Sunova Shroom - Fun Squared

[supthecreek]

Geeeze.... Sunova  got me hooked on Speeed , then Acid.... now I'm trippin' on Shrooms 

This is a very preliminary view of the care and feeding of Shrooms.

I hope to get some real waves to test it in at some point... but I made this up, to answer questions that have been floating around about this very interesting shape.

Berts a fricking genius, he figured out how to put a fat bastard on a short SUP.
At 8'3 and only 126.3 liters, the Shroom is super easy for me (240 lbs)
It is 32" wide and a very "Square" board....
Bert has figured a way to make this board turn, with interesting rails, some pretty good rocker with concave on both deck and bottom.

It paddles extremely straight for a short, wide board.

and... a huge shout out to "wetstuff"  because he deserves all the credit for this board.... "wetstuff" ordered this board as a custom.
It was his concept that Bert honed for 6 months of design and testing.

It was always wetstuff's desire to have me use and review this board first, so I jumped at the opportunity.
Big thanks wetstuff... this is a very fun board 

Short boards always feel like potato chips to me, this one, feels like a real board.... it carves and snaps and zooms.

Maybe now that I have posted a video, the waves will get better


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umrhydLNC_4

[Badger]

Nice Rick, I'll bet I could ride one of those down into the seven foot range.

Are those rear fins 50/50 or flat foils?

.

[Night Wing]

Excellent video review. I like the way you started the video by giving the Shroom's length, width, thickness and liters. Also, thanks for giving your weight. I I wish more reviewers would give these facts since I'm a small guy of 145 pounds and I'm always wondering how much some of you reviewers weigh

Thanks for taking the time to post your review and making the video to share.

[SUPcheat]

Kewl!

[TallDude]

How's that concave deck feel on the toes?

[supthecreek]

Badger, they are VP's Von Piros 8's & 6's - Zero cant, flat foil
I don't think they are right for the board.
Bert is making a special set of fins for this board, so I don't know what his suggestion is.

I have since taken some tiny 3" sidebites and stuck them in the back slots... I'll try Sunova 105's, then 94's in the front.
There have been no waves since I got the Shroom, so I don't know how the back fins should be sized.... but I'm thinking I will like fairly big fronts and small trailers. But that's just me... I'm a thruster guy 


Night Wing... thanks for the feedback, I greatly appreciate that.
I only started doing reviews because I was frustrated by the total lack of info available on most boards.

And there shouldn't be "reviewers".... everyone should give their impressions of a board they like.
A beginners thoughts are just as important as anyone else.... maybe more so, because other beginners can relate to that feedback.
Giving detailed information allows others to adjust that info to their situation.

if you click my "YouTube" link below, you can see years of videos on boards I have liked.

TallDude, there is almost no flat surface on the deck, just a little in the middle, so your feet are "banked" up a bit on the rail side.
You can hear my reaction in the video (precisely why I chose the head cam for 1st ride)
It felt odd for about 30 seconds, then got sort of cozy.... like settling in.

I saved a sure fall, when I dipped knee deep on my right rail.... the raised rail gave me some great grip to pull it off.
It's also a great "ledge" to hang my belly on, while getting on after a fall.

I did note that I got calf cramps riding the Shroom.... usually I get hamstring cramps, so "toes up" is going rework my muscle groups.
other than that.... all positives on the raised rail, it gives really solid grip and GREAT leverage when sinking a rail on a turn.

I was used a somewhat raise rail, from my 10'6 Alana (Nalu)....
but this is much more like a punchbowl, filled with rum.
The middle of the board is less that 3.5" thick

[Night Wing]

@supthecreek

You gave a lot of good detailed info in your "impression" of the Shroom. One detail that caught my "ear" was when you stated with a 4 fin configuration, it paddled straight. Most short boards don't paddle straight since they're really designed for surfing waves.

Again, thanks of your impressions of the Shroom in your video.

[TallDude]

Makes sense getting the volume to the rail. I'm sure I'd like the concave better than the domed deck. Sounds like a good calf stretch.
I tell my wife I worked out for 3 hours and got a great calf stretch. She says, "So you went surfing." 

[supthecreek]

going to try this fin set-up next outing... should be interesting 

[Night Wing]

@supthecreek

Just curious. What size length are those two honeycomb fins?

[mdsurf]

Creek,  Nice review.  I want one.  I say that after almost every one of your Sunova Video Demos.  You had me wanting the Flow, Skate, now the Shroom.  Got the Speed and love it.

How would you compare it to the Flow or the skate as a desired board.  Or is ranking them by fun meter not possible?

[supthecreek]

Night Wing
The trailers are 3.75"
Look smaller than the number ;-)

mdsurf.... it took me 2 months to come to terms with the 9'2 Flow
it took me 10 seconds to like the Skate and the Shroom.
I would have bet everything that it would have been the other way around.

Bert nailed these fat-ass boards
He worked around the problems usually associated with wide tail boards...
and they are effortless to turn.
They go on a rail easily and carve turns.
The Shroom is very snappy.... it zips around from turn to turn like a real board ;-)

The unknown is how the Shroom will handle size.... I'm betting it will do ok till steep OH stuff.... then I'm on to the Acid!

I think overall, I would be comfortable recommending the Skate, because it is proven and has some more traditional features.... but that may change after I get some time on the Shroom.

A friend is getting an 8'7 Flow soon... I hope I can stand on it, cuz I really believe the smaller Flows will work better for me.

Looking good for waves tomorrow.... I am planning a day of video at my home break.... just don't know which board I'll chose 1st!
ok....ok... the Shroom it is!

[supthecreek]

Got the Shroom in some waves today.... very windy, side on.... tough conditions.
My Acid would have been a better choice for today, but I wanted to answers questions about the Shroom in some size.

Here are some pics that show that this fat ass board can throw down a turn if you stayed hard on the rail.

This board was designed for softer waves and is really snappy in mushier waves, but can get feistier at speed.
Turns would get a bit flat at speed, if I didn't keep my feet tight to the rail and set it, there's a lot of lift with the wide concave bottom.

I really need another day with easier conditions to get this board wired in some juice.

After a 3 hour beating in the wind, I went out tonight on the 10'6 Surf and had a freeking blast in some perfect evening glass

Lots of turn shots, cuz they tell the tale of the Shroom on a rail.

[Night Wing]

@supthecreek

Lots great comments in your previous post. But those actions shots were great and plenty of them too. Nice to see them relatively close up also. When I look at photos, I look at the where the people's feet are placed on the board in conjunction of what part of the wave they're in.

Thank for sharing your comments and those great series of photos. 

[JimK]

Shroom's LOOKING GOOD! Dude

JimK
Extreme Windsurfing