First impressions...King's Custom Crossover 8'10 x 29 x 4.25

[ODJ]

I posted pics of the board the other day in a thread but had not ridden the board yet. Today was the first day out. I was hesitant given the recent downpours here in the San Diego area, but couldn't help myself.

I went out at Oceanside harbor early this morning. Conditions were not the greatest, but the wind was minimal and initially offshore, not glassy, but not victory at sea either. Not much push behind the waves, and they averaged about thigh to waist.

Just to give you an idea about me, I am 36 years old, 6'2, 188 lbs (this morning sans wetsuit)  and have not been on an SUP in about 5 months. I recently moved away from Southern California, quickly moved back, and for about the last year and a half have been in school full-time while also working full time. Life has been busy and a bit hectic, not leaving much time to surf. I would consider myself an experienced intermediate. The board I had before this was a 9'0 s 29 x 4 Tim Stamps Ninja Bump. I regretfully sold it when I moved. Before that was a 9 x 29 x 4 David Craig, Joe Blair 8'11, 9'6 x 29.5 x 4.25 David Craig, and before those I had a 10' Kings Knight model.

Not the greatest conditions today as I mentioned, but rideable. It's been a while since I've been out on an SUP and was nervous as to not look like an ass. Paddling out the board performed beautifully, and was pleasantly surprised at how well this board punched through whitewash. I have been pretty fortunate to have learned how to get through decent size whitewash and thought the Stamps did a good job at it, but the King's performed a bit better. This is expected I guess, since the the Stamps Ninja Bump is technically a noserider, with a rounder, flatter nose compared to the very pulled in nose of the Kings. Either way I was pleased with how well the board busted through whitewash while getting out given the time I've been away from the water.

Initially the board felt a touch tipper than what I remembered the Stamps to be like, but this may sound strange saying this about a surf SUP, it felt it had much better secondary stability. This is something that I hear mentioned more with race SUP's. but I swear I noticed it with the King's. Actually the board is ridiculously stable and took very little time getting used to it. It might have felt tippier at first, but in reality it really isn't and I think it may even be a little more stable. I had a few situations where I was hit with some chop or cross-swell and thought I was going to fall in and didn't. All in all a VERY stable board. I told myself I could probably have gone and inch narrower, but quickly reminded myself that this is my only board and didn't want to go too narrow, since I will be riding this board in everything. The board paddled as I expected/hoped. My old board was 9 x 29 x 4 at 116L, and I did sink it a little bit and it did paddle a touch slow, and was not the best choice on small, lifeless waves, but it absolutely ripped with anything that had energy/push behind it. Keeping this in mind I told Dave I wanted something the same length or a touch smaller, wanted a thinly foiled tail but ALSO wasted to try and squeeze in a few more liters just to give me a little more float/paddle power. Basically I was trying to do what most people do when they go to a shaper, and create a board that paddles well but isn't too long, is stable but still rips in surf and is responsive. Essentially you have to give up one thing to get another and can't have it all! It did take Dave a little while to figure out where he was going to squeeze in the volume (we ended up with something like 120-121 liters I think) while still keeping a thinned out, thinly foiled tail so it would still be very responsive in the surf. I originally wanted a bump in the tail and step rails, but once I saw ti come off the CNC shaper I nixed those options to retain volume!  I think the Crossover was a great choice as a template to start with because compared to the King's WCT model, the Crossover is a bit fuller through out, especially up front, and this is where I think Dave squeezed in/hid the extra volume I was looking for, but still has very aggressive, almost shortboard look to it. When I stand on this board I sink it to the edges of the deck pad, maybe a touch more.

At first glance I though the board had too much rocker and nose kick, and was concerned that would affect glide and the way the board paddles, but that thankfully ended up not being the case. Because the Crossover model has a little more width in the front 2/3'rds of the board compared to the very aggressive WCT, I think this is really what still allows this board to paddle well relative to it's size, and would have no problems taking this board to a place like Sunset Cliffs, where it isn't uncommon to paddle a bit of distance from peak to peak in search of waves, or to get away from the crowd. Understand that it wont paddle like a 10'6 longboard style SUP, but for it's dims I really feel like this board paddles very well, and feel the slight width in the front just behind the nose with the added volume balances out the amount of rocker and nose kick in this case. Also, the rocker and nose kick on this board is absolutely perfect for steep beach breaks and late drops. Other boards I have owned that had less rocker and nose kick required me to sort of 'ride a wheelie' down the face on late or steep drops, and would put me in a bad body position for making my bottom turn. I was lucky enough to pick off a random chest high wave that rolled through today, and dropped into it pretty late, not even close to pearling and just concentrated on making my bottom turn.

So how does it surf? Well, in addition to taking late drops incredibly well, I really have to say this board is just a flipping blast to ride. There really wasn't much energy behind the waves today, and the first two waves I got I though the board was a dog, and said to myself, damn, guess I screwed up this one ( I was very insistent that Dave foil out the tail pretty thin, and thought that we took it a little too far), later on dropped into a slightly larger, waist high wave with a little more energy behind it and the board really came alive. Right away it just felt like this board went from rail to rail ridiculously easy, was a very fluid transition, very natural feel, and really felt like I could control the board really well, and even pump the board and generate speed without the paddle in some cases, which I have found tough to do with boards in this size range. I really have no real evidence or proof to this, but I really do think the thin tail is what makes this board feel so responsive under my feet in the surf. My old board was only 2 inches longer, same width and less volume, and this new board feels more sensitive. It also feels narrower in regards to the way it transitions rail to rail even though it's the same width. I decided to try it out first with a 2+1 set up, since that's how I rode my last board. I had a 6" Futures Performance center fin (came with the board) and just some random side bites I used on my Stamps. This was the same fin set up I was using on my Stamps board in smaller and/or weaker surf. I set the center fin a little forward from the middle, which is what I usually do. Board was very loose, and felt great. I even was able to hit the lip, stay up on the lip for a bit and hang out as it crumbled, then drop back in, something I have never been able to do before.

So overall, even though it wasn't the best conditions today and the surf was small, I was very pleased with the way this boar performed. In bigger surf I am sure this board will just shine. I really think Dave is onto something here with this shape. I do realize that there are a lot of guys on here that ride ridiculously short boards and rip in the surf, and hope to be able to go even shorter someday. But I think if there are others out there like me, who are trying to surf more aggressively/progressively, are taller/bigger guys, and can't afford a quiver and/or don't wan't to totally suffer when it comes to paddle power, lack of stability, and/or just want an all-around board that is geared more toward performance and will absolutely rip, but still float you and get you in waves and from peak to peak a little easier. If this is you, than this seriously is a great board to consider. I think for where I am now with my surfing and only having one board, this board is perfect, and will also allow me to progress and go to the next level without being hindered by the size of the board. Compared to other boards in the 9'0 range that I have owned or ridden, this one is the absolute more responsive and most performance oriented board, but still paddles great and is very stable. I am very excited to get it out in some bigger, more powerful surf.

As a disclaimer I have no affiliation with King's aside from being a happy customer. The way I was treated by everyone at King's was second to none. I am seriously considering having Dave shape me another board, a 7'10 Simmons-style board. He has an 8'0 Simmons-inspired shape that he said I could take out sometime, and think I will take him up on the offer! Would be fun to have something for small, crummy conditions that would compliment the board I have now.

[SUPn858]

I have been considering the exact same dimensions as this, it sounds like a winner! I'm on a Kings 9'4" crossover now, and am I'm thinking about my next board, 8'10" or 8'8" possibly. That Simmons Sup also looks tempting...

[ODJ]

Forgot to mention, the board weighs 17.3lbs with fins and deckpad included.

[supthecreek]

ODJ
Very nice review. Some thing we need more of on the Zone.
In depth... with all relevant info available for us to parse.... and pictures.

[headmount]

I enjoyed not only hearing about your new board but what your progression has been.  Nice writeup thanks

[ODJ]

I enjoyed not only hearing about your new board but what your progression has been.  Nice writeup thanks

Thanks. I know it was a long review, but I tried to add information in there that I would like to know when reading reviews from other members. I would like to know their age, weight, what type of surfing they prefer, and as you mentioned, their progression as an SUP surfer and what they currently ride or have ridden in the past. Sure, it's a lot of the info. and a lot of it is subjective, but I really feel like it would help others make more informed decisions, especially others that aren't so fortunate as those of us in Southern California where we have a lot of incredible shapers in out backyard. Plus, these boards are damn expensive, and you are putting a lot of faith into a shaper when you go custom.

If anyone has any other questions about the board feel free to post in the thread and ask!

I also forgot to mention the x-cloth. I added that since it is a stringerless blank and Dave has been experimenting with it in his boards to give them a bit of added rigidity and it apparently changes the flex pattern of the board. He does a better explanation of it than I do. Apparently it's a kevlar weave that is sandwiched between the layers of glass. I saw this stuff in the sheet form before it was added to the board, and in all honesty think the weight it adds is negligible, and probably does affect the flax pattern of the board. I think it's original/primary use is in sails for sailboats to increase strength. Others are fans of carbon fiber rails, but I have heard about concerns when using carbon just on the rails because the issue that some have seen regarding the differences in strength/shearing/breaking points that exist between the foam and carbon fiber, and it creates a weak spot where the two meet, since the carbon fiber is much stronger than the foam, and they flex differently, and I have seen a carbon fiber rail board that actually broke where the two materials met. Again, how much of this idea is really true however, and how much is speculation, I have no idea. I just know at my level of experience and budget, and for a shorter SUP, I feel like carbon fiber is unnecessary, and the x-cloth was worth trying, as I do not see any negative repercussions from trying it out, and it looks pretty sweet, too!

[Boludo]

Great review ODJ.  That's very light for that volume of board.  Not sure on this but yes the x-cloth seems it might add little weight but if it replaces the need for a stringer than you'd be saving weight.

[kingdavid]

Hello ODJ,

Thank you for the nice product review. Feedback on our boards is what keeps us sharp and allows us to build world-class surf SUP boards. We truely appreciate all of our loyal customers and friends. You guys are why we exist. Here are a couple more shots of ODJ and his new board.

Best to All,

Dave

[Boludo]

Met up with Big Ed and ODJ for some surf today.  This morning was all wobbly and crossed up, closing out fast or very sectioned.  Caught some decent waves but had to get off them quicker than I would have liked to.  There were definite occasional 6 foot sets out there.  Tough to catch most of the time though.  Happy to say ODJ caught one bombing outside right.  Looked over and the entire wave just glassed over and the wave held up nice for him as he rocketed with the wave to a catapult finish.
Sweet looking board too!