized the beveled S-rail back in the early 80's...

I incorporated stepped rails into my Jammer design several years ago...
I think the first SUPs to use it were the Bonga Perkins line...
There are others that use variations of it in SUP design...Skip Smith...Kirk McGinty...etc...however, stepped rails are not a panacea for SUP design(s)...just as they are not a panacea for surfboard design(s)...

Title: Re: The new Portal Phantom
Post by: NorthJerzSurfer on December 24, 2018, 07:50:42 PM
wow- i didnt know Erik moved to RI (explains the ME boats in the video)- Im up there all the time for work from NJ.

I've admired his boards, thinking and podcast for quite some time.   My quiver is full- but my daily driver is a  Craigslist board currently....and it keeps doing too good of a job to entertain a full custom.   But its silly my big wave/ Choppy board and my low volume ultra clean (no wetsuit) board sit on the racks for a craiglist pickup!


been thinking about throwing the ol bonus check to swap in  a custom daily driver with Portal and unload my big wave board as i almost always prone surf in those conditions.

I wish i could get my wife on board with the Blue Zone $500 of custom promotion!  Unfortunatley the next vacation days are slated for Disney....


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