Demoed Laird Surrator and Tom Carroll Loose Leaf

[Josh]

SUP'd dog patch at SanO the other day. Unfortunately the swell wasn't that great, 2-3ft but the water was warm and conditions were great.
In the market for a new board so I have been researching and demoing when I can. I'm 6' 172lbs and consider myself an intermediate SUP surfer. Hopped on the Laird Surrator 8'10" first. The board paddled surprisingly well for being a smaller board. Once into the wave, the board had a lot of speed, and turned with ease. After putting some time in with the 8'10" I jumped onto the 9'4". Besides being longer, the tail is wider which makes the board noticeably more stable than the 8'10".. The 9'4" was easy to paddle but required a little more effort to make some sharp turns. This was expected because of the wider tail. Both boards tracked very well on the face of the wave and carried enough speed to make some of the waves that sectioned off. Both boards were the carbon edition and seemed to be constructed very well. Of the two, I preferred the 8'10" because of the maneuverability.
After those two, I tried the Tom Carroll Loose Leaf 9'6". I was hoping to try the 8'8" or 9' but those boards were unavailable for demo. The board seemed to track a little when paddling because of the v on the nose of the double concave. The board has beveled rails which made it flow and carve nice going rail to rail. Like both Laird boards, it had a rounded tail which helps with turning. Although I enjoyed the board, it wouldn't be my top pick. This might be because it was a little long for my liking.
I currently ride a Channel Islands Caddie 9'1". I would keep riding my current board over the Loose Leaf but would probably give it up for the Surrator.
Hope this little review helps someone.

[stoneaxe]

I've been waiting to hear what someone thought of the Surrator. Any noticeable effect from those rails?

[SUPcheat]

just glad they didn't name it the Laird Pinking Shear.

[Josh]

Stoneaxe,

I didn't really notice any difference with the Surrator rails but I also wasn't surfing anything of substantial size. I was a little skeptical of the rails but it does carry good speed even on smaller waves. I hope to hop on the board again when it's overhead to see how it does. Will post an update if I get the chance.