Leap of Faith - SIC FX 14????

[Rideordie]

Yeah, box looked OK to me.  Chicken or egg.  Hard to say.  Board did have a quality assurance sticker on it with a name for what it is worth. 
 

[Area 10]

All my boards have been shipped. About half arrive with dings. If it's minor you've been lucky. IMO try to get the price reduced a little and then move on. You can induce pressure dents without leaving a mark on packaging and you'll never get to the bottom of how it happened, unfortunately.

It means you'll be less worried the next time you rest the board on a stone and it gets another one... Perfect boards make me anxious - I'm just waiting for the first mishap!

[Rideordie]

Area 10, I agree with everything you said.  That has been my experience too.  Dealer called and they are presenting a claim to the shipping coimpany and advised me what they have asked for.  We will see.  I am just happy that there was no ding that requires a repair.     

[Caribsurf]

It means you'll be less worried the next time you rest the board on a stone and it gets another one... Perfect boards make me anxious - I'm just waiting for the first mishap!

Perfectly said Area 10 and exactly why I prefer to buy used cars, used bikes used boards...

[baddog]

...About half arrive with dings.

50/50 sounds about right.  My new Sunova received a shot peening treatment in the back of the DHL truck.  There were 6, 7, maybe 8, 20 gallon barrels loose, just rolling around, into and on top of my board box.  Found one small indentation, maybe the shot peening, maybe a factor flaw, who knows.  Scum bag driver is about all I can say.

[Eagle]

The board we had shipped clearly was noted "Please No Forklifts" - "Hand Carry Only" - but sure enough there were 2 puncture holes crunched in the bottom of the box where the forklift picked up the board.  Just missed the board and bag by a inch - so no waste of time and hassle with a claim etc.  Was double boxed so that helped for sure.

Hopefully the Dealer will resolve the matter to your satisfaction.

[Muskoka SUP]

As the discussion has been ding related, how does the SCC construction feel?  Is it like Barks earlier layup where you could compress it with thumb pressure?  Or is it at least what should be expected given the $?  Just wondering, especially given the shipping damage.. 

[raf]

We have had no issues with the SCC construction and have moved many boards out the door.  We had a manufacturing issue with a glass board a couple years back, and have had some hairline cracks in the paint with a couple early shapes, which seemed to be a common problem with Cobra built white painted boards 3-4 years ago.  Overall, I would say the SCC boards are very tough. 

[Area 10]

I currently own 3 SCC SICs. They have all been pretty durable. Obviously, they are just one layer of carbon, so you'd hardly expect it to fare well against rocks etc, and the skin is wafer thin (probably not more than one millimetre or so) but they are as durable as you'd reasonably hope for boards so light. Tougher than my carbon Ace, for sure.

My Bark Vapor seems very tough. It's also heavier than the older Pro-Elite models. So I suspect that Bark were stung by early comments about pressure dings and beefed up their construction for later years. My friends together have Pro-Elite Barks from just about every year since they first came out, and they have all held up remarkably well. Even the early "light and soft" Pro-Elites have actually proved quite durable. They look better than eg. Starboards of similar vintage, and some Fanatics too.

[Eagle]

Our SCC has been good - provided you are careful.  Our ex-demo Bullet does not pressure dent but the gloss finish can peel.  It also came with a star paint crack from someone whacking the rail.  Basically the board looks the same now as when we got it - and we use it a fair amount.

Our used Bark Pro-Elite continues to hip dent but still performs like a champ.  Our used Jimmy Lewis I-Beam does dent if whacked and does chip a bit - but generally is pretty solid.  The best has been our ex- demo SB Touring Carbon - only some minor paint fading with zero dents and zero paint chips.  Built like a tank.  At one point was going to buy a very light Sprint Carbon - until we noticed a split in the carbon - which we then gave a prompt pass.

All our boards have faired quite well - with pretty much only minor cosmetic damage.  When we transport them we use non-slip D-locks and snug them down pretty tight - and so far zero rail damage as well.  So overall - we have been quite satisfied with quality and durability.

[Helmy]

So, our dealer here in Melbourne tells me that "our ship is coming in" (sic) on April 1.
Yep, April 1...

Just in time for the summer paddling season.
Oh wait, it's autumn already...

I'll be in Anaheim & Vancouver for a couple of weeks, so hopefully they don't sell my board from under me!

Swimming pool is down to 26c, Area 10!

[Area 10]

So, our dealer here in Melbourne tells me that "our ship is coming in" (sic) on April 1.
Yep, April 1...

Just in time for the summer paddling season.
Oh wait, it's autumn already...

I'll be in Anaheim & Vancouver for a couple of weeks, so hopefully they don't sell my board from under me!

Swimming pool is down to 26c, Area 10!

26? Thanks for that. But at least it is the first day of a Spring for us today.

April 1st? What could possibly go wrong?

[Muskoka SUP]

So, our dealer here in Melbourne tells me that "our ship is coming in" (sic) on April 1.
Yep, April 1...

Just in time for the summer paddling season.
Oh wait, it's autumn already...

I'll be in Anaheim & Vancouver for a couple of weeks, so hopefully they don't sell my board from under me!

Swimming pool is down to 26c, Area 10!

26? Thanks for that. But at least it is the first day of a Spring for us today.

April 1st? What could possibly go wrong?

....it could end up being some sort of SIC joke....

[MaineSUP]

Raf let me demo a FX-14 over the weekend. I took it out two mornings when it was about 25°F with winds of 10-15kph.  I can’t give a proper review yet but here are my initial impressions.  I’ve spent the last two years using a Coreban Dart as my go to board.  The Dart’s fun because its so stable. One of the smoothest ocean rides out there, no matter how chaotic and crazy.  This is great on the Maine coast were there is a lot of wind, rocky shore/ledges, and big tides which makes for some messy, complex conditions. My only complaint about the Dart is that it takes a lot of power to move it along and its got very little glide and so I longed for a quick/glidey board that could cut it in these conditions. I took out a Bullet V2 last summer and found that it was almost as stable as the Dart and much quicker but felt I could stretch a bit more and grow into something quicker. I tried a X-14 pro and quickly found that I was in over my head.  On paper, the FX-14 was it. 

No surprise that the Dart and FX-14 are very different boards with very different shapes but check out how different they look from the front (see pic).

The FX-14 is not as stable as the V2 and requires more focus to balance than the wider boards I’ve used.  It is much more stable than the X-14 pro and after acclimating for a few minutes to a board that was 5” skinnier than what I’m used to, I was able to put almost all of my energy and focus into moving the board forward and paddling well. I was out for a combined 1.5 hours and didn’t fall in. Upwind it was quick and fun, cuts through chop without slowing down.  For me, this is important because having a good time paddling upwind means more days on the water. I was able to go faster upwind on the FX-14 than no wind on the Dart and with less energy.  Downwind it was stable and quick.  Side chop, no problem.  Swell/chop from multiple directions and swell broken up by reefs was tricky and I had to focus a lot of attention and energy on balance.

In calm/low wind conditions I bet this board will be a blast. I don’t have a lot of downwind experience and so would probably still use the Dart for anything 25kph plus.

Overall, I had so much fun paddling it the first day that I was back out the next morning paddling into 15kph wind in 25°F, feels like 12°F weather and am buying the board.  My sense is that it will be plenty stable for 80% of the conditions out there for ocean racing/touring and that for the other 20% of the time when there is swell splash back, swell versus tide, etc. it will take some practice but that will time that it will be my go to ocean race/tour board. It definitely has me stoked for summer.

[Muskoka SUP]

Congratulations!  Wicked insta-quiver you now have..