Standup Zone Forum
Stand Up Paddle => Gear Talk => SUP Gear Reviews / Newly Acquired / On Order => Topic started by: Badger on May 07, 2019, 06:01:47 PM
-
I got to surf the Outer Reef this morning. Conditions were waist to chest with occasional head high sets. Choppy with a light to moderate SW wind. This would have been very difficult for me on the 8'10 Sunova Flow and just the conditions that I bought the Outer Reef for.
10'6 X 32" 165 liters. 61 years old. I weigh 175.
Stability was perfect. Just stable enough to comfortably handle the chop. On clean days I'll be able to do entire sessions without falling which I haven't done in years since I started riding shorter boards.
I went to two surf spots. The first one had mushy chest high waves. No crowd, just one other guy. The board has excellent glide. I caught waves that I didn't even expect to catch. It turns like a big shortboard. The beveled rails made very smooth carves. The board had plenty of speed and didn't feel slow at all.
The second spot was head high, steeper and a little less choppy. I was able to paddle for waves with a lot more confidence than I would have with the 8'10. The extra glide made catching the waves a lot easier. The board really flew on these waves. I laid down some nice turns. I love the way it surfs.
I'm still not sure if I should have gotten the 10 foot 152 liter version instead. Each length seems to have advantages. I think I'd be happy with either one.
-
An excellent review with lots of my favorite things included which are "details". It looks like you got a real nice longboard sup.
Thanks for making the surf report with your new board. BTW, I'm envious. ;D
-
You had fun in even so so conditions, mission accomplished. Don't second guess your choice. Enjoy the volume!
-
An excellent review with lots of my favorite things included which are "details". It looks like you got a real nice longboard sup.
Thanks for making the surf report with your new board. BTW, I'm envious. ;D
It's not by any means a longboard shape. Just look at the outline. One reason I chose this design is because it is not just a big longboard.
.
-
Well, you’ve convinced me.
I surf fat mushy offshore waves in conditions that most of you guys wouldn’t even bother getting wet for. This looks like exactly the board for that. And it’s wonderful to have a surf session and not fall... especially when the water is 39F.
Good purchase, well done.
-
I took it out again this morning in perfectly clean chest to head high conditions and it surfed beautifully. It carves up and down the face just like a big shortboard and turns from the middle of the board when you need to step forward for speed. Responsiveness increases the farther back you get on the tail. If it works this good right out of the box, it's going to be fantastic once I get it dialed in.
.
-
Congrats on the success story. Please do update as you get more time on it.
-
great review badger! Sometimes its just great not having to fight low volume. especially in the conditions you highlighted.
-
I have resolved to go no shorter/lower in volume than that of my current quiver--i do believe smaller is better (for me, at least), and skinnier is better on waves, but there are certainly diminishing returns beyond a certain point--i think i hit that point--just dont see my balance and strength improving much now that ive hit the big six oh
8'4" to 8'10", 108-125 liters, <30" wide==seems my sweet spot
i do play with the idea of a board like this for distant unsurfed features worth exploring--one prob is that all my surfer friends are proners
-
Great story, nice times.
Having a high volume ripper and swapping off to a low volume one is an ideal advantage of surfing a quiver.
Some days it’s nice to have an easy session, and other days some nice work.
-
nice board Badger 8)
-
Stoked for you Badger, do you have the fin al the way up ? Are you getting in super early ? Nice review
-
Yeah, I set the fin is all the way forward. I may move it back a bit just to see how that affects it.
It gets into waves almost as early as my M-12'6 did. I was catching waves 100 yards outside the line up at the point where I surf which is one of the reasons I bought it. Long rides and a long paddle back out.
-
Badger- did you feel the width was a handicap when paddling? IE compared to your M12/6 at 28in ...this is 4 inches wider. Surprised it would catch waves similarly with that width.
-
The Outer Reef has plenty of glide. The M-12'6 has more glide for sure, but since I sold the M-12'6, it's hard to do a true comparison. The two boards are very different. I think the bottom contours on the Outer Reef really help. The M-12'6 is not a super fast board. Working from memory, the two boards seem to have almost equal speed when paddling.
The 32" width doesn't seem to hinder anything. I can't get the paddle as vertical as with the M-12'6 but it's only an inch wider than my shorter surf Sups which equates to just a 1/2 inch on each side from what I'm used to.
The extra stability probably helps with paddle power getting into waves.
-
The extra width won’t hold you back on normal surf. The only time I’ve felt any hindrance is in the big stuff, +2x overhead. Then the width starts to act as a sort of friction that keeps the board from dropping in. Hung up in the lip in a bad way.
-
Yeah, having a large planing surface area on a surf shape can be an advantage for wave catching in small-medium conditions; it means that you can dig deep without submerging a rail, and get some surprisingly good initial acceleration. It’s maintaining a good speed over a long distance that is hard with a wider board, rather than very short-distance acceleration under a short furious high-cadence burst of maximum power, like you do when scratching for a wave. And then once you start planing, a big surface area can have huge benefits in marginal or fat/slow conditions.
Big boards are a lot of fun IMO. Most people where I surf (where surf quality is poor) don’t like them because they take more skill to turn, and the sheer volume scares them in bigger conditions. But if you have the skills and nerve, they are a gateway to a huge amount of fun. And there is something magnificent, to my mind, in watching someone control easily a big board and the sheer glide they can give. If Pipeline was my local spot, and I was 18 yrs old, I’d probably feel differently. But it isn’t, and I’m not, and mostly what I see around me is people struggling to get into waves they could have made easily if only they had a “man’s board” like this Outer Reef :)
-
I think the beveled rails have a lot to do with how quickly this board planes and how easily it turns. The double concave adds speed once on the wave. It seems to have the glide of a longer board and surfs like a shorter board. I was surprised how confident I felt on the wave.
.
-
Badger, I like the dimensions and the outline. Glad it works for you. Good for TC also, maybe you will help him get some traction.
Jim