Standup Zone Forum
Stand Up Paddle => Downwind and Racing => Topic started by: MB on July 30, 2020, 10:50:18 AM
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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
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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
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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.
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Infinity Downtown flat deck - unreal surfer and bomb proof.
Sic Bullet v2 - magic carpet ride on Dw.
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@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?
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There us a thread about just that inbthe Seabreeze forum.
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Thanks Luc, good info, and I like the sound of the 2020. The potential construction issues though...
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@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.
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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.
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...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.
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I knew Burchas would jump in with the Naish Maliko. He made that thing fly in the Gorge.
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I knew Burchas would jump in with the Naish Maliko. He made that thing fly in the Gorge.
:-) Maliko united!!!
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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?
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2018/2019 Maliko are rock proof but heavier at 28~29 lbs.
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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.
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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?
Boaed designs are an INEVITABLE compromise since fratures thst improve performance in one direction NECESSARILY impair performance in another. So its best to pick a board whose top priority is what you are going to be doing the most. The Hypr gun is the best surfing 14 I have ever tried, by some margin, but you won't win a flat wster race on it.The JL Rail is aimed firmly at downwind. You probably won't win a flat water race on that either. But unless you are racing seriously, it won't matter and both will be very nice to paddle. If you regularly surf your distance/raceboards then get the Hypr. If you downwind a lot in decent conditions then definitely consider the JL boards.
I.suspect that some of the Bullet 2020 boards we have heard about should have got caught by QC but didn't. So most may be absolutely fine. Personally though I'd insist on inspecting the board before buying it. I have a 2020 SIC RS in the same construction and it seems very good - light and stiff and I've had no trouble with the paintwork, although the deck pad collects every tiny bit of dirt which is very annoying. SIC please take note for next year. So I doubt thst the reported problems are inherent to the construction, and are more likely to be that the person making it had a bad day at the office, or there was a problem with some of the materials used in that batch. This happens to all brands and all factories sometimes.
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If construction quality and strength are a high priority then I'd almost always go with Jimmy Lewis. I watched a Rail get blown off the rack in Maliko Gulch and cartwheel across the boulder field. If that had been my Bullet V1, as good as the Maui hollow construction is, I'd be headed home to try to fix what was left of the board. The rail had a few minor paint scratches and did the run, no problemo. Yeah, anecdotal, but typical. Jimmy spends almost as much time in Vietnam QC'ing and fixing issues as he does in Maui, so the production boards are as bulletproof as the customs.
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Owned my 2020 Bullet for a few months. Have avoided dropping it or smashing into stuff so not sure about how durable or bullet-proof it is but the thing looks like a work of art. Flawless. I sometimes just sit in the garage with it and think how brilliant I am for buying it.
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Immediately after making my previous stupid post I proceeded to drag nose of board over some asphalt while dollying to beach. Yes paint does scratch off. Brilliant indeed :-\
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Immediately after making my previous stupid post I proceeded to drag nose of board over some asphalt while dollying to beach. Yes paint does scratch off. Brilliant indeed :-\
Yeah but that would happen to any painted board.
I smashed my Hypr gun (NO paint).into a pebble beach nose-first in a stupid shorebreak lapse of concentration. If it has been my Bullet V1 the whole nose area would probably have crumpled. But with the Hypr I got just a little chip in the top coat and had to look hard even to find it.
Increasingly, my friends and I are making board decisions with construction in mind. If you use a board most days and are not a millionaire, it is a godsend if it can survive the inevitable stresses of everyday use. But until buyers demand it I guess it won't happen.